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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Zoe Forsey & Jennifer Newton

'Terrified' Harry says William 'screamed' at Megxit meeting while Queen 'quietly sat there'

Prince Harry claims he was "terrified" when his brother Prince William "screamed and shouted" at him during a meeting to discuss his royal future at the now infamous 'Sandringham Summit'.

The Duke of Sussex also accused his father, King Charles, of saying things that "simply weren't true" while the late Queen "sat there and took it all in".

Harry and wife Meghan Markle shocked the world when they revealed their plans to quit the royal family on Instagram, resulting in an emergency meeting at the family's Sandringham estate to hash out the details a few days later.

Speaking in the Sussexes' new Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, the prince says: “I went in with the same proposal that we’d already made publicly, but once I got there I was given five options – one being all in, no change, five being all out.

“I chose option three in the meeting – half in, half out. Have our own jobs but also work in support of the Queen.

(Getty Images)

“It became very clear very quickly that goal was not up for discussion or debate. It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that just simply weren’t true. And my grandmother, you know, quietly sit there and take it all in.

“But you have to understand that, from the family’s perspective, especially from hers, there are ways of doing things and her ultimate, sort of, mission, goal/responsibility is the institution.”

Harry also claims the Palace put out a joint statement on claims William 'bullied' out of the royal family on his behalf without his permission.

In the new interview Harry also rubbishes claims he "blindsided" his grandmother with his statement about quitting The Firm.

He claims he had discussed proposals to move to New Zealand, south Africa and Canada for months before they announced their plans. He says a letter he wrote to his father about the Canada move was leaked to the press.

Harry recalls a letter being leaked (Netflix)

In the fifth episode of the Netflix series Harry & Meghan, he said: “It became clear that the institution had leaked the fact that we were moving back to Canada.

“And a key piece of that story that made me aware that the contents of the letter between me and my father had been leaked was that we were willing to relinquish our titles.

“That was a giveaway. I was like ‘Wow, our story, our lives, literally got taken from underneath us’.”

Meghan later adds: “You could feel the ticking clock from that point. So with our team we decided that we were going to put out a statement to say that we were going to, sadly, be stepping back, not stepping down, but to just have a reduced role.”

It's the first time a member of the royal family has opened up about the private meeting (AFP/Getty Images)

Harry added: “For my whole life the purse strings have been controlled by my father. Within a family, it’s normal to have that financial control over other members of the family.”

Meghan said their intentions to continue supporting the Queen and the Commonwealth were “in black and white” in the statement. Then the documentary cuts to news coverage of the fallout with news presenters’ voices saying Charles and William were only sent a copy of the statement 10 minutes before it was released.

“This idea that I supposedly blindsided my grandmother just never happened. I have so much respect for her,” Harry said.

Meghan added: “This has been on going for months and months. I think in some people’s mind this was me going: ‘Post!’ – What?”

The royal family declined Netflix's offer to comment on the contents of the show.

Harry claims his family were well aware of his and Meghan's plans (Getty Images)

The new claims are just the latest to emerge from the six-part Netflix series, the first half of which dropped last week.

In an earlier episode where he claimed relatives asked why Meghan should be "protected" from media speculation, alleging he was told it was something all royal women - including Princess Diana and Kate - have to go through.

Speaking in episode two of Harry & Meghan the Duke claimed the Palace told them to say nothing when it came to stories printed about them - which is in line with the family's 'Never Complain, Never Explain' motto.

He tells the camera that his relatives said their wives had to endure press intrusion in the early days of their relationships, so when he started dating Meghan she shouldn't expect any special treatment.

As he speaks, a montage of photographers taking snaps of his mum Princess Diana, Sarah Ferguson and the then Kate Middleton plays over his voice.

Harry says: "The direction from the Palace was don’t say anything.

“But what people need to understand is, as far as a lot of the family were concerned, everything that she was being put through, they had been put through as well.

“So it was almost like a rite of passage, and some of the members of the family were like ‘my wife had to go through that, so why should your girlfriend be treated any differently? Why should you get special treatment? Why should she be protected?'”

“I said ‘the difference here is the race element’.”

Meghan adds: "It was horrible, but I continued to hold the line and say nothing. "

It comes after Harry has shared a tense relationship with his family since he quit his royal role with wife Meghan Markle back in 2020.

He hit out at his father King Charles during his interview with Oprah Winfrey, accusing his dad of cutting him off financially.

He also said his father and brother were unable to escape the royal system. He said: "Trapped within the system, like the rest of my family are. My father and my brother, they are trapped. They don’t get to leave. And I have huge compassion for that."

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