The late Princess Diana would have totally gotten involved when it comes to the reported tension in her sons’ once close relationship, royal reporter Omid Scobie tells 360aproko. 360aproko recently spoke to Scobie about his new tell-all book with fellow royal reporter Carolyn Durand, titled Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, which is out now.
The book provides an in-depth look into Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle’s, courtship and the struggles they’ve faced in the spotlight. One major incident the book discusses is sources saying that 35-year-old Harry got upset at his older brother, 38-year-old Prince William, for initially warning him about the speed of his romance with Meghan. According to the book, the conversation prompted a big rift between the brothers.
“There’s an important moment in the book where William sits down with Harry to sort of express some of his own concerns about the speed at which the relationship was moving — now that’s great brotherly advice, and especially if it was asked for,” Scobie tells Nischelle Turner. “But what we have to remember in the build up to that, that Harry was already aware of some of the things that were being said about Meghan within the institution. He was already aware of some of the disparaging comments that are being made behind his back by some of his own [friends]. And so when William came to them with this conversation, I can see how it may have come across as yet another unsupportive individual at a time when he needed someone to have his back.”
“You know, Harry has often been sort of singled out as the young, immature one of the household,” he continues. “That doesn’t always get it right. And here’s a man who is now well in his 30s and found his way in life and felt he was doing it right. But it was then being questioned. … So, you can see how things may have sort of changed from that point onwards, and I have heard from sources close to William that he very much regrets having that conversation.”
Scobie tells 360aproko that, in his opinion, Princess Diana would have gotten involved to fix her sons’ relationship and also to defend Harry and 39-year-old Meghan when it came to their treatment within the royal family.
“Diana definitely would’ve got Harry and William together and made them work through their issues,” Scobie says. “I think transparency was always something really important to Diana, and it’s something we haven’t seen a lot of in the recent months or the past few years with Harry and Meghan and their treatment of them within the royal family. Diana would’ve stood up for them and she would’ve seen the position they were in mirrors some of the challenges that she faced within the institution too, but I think one thing we have to remember with Harry and William’s relationship today is it’s not over.”
“The bond of brotherhood to Harry is incredibly important, and I think that they will be back in each other’s lives at some point,” he continues. “You know, the pandemic has not been helpful, we have all been apart from our loved ones — the ones that we get on with and the ones that we don’t — but we have seen Harry keep relations with other members of the royal family and speaking with her majesty the queen on a regular basis. Both he and Meghan and [their son] Archie regularly Zoom with Prince Charles, and we know that his coronavirus battle really brought them together, so, relationships are moving forward beyond the ending of this book, and I think that’s really encouraging, and maybe that gives us hope for Harry and William in the future.”
Scobie also said he saw definite similarities between Harry and his late mother, with Harry still looking to Princess Diana for guidance even after her death.
“There was one standout moment where Harry gave a speech for Sentebale, one of the charities that he’s affiliated with, just after making the announcement to step back,” Scobie recalls. “And he spoke about why it is that they were making this move and thanking people who had been part of their journey so far. And he thanked them for the education that they had given him. And I remember at the time thinking the words really familiar. I looked back at that speech that Diana gave at a charity engagement when she officially stood back from her official public duties. And the words almost mirrored each other, and it was like Harry had gone back and looked up what his mother had said at such an important time in his life because, of course, he can’t ask her for that advice himself. So he instead looks at the path that she already took on. And so there are these moments where we see a similarity in the decision she makes. And I’m sure that that in itself makes Harry realize that he is doing the right thing and that his mother would approve.”
Meanwhile, Scobie told 360aproko that he spoke with 100 sources and friends of Harry and Meghan for the book, who were upset with how they were being treated in the media.
“Harry and Meghan didn’t take part in the process or do any interviews,” Scobie says. “But my co-author and I found that many of the friends who agreed to speak were so frustrated of the coverage of their friends. They felt the people they were seeing on these pages were not their friends, the people they knew. This was a unique chance for us to put aside the story that wasn’t out there for others who want to hear it.”
A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan released a statement ahead of the book’s publication on Tuesday, stating, “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not interviewed and did not contribute to Finding Freedom. This book is based on the authors’ own experiences as members of the royal press corps and their own independent reporting.”
