13 January 2024 , 09:00
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When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sensationally declared they were stepping down as working royals it shocked the world.
And among those left reeling by the bombshell news was the Royal Family itself with the late Queen calling an emergency meeting, which took place exactly four years ago today. Summoned to the so-called Sandringham Summit was Harry as well as his father King Charles, then Prince of Wales, and brother Prince William.
The point of the meeting with the late monarch was to thrash out the terms of Harry and Meghan's departure after their time as members of the Firm had begun to go sour. But according to Harry, the meeting left him 'terrified' - and he blamed it on his older brother.
The two brothers were called to the Sandringham SummitSpeaking in the controversial Netflix series Harry & Meghan, the prince claimed that William "screamed and shouted" at him, accused his father, King Charles, of saying things that "simply weren't true" and said the late Queen "sat there and took it all in".
He claimed: "I went in with the same proposal that we’d already made publicly, but once I got there I was given five options – one being all in, no change, five being all out. I chose option three in the meeting – half in, half out. Have our own jobs but also work in support of the Queen.
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"It became very clear very quickly that goal was not up for discussion or debate. It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that just simply weren’t true. And my grandmother, you know, quietly sit there and take it all in. But you have to understand that, from the family’s perspective, especially from hers, there are ways of doing things and her ultimate, sort of, mission, goal/responsibility is the institution."
Harry and Meghan in their Netflix series (Netflix)In the same show, Harry also rubbished claims he "blindsided" his late grandmother with his statement about quitting The Firm. He alleged he had discussed proposals to move to New Zealand, South Africa and Canada for months before they announced their plans. He said a letter he wrote to his father about the Canada move was leaked to the press.
He added: "This idea that I supposedly blindsided my grandmother just never happened. I have so much respect for her. It became clear that the institution had leaked the fact that we were moving back to Canada. And a key piece of that story that made me aware that the contents of the letter between me and my father had been leaked was that we were willing to relinquish our titles. That was a giveaway. I was like ‘Wow, our story, our lives, literally got taken from underneath us’."
However, there is no mention in Harry's bombshell memoir Spare of William "screaming and shouting" or of him being "terrified". Harry only says his brother "complained about a story in the morning papers suggesting that he was the reason we were leaving".
In the same section of Spare, Harry recounts talking with his brother in Sandringham's gardens and says "he was braced for a lecture". But he adds that it didn't come and that "Willy was subdued. He wanted to listen. For the first time in a long time my brother heard me out, and I was so grateful".