Prince Harry says the Queen 'wasn't angry' with him for quitting Royal Family as she 'knew what was going on'

9 January 2023, 15:28

By Kieran Kelly

@kellyjourno

The Queen was 'not angry or upset' about Harry and Meghan's decision to quit as working members of the royal family, the Duke of Sussex has claimed.

Speaking to Good Morning America ahead of his memoir's release tomorrow, Prince Harry said the Queen "knew how hard it was" for him and his wife prior to their departure.

"I had many, many conversations with her both in the UK over the years and in the run-up to the point of this change, so it was never a surprise to anybody, least of all her," Harry said.

"She knew what was going on. She knew how hard it was. I don't know whether she was in a position to be able to change it."

Harry's interview with Good Morning America comes amid a string of TV appearances ahead of the upcoming release of his book Spare, which accidentally went on sale in Spain days before its official release date.

The majority of Harry's most revealing claims have centred around Charles, Camilla and William, but in his latest interview, the Duke of Sussex spoke fondly about his relationship with his late grandmother.

He said: "My grandmother and I had a very good relationship."

Despite his startling revelations, Harry said he still believes the monarchy has a place in the world, though added he does not see himself returning to life as a working royal in the UK.

He said: “I don't think it's ever going to be possible, I don't think that even if there was an agreement or an arrangement between me and my family there's that third party that's going to do everything they can to make sure that that isn't possible, not stopping us from going back but making it unsurvivable.

“Because that's essentially breaking the relationship between us. There was something in the future where, you know, we can continue to support the Commonwealth that of course is on the table.”

Read More: Harry and Meghan ‘will not move back to Britain’ and won’t give up titles as popularity plummets to record low

Read More: Charles and Camilla wish Kate happy birthday in show of unity as Harry accused of ‘hanging family out to dry’

Earlier in another incendiary interview with CBS Harry swerved a question on why the couple haven’t renounced their titles. He told Anderson Cooper “what difference would that make?”

A poll published today shows Prince Harry's popularity has plummeted to a record low after the string of bombshell revelations ahead of the release of his book, Spare.

Around two-thirds of Britons (64%) have a negative view of the Duke of Sussex, up from 46% in September last year, the YouGov poll found.

Just 26% of Britons view Harry favourably, a dramatic drop from a previous high of 81% in November 2017 - after the duke started dating Meghan Markle.

As for the rest of the family, Harry's brother William, who has been hit with a number of damaging claims in the book, has also seen his popularity drop from 84% to 69%.