Meghan Markle’s famous interview ‘severed ITV star’s friendship with Prince William’
ITV’s royal reporter Tom Bradby famously asked Meghan Markle is she was doing OK as Prince Harry admitted he and his brother Prince William were on ‘different paths’
Meghan Markle was interviewed by ITV correspondent Tom Bradby (
Image: ITV)
Was Meghan Markle’s famous ITV interview the final nail in the coffin for their royal reporter’s relationship with Prince William?
Correspondent Tom Bradby is the man behind the memorable moment which saw the Duchess of Sussex taken aback when asked if she was OK. It was the same interview in which Prince Harry admitted he and his estranged brother were on “different paths”.
Bradby had been close friends with William and Harry for years, attending both brothers’ royal nuptials, as well as being a trusted contact in their phonebooks. Harry called regal reporters “just an extended PR arm of the Royal Family ” in his documentary on Netflix.
Tom attended both of the brothers’ royal weddings (
Image:
PA)
Meghan was asked if she was OK in the TV interview (
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)
But Tom was different, they were good friends. Now it’s reported that bond is now gone, from William’s perspective anyway. When covering the Sussexes’ trip to southern Africa in 2019, it would be the last time he’d hold a close bond with William who reportedly felt ‘blindsided’ by his interview with Harry and his wife Meghan before they left The Firm.
Royal advisors felt his chat took advantage of Harry’s “clear vulnerability” and Bradby later admitted feeling “caught in the middle” of the pair after once behind a close friend with them both. The ITV presenter said it was “a deeply uncomfortable place to be”.
“The friendship between William and Tom is over. The Prince feels let down by Bradby and the way he has acted over the past few months,” a source told MailOnline at the time. “William is a sensitive soul and believes it’s in times of crisis when you find out who your true friends are. It would be fair to say Bradby hasn’t been one of them,” they concluded.
The royals were not happy with the ‘vulnerability’ displayed in the interview, it was the first time Meghan was seen expressing those negative emotions on TV before the couple’s exit. It’s not the only controversy surrounding the couple’s relationship with the press.
Meghan was reportedly left “hysterical” after breaking strict rules Harry had set for her during another interview. Royal expert Tom Bower reveals in his book, Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War between the Windsors, that when Meghan gave her 2017 interview to Vanity Fair, Harry had specifically asked her not to discuss three particular topics.
The interview with journalist Sam Kashner took place two months before Meghan and Harry announced their engagement and was supposed to focus on her role in the popular TV series Suits and her mixed-race heritage. Bower claims Meghan tried to steer the conversation away from her relationship with Harry as per his request.
Tom was really good friends with both Harry and William (
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ITV)Don’t Miss
He wrote: “Kashner arrived at Meghan’s home and was told that his interviewee had been given strict instructions by both Harry and Keleigh Thomas Morgan [a publicist at PR firm Sunshine Sachs]. Knowing that Diana and Sarah Ferguson had ruined their reputations in interviews, Harry had asked Meghan to keep quiet about sensitive subjects – Donald Trump, race, their relationship and especially himself. He was not to be mentioned.”
However, despite these precautions, things didn’t go as planned when Meghan appeared on the magazine cover with the headline “She’s Just Wild About Harry.” Bower added how Meghan was left in tears after seeing the piece, and “within hours, Meghan called Ken Sunshine [founder of Sunshine Sachs Consultants] and Keleigh Thomas Morgan.”
He added: “Hysterically, she described Buckingham Palace’s fury at ‘Wild About Harry’. Sunshine Sachs said Meghan should have ensured that her comments about Harry were removed. Why wasn’t the focus on her philanthropy and activism?”