PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle made the Queen’s last few years a “complete misery”, according to a royal expert.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex sensationally stepped down from royal duties in 2020 and publicly criticised the family in their 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview.
Prince Harry made the Queen’s last few years a ‘misery’ claims a royal expert[/caption]
The Queen was said to be ‘extremely close’ to her grandson[/caption]
The Sussexes stepped down from royal duties in 2020[/caption]
This was just before Queen Elizabeth II passed away at the age of 96 in September 2022.
Speaking on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show, royal author and commentator Phil Dampier said: “I just think that she worked her whole life trying to make sure that the monarchy succeeded after her.
“And the legacy was the most important thing to her and the Commonwealth, of course, as well.
“It must have been absolutely heartbreaking for her to see what was happening with Prince Andrew and what was happening with Harry and Meghan leaving in her final years.
“To cope with that as she was approaching the end and Prince Philip died and all this happened right at the end of her life.
“I think it must have been absolutely heartbreaking for her.”
The royal expert added that it is “probably the thing that people won’t forgive Harry and Meghan for making her last years a bit of a misery.”
Phil claimed that the reason that the “pragmatic” Queen will have been so affected emotionally by the Sussexes’ actions is due to them being close family.
He added: “She’s very, very tough, very pragmatic.
“But I think deep down she was a grandmother and she was very, very fond of Harry.
“I mean, I think they were extremely close and probably the two most popular royals that we had at the time.”
He stated that the Queen had “carved out” a special role for Prince Harry and Meghan and had wanted them to continue doing royal duties.
Phil pointed out: “She thought they’d be fantastic as her ambassadors throughout the Commonwealth.
“And so they were going to go all over the world.
“And they started off doing that, and she thought they’d be absolutely fantastic.
“But I just don’t think she [Meghan] ever intended to stay in the royal family.”
FAMILY FEUD
Prince Harry and Prince William are currently estranged, following his actions after stepping down[/caption]
The Sussexes criticised the royal family during their chat with Oprah Winfrey[/caption]
The Sussexes now live in the A-list Montecito in California, with Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four.
The bitter feud was ignited when the Sussexes told Oprah, in their 2021 sit down interview, that certain members of the Royal Family had speculated about Prince Archie’s skin colour.
During the infamous Oprah interview, the duchess also made stinging comments about the Firm and how they handled her mental health struggles.
Prince William and Harry’s bond then worsened after the Sussexes made a number of accusations against the Royal Family in their 2022 Netflix docuseries.
CLOSE BOND
The Queen is said to have been keen that Harry ‘found his feet’ in California[/caption]
Prince Philip’s friend Gyles Brandreth previously gave an insight into the late monarch’s relationship with the Duke of Sussex.
An excerpt of the book, published in The Mail On Sunday says: “I know she was anxious that Harry should ‘find his feet’ in California and ‘find really useful things to do’.
“The Queen was devoted to Harry. She loved him, she thought him ‘huge fun’, and she truly wished him well in his new life abroad.
“Whenever Harry called his grandmother from Montecito, he was always put through to Her Majesty immediately.”
It was also revealed the Queen secretly fought painful cancer in the final year of her life.
Her late Majesty is said to have had a form of bone marrow cancer, which symptoms include bone pain, before her death.
Her death certificate officially recorded her cause of death as “old age”.
Inside Prince William and Prince Harry’s ‘feud’
TENSIONS have been running high in the royal family since Prince Harry stepped down from royal duties in 2020 and relocated to California with Meghan Markle.
Their last reported interaction was during the funeral of their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September 2022, but conversations were said to be brief.
The feuding brothers reportedly did not speak to each other despite standing “virtually back to back” among mourners at their uncle’s memorial service last year.
Growing up, Wills and Harry shared many of the same friends who were part of their close, tight-knit circle.
But their relationship took a sour turn after Harry lobbed vile allegations against the Prince of Wales in his memoir Spare – and they are said to have not been in direct contact since the 2023 release.
In the book, he claimed William had physically attacked him and knocked him to the floor in 2019 and made insulting comments about Meghan.
The Sussexes had also targeted Princess Kate, when Meghan claimed the royal made her cry.
The bitter feud was ignited when the Sussexes told Oprah, in their 2021 sit down interview, that certain members of the Royal Family had speculated about Prince Archie’s skin colour.
It was later claimed the royals were Princess Kate and King Charles, after Harry and Meghan’s former pal Omid Scobie published his hatchet-job book Endgame.
During the infamous Oprah interview, the duchess also made stinging comments about the Firm and how they handled her mental health struggles.
Prince William and Harry’s bond then worsened after the Sussexes made a number of accusations against the Royal Family in their 2022 Netflix docuseries.
The duke has given subsequent interviews, such as his most BBC chat in May 2025, that have only propelled bad blood.
