As Prince Harry is about to release his first memoir next year to tell his side of the story, the Queen’s legal team is consulting libel experts in anticipation of new attacks from the Sussexes, according to a bombshell report by The Sun.
It was claimed that the 95-year-old monarch has just had “enough” from the US-based couple, who could not stop complaining about their experiences as senior royals.
“This is long overdue to be honest. It is about time the Sussexes were called out on their treachery and punished fully for their ignorant and arrogant actions and statements”, argues Thomas Mace-Archer-Mills, founder and director of the non-partisan British Monarchists Society.
The royal expert believes that the palace is currently “in defence mode” and “a response to the Sussexes should have been forthcoming months and months ago”.
Prince Harry and Meghan claimed in March during their scandalous Oprah Winfrey interview that there had been one unnamed royal at Buckingham Palace who had “concerns” about the skin colour of their yet-unborn son Archie, but refused to reveal the person’s name. Later, Harry accused his father Prince Charles of failing to protect him from media attacks while he was a kid, while Meghan also repeatedly talked about her mental health struggles that she said were ignored by palace aides.
Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in this undated handout photo.
© REUTERS / Handout .
The couple, whose popularity in the UK has plunged significantly in recent months, also signed several deals for the production of unique content with Netflix and Spotify, but it’s unclear what will come out of this. Meanwhile, the royal world also dreads what kind of “truth bombs” Prince Harry will share in his upcoming “intimate” biography.
According to The Sun’s report, the Queen’s legal team is now considering contacting Harry's publishers at Penguin Random House to ask for “advance warning of its contents” and preparing libel suits just in case.
Mace-Archer-Mills believes that the royal family is a brand and the Queen has a full right to defend it from any sort of libel and “slanderous damage”, although any potential lawsuit against other family members would be unprecedented.
However, “personal relationships within the Royal family are already strained and this impact will not change anything”, the society’s founder adds.
Richard Fitzwilliams, a royal commentator and consultant, still believes that the report about an upcoming legal pushback is “improbable” and readers should remain sceptical about the Queen’s alleged efforts to put her grandson and his wife down:
“The hope is that there will be some sort of reconciliation or, at least, that the Sussexes will cease their criticism of the institution as they create their own future in the United States”, Fitzwilliams suggests.
Prince Harry and Meghan left the United Kingdom in March 2020 to relocate to the United States, where they decided to start a “simple life” in an £11-million mansion with their son Archie, who was joined by his sister Lilibet "Lili" Diana in June.