The Duke of Sussex has recounted how it was “terrifying” to be yelled and yelled at by his brother, now the Prince of Wales, on the summit of Sandringham before he and the Duchess of Sussex stepped back from their royal roles.
Prince Harry also said a joint statement was issued without his permission on his and his brother’s behalf on the same day, denying a story that he had harassed him out of the royal family.
In the final volume of the Netflix Documentary of the SussexesPrince Harry called the move a “lie to protect my brother” and added: “There was no other choice at the moment. I said, ‘We have to get out of here.'”
In episode five, he recounted what happened behind the scenes as he met the late Queen, King and Prince of Wales for emergency talks at Sandringham in January 2020.
The family was aiming to sort out the Sussexes’ future plans after they issued a statement saying they wanted to step back as royals.
Five options, including ‘all in or all out’
“It was terrifying to have my brother yell at me and yell at me and my father say things that just weren’t true, and my grandmother to sit there quietly and take it all in,” the duke said.
Prince Harry said he was given five options, ranging from “all in, no change” to “all out”, and he chose option three: “half in, half out”.
“It became very clear very quickly that that goal was not up for discussion or debate,” he added.
Speaking about videos of the brothers playing in an old fire truck and newspaper headlines about the acrimony in their relationship, he continued: “I mean, the saddest part was this rift created between me and my brother for him to now be in the institution side.
“And I get, part of it I get. I understand right? That’s his heritage, so it’s already ingrained in him to some degree that part of his responsibility is the survival and continuation of this institution.
He then goes on to discuss a joint statement that was issued on the day of the Sandringham meeting, calling a front-page story about the brothers’ relationship false, offensive and potentially damaging.
“Once I got in the car after the meeting, I was informed about a joint statement that had been released in my name and my brother’s name, squashing the story about him harassing us outside the family,” Prince Harry said.
He continued: “I couldn’t believe it. Nobody had asked me. No one had asked my permission to put my name on a statement like that. I called M and told him about it and he burst into tears because in four hours they were happy to lie to protect my brother and yet for three years they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us.”