Prince Harry has spoken about the exact moment the royal family turned their backs on him in the second instalment of Harry and Meghan on Netflix.
Following his and Meghan Markle's announcement that they were stepping back from their position as senior members of the royal family, Prince Harry said he sent an email to the "three most senior private secretaries in the royal family".
He requested a meeting to unpack what was happening in the media. But the meeting was "rejected".
Watch the trailer for Harry and Meghan Part Two. Post continues after video.
It wasn't until Meghan left to reunite with Archie in Canada that a meeting was booked "at Sandringham on the following Monday".
"It was clear to me that they had planned it so [Meghan would not be] in the room," Harry said.
The royal went on to say he had "happy memories" of Sandringham, but he was then forced to be at the country house under very different circumstances, in January 2020.
Whilst he went into the meeting with the proposal they had already made public, the royal family gave him five options.
"One being, all in, no change. Five being, all out. I chose option three in the meeting. Half in, half out," he explained. "Have our own jobs, but also work in support of the Queen.
"But it became very clear very quickly, that goal was not up for discussion or debate."
Prince Harry then opened up about the "terrifying" ordeal that followed.
"It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me, and my father say things that simply weren't true," he said. "And my grandmother quietly [to] sit there and take it all in."
"But you have to understand that from a family perspective, especially from hers, there are ways of doing things and her ultimate sort of mission, goal and responsibility is the institution.
"People around her are telling her, 'By the way that proposal, or these two doing X, Y, Z, is going to be seen as an attack on the institution,' then she's going to go on the advice that she's given."
Prince Harry admitted the situation was "really hard".
"That meeting finished without any solidified action plan," he said. "I think from their perspective they had to believe that it was more about us and maybe the issues we head, as opposed to their partner – the media – and themselves and that relationship that was causing so much pain for us."
"They saw what they wanted to see."
Prince Harry then explained the situation at Sandringham added to the rift between him and Prince William.
"I mean the saddest part of it was this wedge created between myself and my brother so that he's now on the institution's side, and part of that I get," he explained. "That's his inheritance."
He said media outlets reported they were "leaving" because Prince William "had bullied us out".
"Once I got in the car after the meeting, I was told about a joint statement that had been put out in my name and my brother's name," he explained. "[It was] squashing the story about him bullying us out of the family."
The royal then went on to reveal he had never been "asked" for permission to "put my name to a statement like that".
"I couldn't believe it," he recalled.
He went on to say his wife "burst into tears" following the press release, because the royal family had "been happy to lie to protect my brother, and yet for three years, they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us."
Meghan said it had "suddenly clicked" in her head that "it was never going to stop".
"Every rumour, every negative thing, every lie, everything that I knew wasn't true and the palace knew wasn't true... that was just being allowed to fester," she said.
Prince Harry said at that point there "was no other option" but to "get out of here".
Feature Image: Netflix.
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