A difficult reality. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s friend Tom Bradby opened about how the couple are dealing with the fallout from their tension with the royal family.
“I think they are feeling better [since moving to California], yes. … So are they unhappy? No, I think they are content. The things they are doing they are quite excited by,” the journalist, 54, explained on ITV’s Love Your Weekend, which will air on Sunday, January 17. “I think he is heartbroken by the situation with his family. You don’t necessarily need to have knowledge to know that, but I think it is true.”
Bradby toured with the pair for the 2019 documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey ahead of their exit from their roles as senior members of the royal family. They relocated to the U.S. in March 2020 after completing their duties.
Their departure put a strain on Harry’s relationships with his family, especially brother Prince William. “The situation with the family clearly isn’t ideal and it has been a very difficult year for them all,” Bradby said. “But are they unhappy out there? No, I don’t think that’s right. I think they are pretty happy actually, but I think they wrestle with their position in life. I think they all do. I think William does too. I don’t think he finds it easy.”
Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, shocked many when they announced their plans to step back from the royal family in January 2020. “I think the whole thing has just been incredibly painful, that is obvious to everyone. It is painful all round, painful for everyone, difficult to manage,” Bradby noted. “Effectively they have just decided to completely leave the royal family. That has never been done. … It’s never been done voluntarily before and no one still is absolutely clear how it is going to work.”
The Shadow Dancer author pointed out that there are “still a lot of hurt feelings on all sides,” adding: “It is not a very easy or comfortable situation. I don’t think it was ever going to be an easy or comfortable situation.”
Bradby concluded that the royals are not just a family but also “a firm,” making for “lots of tension” as they try to navigate their public lives with how to get along as relatives.
Us Weekly exclusively revealed earlier this month that William, 38, and Harry are on the path toward reconciliation. “It’s certainly been a roller coaster for everyone involved, especially the brothers, who are vowing not to let things get this out of hand in the future and have learned a lot from this difficult experience,” a source told Us.
A second insider said that Harry “doesn’t have any regrets about leaving the royal family whatsoever and is really happy” in the U.S. “He and Meghan are enjoying their new life in California — being a normal family and having the freedom to make their own decisions without anyone watching over them.”
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