The Duke of Sussex reappears to point out the person responsible for his pain. In a recent event, he verbalized the reason why the wound with his father remains open, and it has a proper name: Meghan Markle. The protection, or lack thereof, for his wife has become the epicenter of a family conflict that seems to have no end.
When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said "I do," the whole world believed they were witnessing a modern fairy tale. However, reality quickly set in, turning that idyllic story into a true media nightmare.
The constant pressure and public scrutiny undermined the foundations of his relationship with the Crown, a fracture that today seems deeper than ever. The memory of those days remains very present for King Charles III's youngest son, who has decided to break his silence to send a new and forceful message to the palace.
The wound that won't heal: "My wife was the most defamed person in the world"
Prince Harry has reappeared unexpectedly in New York, alone, to participate in the Nexus Global summit. An event that brings together influential philanthropists and entrepreneurs, and that became the unexpected stage for his most personal statements. Far from focusing solely on the work of his Archewell Foundation, the Duke of Sussex opened his heart to reveal the main reason for his estrangement from King Charles III.
During a public conversation with Rachel Gerrol, co-founder of the summit, Harry explained that one of the driving forces behind creating his foundation was the traumatic experience his wife went through. The Duke recounted how harassment on social media and in the press led them to meet parents who had lost their children for this reason, a tragedy that made them realize the urgency to act. It was then that he made the statement that resonates as a clear accusation.
"One of the reasons why the digital world was so important to us is because my wife, in 2018, was the most defamed person in the world," he stated emphatically.
These words aren't new, but the context in which he says them is. Harry points directly to a specific period, 2018, a year in which Meghan was practically out of the public eye, on maternity leave after the birth of their son Archie.
As the Duchess herself confessed in a podcast in 2020, the level of attacks she received was "almost insurmountable." For Harry, the fact that his father, then Prince of Wales, didn't intervene to stop what he considered a smear campaign against his wife is an unforgivable offense.
A trip to South Africa as a point of no return
To understand the magnitude of the crisis, it is necessary to go back to 2019. The official trip of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to South Africa, accompanied by a young Archie, marked a turning point. It was there that both confessed on camera to feeling completely overwhelmed by the pressure. That public vulnerability was the prelude to the decision that would shake the foundations of the British monarchy: their departure as active members of the Royal Family, known as "Megxit."
That step back, announced at the beginning of 2020, was the start of a rift that, five and a half years later, continues to widen. Since then, explosive interviews, a Netflix documentary, and a memoir have continued to add fuel to a fire that seems far from being extinguished. Every public appearance by Harry is scrutinized, with people waiting for a gesture of reconciliation that never comes.
With this latest intervention, Prince Harry makes it clear that the path to forgiveness necessarily involves recognizing Meghan's suffering. This isn't just a family dispute, but a collision of values.
Meanwhile, King Charles III stands as monarch, his son reminds him from across the Atlantic that, for him, loyalty to his wife is above any protocol or tradition. Will there ever be a response from Buckingham Palace to this painful accusation? Only time will tell if father and son are able to overcome the chasm that separates them.