THE feud between Prince Harry and his brother the Prince of Wales now "feels ugly" and is "terribly sad", according to a leading Royal expert.
Katie Nicholl was speaking out after the new trailer for the upcoming episodes of Harry and Meghan's Netflix documentary indicated Harry believes William has been better protected.
Ms Nicholl, the Royal Editor of Vanity Fair, told GB News: “It does feel ugly and this is the first time that Harry's actually said my brother, he's alleged that they - whether it's the Palace or whether it's the media - actually lie, which is a pretty serious thing to say, to protect William,
“I do think (this feeling) that William can do no wrong and Harry was always the full guy, I do think that has been the basis of years of resentment for Harry.
“For it to be reduced to this infighting and backbiting feels terribly, terribly sad.”
Harry and Meghan
Netflix
Reflecting on the content in the new trailer, which was aired yesterday she said: "I don't think it's any surprise that the trailer is as incendiary as it is…there were those teasers of what was to come and I think this latest trailer confirms that that you're going to have two really key themes in the next three episodes, the media and the Palace and specifically the relationship between the two.
“I suspect probably for the likes of someone like me that has covered the royals for the past sort of 15 or 16 years there will be points where it's going to feel pretty uncomfortable because it's very obvious that Harry feels that there has been a sort of unwritten pact between the media and the Palace and that he has suffered as a result of it.
“Well, let's be fair. That's kind of true. I mean, there is a royal protocol. There are journalists who come close to the royal family who have to adhere to certain rules
“You have to play by the rules, you have to play by the rulebook and newspapers know as well that if they fall foul…it doesn't get looked upon favourably.”
Speaking to Martin Daubney and Isabel Webster, she said: “There is absolutely a sort of ‘listen, if you don't play by the rules if you're if you're going to be difficult or break those rules, then you'll be out’ does happen. But I don't think that's to say that there is a sort of blanket ban on any negative coverage.
“With regards to Prince William I mean, I think he had a hard time and headlines not that long ago when he wasn't taking on as many royal duties as many people thought he ought to.
“And I remember one tabloid newspaper with a headline called ‘throne idle’ which was very much criticising William for not doing enough when his grandparents were still alive in their old age and working pretty hard.”
“So it's not to say the papers won't be critical of William.
“He also raises the episode over the Nazi uniform wearing scandal in the last three episodes and said it was his biggest mistake, his life's greatest regret. He was shopping with William for that costume when he chose it.
“William could have said well, maybe this isn't the best idea, he could have perhaps helped his brother out but it was Harry that got the flak for that.
“It was Harry that got the flak when his underage drinking was splashed all over the News the World back in 2002 but what wasn't made such a big deal of was that William was also at that pub.
“This idea of protecting the heir because Harry's the spare - and I think there is something to be said for the fact that a lot of this comes down to good old fashioned sibling rivalry.
“His book is called Spare. It's very clear that he's always had a problem with it.”
Katie Nicholl
GB News
On Harry’s media conspiracy theory, she said: “It does feel ugly and this is the first time that Harry's actually said my brother, he's alleged that they - whether it's the palace or whether it's the media - has actually lied, that's a pretty serious thing to say, to protect William,
“But I do think that theme that William can do no wrong and Harry was always the full guy, I do think that has been the basis of years of resentment for Harry.”
“For it to be reduced to this infighting and backbiting feels terribly, terribly sad.”