"Keen to correct": How Charles wanted to respond to the Oprah interview
In true royal fashion, the monarchy's response to the Harry and Meghan interview was brief and to the point, but if Prince Charles had his way, it would have been a fiery rebuttal.
According to royal expert Katie Nichol, the Prince of Wales' initial reaction to Harry and Meghan's damaging claims to Oprah was to compile a "point by point" response to set straight some of the couple's explosive allegations.
His son Prince William is believed to have taken his father's side, but the Palace decided against it so not to give "more ammunition" to the former royals.
Appearing on ET, Nicholl said both Charles, 72, and William, 38, were "keen to correct some" of what was said by the Sussexes as they sat down with Oprah Winfrey on the other side of the world earlier this month.
“My understanding is that Prince Charles did want to issue a more detailed statement (in response) to the Oprah interview and possibly address some of those issues point by point,” Katie Nicholl told ET this week.
“But there was an evening to think about things and in the end, it was decided that a shorter statement would be better, (and) that going at things point by point could be potentially more damaging and give more ammunition for the row to continue.
“I think Prince Charles and Prince William were keen to correct some of the things that the couple had said,” she added.
Some of the shocking allegations included someone from the royal family raising concerns over the colour of Archie's skin, him being denied the title of prince because of his background, and Kate Middleton making Meghan cry before her wedding.
Harry also accused Charles of refusing to take his calls and "cutting the couple off" financially.
Responding to the direct hit, Nicholl said Prince Charles was “particularly frustrated” by the suggestion he had not provided financial assistance for the pair.
“If you speak to sources in Charles’ camp, that wasn’t the case,” she said.
“He did continue funding them for quite some time after they moved first to Canada and then to America.
“So yes, I think there was at one point the feeling that they did want to address more than just the issue of race.”
According to a royal insider, Charles felt "enormously let down" by Meghan and Harry after they had dropped that an unnamed royal had expressed concern over Archie's skin colour, a claim which prompted a global guessing game.
“The Prince believes in diversity and his actions show that,” the source said, seemingly rejecting speculation Charles was the royal in question.
“He was the first person to highlight the Windrush generation and the contributions they made to British society.
“He has worked hard for the Muslim community.
“Of all the members of the royal family, he has taken this issue the most seriously.”
US media personality Gayle King, who is a close friend of both Oprah and Meghan, revealed Harry had had "unproductive" talks with both his brother and father after the TV appearance.
King said the couple were still upset at the palace and claims no one from the royal family has reached out to Meghan, describing it as “frustrating”.
“Houston, we have a problem here. That’s really all they want. They want a conversation. They both want a conversation,” King said.
“I’m not trying to break news, but I did actually call them to see how they were feeling, and it’s true, Harry has talked to his brother and he has talked to his father too.
“The word I was given was that those conversations were not productive. But they are glad that they have at least started a conversation.”
She continued: “I think what is still upsetting to them is the palace keep saying they want to work it out privately, but yet, they believe these false stories are coming out that are very disparaging against Meghan, still.”
Buckingham Palace has insisted it will make no further comment on the allegations.