Prince William was “sick with worry” over Prince Harry’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The Prince of Wales reportedly “cut himself off from the world” in the lead-up to his brother’s explosive sit-down alongside wife Meghan Markle in March 2021.
“I’ve heard this for a long time now from many different sources … in the lead-up to that Oprah interview, William was quite literally sick with worry,” Charlotte Griffiths, editor-at-large for the Mail on Sunday, said on GB News.
“He was not eating, and he became — not reclusive — but he definitely was hiding away,” she alleged. “He went to a royal residence for a period of time to cut himself off from the world. He was just in bits, basically.”
Griffiths also alleged that William’s wife, Kate Middleton, stepped in to “protect” her husband.
“And what Kate was doing was standing by her man. Kate was like: ‘I’ve got to stick up for this guy and protect him. He’s being destroyed by this,’ and that probably made her quite steely, even though she has this reputation for being shy,” the journalist explained. “But when it comes to protecting her husband, she’s going to step in and protect him.”
During the chat, the couple alleged that an unnamed member of the royal family questioned the skin colour of their then-unborn child, Prince Archie.
The former Suits actress also claimed that there were “several” conversations centred around the potential colour of Archie’s skin. Reps for Kensington Palace did not respond to Page Six’s requests at the time.
Earlier this week, reports emerged that the Princess of Wales pushed for a tough response to the blockbuster interview.
William and Middleton, both 41, reportedly huddled with palace officials on how to deal with the “Sussexes’ incendiary allegations,” Valentine Low wrote in the paperback version of his book, Courtiers, excerpted in the Times.
Low claimed that the draft statement did not include the now-infamous phrase, “some recollections may vary”.
“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,” read the rare statement, which was released and issued by the late Queen Elizabeth II at the time.
“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. Whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”
Low claimed there was initially a “much milder” version of the statement.
“The debate was, do you rise entirely above it and offer the olive branch of (Harry and Meghan being) ‘much loved members of the family’?” he wrote in his book.
“Or is there some moment when you have to intervene and offer a view?”
A royal insider told Low that the couple — then the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge — “wanted it toughened up a bit.”
“They were both of one mind that we needed something that said that the institution did not accept a lot of what had been said,” the source alleged.
The now-Princess of Wales is, according to Low’s source, “playing the long game” as she knows she will one day be queen.
This story originally appeared on Page Six and is republished here with permission.