Prince William was said to be ‘completely broken’ after the Sandringham Summit in 2020, during which the royal family discussed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s future.Emma Mackenzie Lifestyle Writer and Emma O’Neill Assistant Live News Editor
12:20, 01 Jun 2025
Prince William ‘grieved’ for Harry after shock move(Image: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
When Prince Harry and Meghan announced their intention to step back as senior members of the Royal Family, the entire nation was left reeling from the revelation. The couple found life under Royal scrutiny too much to handle, issuing a bombshell statement about relinquishing their roles as full-time royals.
Originally, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex desired to continue serving the monarchy in a reduced capacity, forgoing the public funds they received as full-time working royals to earn a private income.
A crisis meeting was swiftly convened, bringing together senior members of the Royal Family at what would come to be called the ‘Sandringham Summit’. The late Queen Elizabeth summoned King Charles, Prince William, and Prince Harry, alongside her private secretary, to resolve the future of the Sussexes.
Channel 5’s new programme, ‘Megxit: Inside The Sandringham Summit’, delves deep into the private negotiations of this pivotal meeting, offering fresh perspectives from experts and commentators on the talks that led to the couple’s complete departure from monarchical duties.
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The documentary discloses, through a Royal expert, that following the conclusion of these discussions, Prince William was left profoundly affected and “completely broken” by his brother’s decision, reports the Mirror.
Royal commentator Charlotte Griffiths shared insights, saying, “William must have felt such a sense of relief, but also great sadness because he was really, officially losing his brother.
“What I heard at the time was that William started grieving for his brother at that point, really grieving, like he’d lost, not only his mother, years ago, but his brother as well and I think he was just genuinely quite sad, and completely broken”.
Meghan’s absence from the Sandringham Summit was noted, with her in Canada and unable to participate remotely, leaving Harry to confront his family alone.
Following the summit, which resulted in a complete severance of Royal ties, Harry lost his police protection – a provision he has long sought to regain for UK visits, as detailed in his memoir ‘Spare’.
Post-summit, Harry and William took a moment for private reflection in the Sandringham gardens, as disclosed in the documentary.
Royal biographer Andrew Morton mentioned, “Harry expected to be treated by a harangue from his brother,” but instead, “Harry got the chance to do what he wanted to do, which was explain himself to his brother,” according to Jack Royston, Newsweek’s Royal correspondent.
“William didn’t argue back, he listened,” the specialist remarked, “I think it was important for Harry to feel like he had a chance to say his piece, and it was important for William to come away from it feeling like he didn’t turn it into a big argument or shut it down.”
The frosty rapport between William and Harry is well known, with the siblings becoming rather distant over recent years.
While William was probably mourning the loss of his brother from Royal duties in 2020, the situation deteriorated further after Meghan and Harry’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, where they explained their decision to leave the UK.
In the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix documentary series, a poignant scene showed Harry receiving a text from William post-interview. Although the content of the message wasn’t revealed, Harry appeared on the brink of tears upon reading it.
The Sussexes have been quite vocal about their issues with the Royal Family. Notably, Harry disclosed in an interview with the BBC following his lost police security appeal, that King Charles refuses to speak to him and shared concerns about the monarch’s remaining time.
Despite Harry’s wishes for familial reconciliation, Royal commentator Jennie Bond expressed uncertainty about his future on Sky News, confessing she “doesn’t know where he goes from here”.
“He’s bristling with anger and resentment and mistrust of the royal household, and despair over his father’s attitude, I suppose. It’s just such a sad and sorry saga. I would hope there might be some kind of reconciliation but although Harry says he wants reconciliation, he doesn’t think he can do that now.”
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