“Endgame”, Omid Scobie’s new book analysing the Sussexes‘ relationship with the rest of the Royal Family, will be unveiled on Tuesday 28 November. Excerpts already leaked to the press have revealed that despite gifts being sent to George, Charlotte and Louis at a recent Christmas, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were left unthanked by the Prince and Princess of Wales. Christmas magic doesn’t always work.
That’s the hard lesson Prince Harry and Meghan Markle learned the year they sent presents to George, Charlotte and Louis without their parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, bothering to thank the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The news comes as a new extract from British journalist Omid Scobie’s book Endgame has leaked to the press. Although the year in question has not been revealed, our editors think they can pinpoint a window, encompassing the end-of-year celebrations of 2020, 2021 and 2022. On 31 March 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the ranks of the Royal Family to move to America.
Although relations between the youngest son of King Charles III and his elder brother were beginning to strain by this time – as witness the extract from The Substitute, in which the Duke of Sussex revealed that Kate Middleton’s husband had shouted at him during a crisis meeting at Sandringham – dialogue still seemed open.
The following year, in March 2021, a year after their departure from the royal family, Archie and Lilibet’s parents gave an explosive interview to Oprah Winfrey, in which they took aim at the rest of the Windsors and the establishment. Yet even this blow to the Crown had not totally damaged the relationship between the heir to the throne and his brother. In the summer of that year, the two sons of Charles III met in the gardens of Kensington Palace to unveil a statue of their mother, Princess Diana. Their broad smiles reflected the joy of their reunion and the closeness of the two brothers.
When did the relationship fall apart?
Prince William may have been able to overlook the comments made by his brother and sister-in-law to Oprah Winfrey, but his patience has its limits. In July 2021, the Duke of Sussex announced that he was working on his memoirs.
This news drove a wedge between him and the rest of his family. At Prince Philip’s funeral, Charles III’s youngest son was relegated to the background, persona non grata. Then came contracts with Spotify, then Netflix, whose Harry & Meghan documentary was unveiled just before the 2022 Christmas celebrations.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex even released the trailer for the project at the same time as the Prince and Princess of Wales embarked on their American tour, in preparation for the second Earthshot Awards ceremony. Coincidence? It does seem a bit far-fetched…
Photo credits: Agence / Bestimage