Prince William Was ‘Literally Sick With Worry’ Before Harry and Meghan’s Oprah Interview
It seems Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Oprah interview had Prince William majorly on edge. A commentator says the Prince of Wales went so far as to “cut himself off from the world” ahead of the 2021 TV special.
William didn’t eat, hid ‘away’ before Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview aired
Prior to Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview, which aired in the U.S. on March 7, 2021, wasn’t a particularly pleasant period for William. According to Charlotte Griffiths, The Mail on Sunday’s editor-at-large, the now-41-year-old was “in bits” ahead of the broadcast.
“What I find quite surprising, and I’ve heard this for a long time now from many different sources, is that in the lead up to that Oprah interview, William was quite literally sick with worry,” she said on Dan Wootton’s GB News show (via Mirror).
William, Griffiths continued, “was not eating, and he became — not reclusive — but he definitely was hiding away. He went to a royal residence for a period of time to cut himself off from the world. He was just in bits, basically.”
William came up with the ‘recollections may vary’ line in the palace’s response to the Oprah interview
Buckingham Palace’s statement regarding Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview, which came two days after it aired in the U.S., reportedly had input from William. It was he, per the paperback edition of Valentine Low’s Courtiers biography, who was behind the memorable “recollections may vary” phrase (via Mirror).
While William and his wife, Kate Middleton, both wanted a more “toughened up” statement, the now-Princess of Wales really pushed for it to be included.
“What Kate was doing was standing by her man,” Griffiths said. “Kate was like, ‘I’ve got to stick up for this guy and protect him. He’s being destroyed by this.’”
“That probably made her quite steely even though she has this reputation for being shy,” Griffiths continued. “But when it comes to protecting her husband, she’s going to step in and protect him.”
Prince William texted Prince Harry after the Oprah interview
Netflix’s Harry & Meghan docuseries showed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in the immediate aftermath of their Oprah interview. At home in Montecito, California, Meghan talked to Tyler Perry, Princess Lilibet’s godfather, on the phone about the palace’s statement. During their conversation, William, it seemed, had reached out to Harry.
“What am I looking at? Wow,” Meghan said as Harry held his phone out to her. “H just got a text from his brother,” she told Perry.
“I wish I knew what to do,” Harry said, to which Meghan replied, “I know,” hugging her husband before adding, “Let’s take a breather, get some air, and then decide.”
William also responded publicly, albeit very briefly, to Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview publicly. He denied racism claims after Harry and Meghan revealed “how dark” Prince Archie’s skin would be was discussed among royals ahead of their now-4-year-old son’s May 2019 birth. Harry later dismissed suggestions of royal family racism, dubbing it “unconscious bias.”
