There’s a reason Prince Harry keeps speaking out about the Royal Family.
In a clip from his upcoming 60 Minutes interview with Anderson Cooper, the Duke of Sussex explained that his attempts to handle their issues internally have backfired. “Every single time I’ve tried to do it privately there have been briefings and leakings and planting of stories against me and my wife [Meghan Markle],” Harry told Cooper. “You know, the family motto is never complain, never explain, but it’s just a motto.”
In response, Cooper suggests, “there’s a lot of complaining and a lot of explaining…being done through leaks.” Harry appears to agree.
“They will feed or have a conversation with the correspondent,” Harry explained. “And that correspondent will literally be spoon-fed information and write the story. And at the bottom of it they will say that they’ve reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment. But the whole story is Buckingham Palace commenting. So when we’re being told for the last six years, ‘We can’t put a statement out to protect you.’ But you do it for other members of the family. It becomes– there becomes a point when silence is betrayal.” The full interview with Cooper will air on Sunday, January 8, on CBS.
CBS
This is not the first time Prince Harry has defended his decision to go public with his grievances since stepping back from his royal duties in 2020. Following the December 2022 release of Harry & Meghan, the Sussexes put out a response to criticism that their docuseries and interviews negate their supposed wish for a life away from the spotlight.
“Their statement announcing their decision to step back mentions nothing of privacy and reiterates their desire to continue their roles and public duties,” their press secretary Ashley Hansen said in a statement to The New York Times at the time. “Any suggestion otherwise speaks to a key point of this series. They are choosing to share their story, on their terms, and yet the tabloid media has created an entirely untrue narrative that permeates press coverage and public opinion. The facts are right in front of them.”
