Tom Bradby, an ITV news anchor and close friend of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, says that the two are being “driven out” by the royal family.
During an ITV broadcast on Thursday, the reporter said that “there have been a lot of fallouts” between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the royals. He added that “a lot of harsh things were said around the time of the wedding,” presumably referencing Meghan and Harry’s May 2018 nuptials.
He also said that the couple were forced to show their hand and make their big announcement on Wednesday, after news of their plans to step back reportedly leaked.
“Harry has been talking to his family for some weeks about all this. And certainly, as I understand it, what happened is he was asked by members of his family, or at least his officials, to put some of these ideas in writing,” Bradby said.
The reporter added that Harry said, “‘I really don’t want to do that because it normally leaks.’ And they were very insistent in order to go forward and discuss it properly it had to be put in writing. He did put it in writing, and it did leak.”
Bradby commented on reports that the royal family had no knowledge of Harry and Meghan’s announcement. The Evening Standard and CNN reported that Princes Charles and William had only 10 minutes of notice prior to the news, and that Harry directly defied Queen Elizabeth II’s order to not go through with their declaration.
“I don’t think [the royals] got much heads-up as to the actual announcement, but they certainly knew what was going on. I think [Harry] felt once it had been leaked all bets were off,” Bradby said.
On Thursday, multiple outlets reported that the Queen, Prince Charles and William were working to find a solution with the Sussexes. But Bradby anticipates that things will get worse before getting better.
“There are going to be so many complications, so many controversies,” he said. “There needs to be a peace deal really soon because this is so toxic, there’s so much anger and, to be honest with you at the moment it looks like it might get worse, not better.”
Bradby recently worked for the couple on their emotional ITV documentary, “Harry & Meghan: An African Journey,” which was released in October. In it, Harry addressed rumors of a rift with his brother and Meghan got teary when describing her mental state and how she’s coped with the press.
He was also a guest at the couple’s wedding on May 19, 2018.
As of Wednesday, Meghan was already on her way back to Canada, according to Harper’s Bazaar, where she and Harry reportedly left Archie with friend Jessica Mulroney.
The only official response to the couple’s announcement is still Buckingham Palace’s terse statement, which was released Wednesday.
“Discussions with The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage,” the palace said. “We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through.”
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