Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s ‘greatest sin’ laid bare

The behaviour of Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, since quitting royal duties in 2020 has done “considerable damage” to the monarchy, a leading royal commentator has said. Since leaving the Firm and relocating to America, the couple have conducted high-profile interviews, created a Netflix docuseries, and Harry has released a tell-all memoir.

Leading royal expert, Richard Fitzwilliams, highlights their “greatest sin”. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, he said: “Their greatest sin was to make Queen Elizabeth’s last years difficult ones. “Their interview on Oprah, much of which has since been discredited, did considerable damage to the monarchy at a time when Prince Philip, who died the next month, was in hospital.” He continued: “They have learnt little, only last week, interviewed in an interminably lengthy podcast, Meghan spoke again about her ‘truth’.”

Meghan Markle recently appeared as a podcast guest on ‘Aspire with Emma Grede’, where she spoke about her new brand, As Ever, and progression with her family life after moving to America. Mr Fitzwilliams explained: “The truth is they have never faced questioning about any of their claims about the Royal Family. They have simply twisted the truth to suit themselves.

“Further trouble for the Royal Family came with the Harry and Meghan docuseries for Netflix, which had huge ratings. Then came Harry’s memoir Spare and the interviews promoting it and new revelations made headlines around the world.” Prince Harry’s Spare, became an instant publishing sensation when it was first published on January 10 in 2023, selling more than six million copies in both print and audio worldwide. Ghostwritten by journalist J.R. Moehringer, it also set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest-selling nonfiction book of all time.

The critical reception of Spare was mixed, with some reviewers praising the prose but questioning whether Harry went too far into airing grievances. Mr Fitzwilliams added: “In normal circumstances, the obstacles to reconciliation would seem surmountable. However, the last five years have been extremely difficult for the royal family, because of illness and because of the Sussexes’ brutally destructive behaviour as well as Andrew’s disgrace.”

Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth’s second son, stopped royal duties in 2022 as a result of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein and allegations of sexual assault. Prince Andrew has consistently denied accusations of sexual assault made by the late Virginia Giuffre in 2021. She previously filed a civil lawsuit against him, but the case was settled for an undisclosed sum.