Prince Harry recalls feeling ‘nervous’ and ‘distant’ from family during final royal engagement

LONDON, ENGLAND: Prince Harry has opened up about the "cold" reception he and Meghan Markle got from the royal family during their final outing as serving royals before the couple permanently moved from the UK.

In a recently resurfaced clip from his documentary 'Harry & Meghan', Prince Harry candidly discussed the atmosphere at the event to mark Commonwealth Day in March 2020.

The interview segment, which has gone viral on TikTok, garnered over 270,000 views and nearly 7,000 likes, capturing the attention of many as Harry and Meghan Markle reflect on their last moments as working royals, according to Newsweek.

Prince Harry reveals 'living through a soap opera' during family gathering

Prince Harry recounted the tense environment during the event at Westminster Abbey, which was the first time the Duke and Duchess of Sussex met the royal family members after announcing the decision to relocate to the US.

Meghan Markle is heard saying in the footage: "The first time we saw the other members of the family in public was at Westminster Abbey."

"We were nervous seeing the family," Harry shared. He continued, "Because all the TV cameras and everyone watching at home and everybody watching in the audience... it's like living through a soap opera where everybody else views you as entertainment."

Harry described a profound sense of distance from his family, saying, "I felt really distant from the rest of my family which was interesting because so much of how they operate is about what it looks like rather than what it feels like. And it looked cold. But it also felt cold."

Adding to the intensity of the moment, an observer noted in the clip, "His accelerated blinking even suggested he might have been fighting back tears," underscoring the emotional weight on Harry at the event.

Prince Harry opens up about physical altercation with brother William

The clip also touched on a significant incident in the royal rift, where Prince Harry described a physical altercation with his brother, Prince William, as per The Guardian.

In his memoir, 'Spare', Prince Harry revealed a tense confrontation with his brother, Prince William, during which William allegedly described Meghan Markle as “difficult,” “rude,” and “abrasive".

Harry criticizes this characterization as a “parrot[ing of] the press narrative” about his wife. The altercation reportedly escalated when William “grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and … knocked me to the floor,” resulting in visible injuries to Harry's back.

Following the fight, which resulted in broken dog bowl, Harry reflected on the aftermath and the silence from his family. "Reaction was about as expected," he wrote.

"The public groaned, journalists brayed. The more disheartening response was from my family. Silence. They never commented publicly, never said anything privately to me. I never heard from Pa, never heard from Granny."

Harry expressed the impact of this silence on his understanding of family dynamics within the royal family.

"It made me think, really think, about the silence that surrounded everything else that happened to me and Meg. Was it all fake? Was it all just a show? Because if we couldn't stand up for one another, rally around our newest member, our first biracial member, then what were we really?" he questioned.

"Was that a true constitutional monarchy? Was that a real family? Isn't 'defending each other' the first rule of every family?"