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Prince Harry is “nervous” as he sees the royals go viral

Prince Harry described how his interactions with Prince William, King Charles III and other royals during his latest royal engagement “felt ice cold” in a clip that went viral on TikTok.

Harry and Meghan Markle announced they were leaving the palace in January 2020 and made their final visit as working royals at Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey in London in March of that year.

And he looked back on the dramatic moment in an interview for his documentary Harry and Meghanwhich appeared on Netflix in December 2022.

A clip of him talking about the experience went viral on TikTok with 270,000 views and nearly 7,000 likes after it was posted with the caption: “Prince Harry and Meghan talk about the coldness they felt from the family during their last engagement on.” Commonwealth Day 2020.” “

Prince Harry is “nervous” as he sees the royals go viral
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive at the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey on March 9, 2020 in London, England. Harry later described feeling “nervous” about seeing his family, including Prince William, Princess…


Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

The footage begins with Meghan saying: “The first time we saw the other family members in public was at Westminster Abbey.”

“We were nervous about seeing the family,” Harry continued. “Because all the TV cameras and everyone watching at home and everyone watching in the audience… it's like living through a soap opera where everyone else sees you as entertainment.”

“I felt really distant from the rest of my family, which was interesting because the way they work is so much about how it looks and not how it feels. And it looked cold. But it also felt cold.”

Commentators have since commented on Harry's facial expressions and the body language between the royals.

Robert Lacey's 2020 book Battle of the Brothers Read: “Observers also noted that Harry's face was 'quite tense and unsmiling' – and that William barely greeted his brother when he sat down next to him.”

“During the service, Meghan flashed her best TV smile, but as the ceremony progressed, Harry appeared darker.

“According to one observer, his rapid blinking even suggested he might be fighting back tears.”

The TikTok clip ended with a quote from Harry about a different – but also significant – moment in the royal feud, after a physical fight in which William threw Harry to the floor and broke the dog bowl.

After the row, the private office at Kensington Palace was split up and Harry and Meghan moved out to open a new office at Buckingham Palace.

“The reaction was about as expected,” Harry wrote. “The public groaned, journalists roared. The more discouraging reaction came from my family. Be silent.”

“They never commented publicly, never said anything to me privately. I never heard from Dad, never heard from Grandma. It made me think, really think, about the silence that surrounded everything else that happened to me and Meg.”

“Was it all just fake? Was it all just a show? Because if we couldn’t stand up for each other and rally around our newest member, our first biracial member, what would we really be?”

“Was this a real constitutional monarchy? Was this a real family? Isn’t ‘defending each other’ the first rule of every family?”

Jack Royston is Newsweekis chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and continue reading his stories Newsweekis the Royals' Facebook page.

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