Harry says he and Meghan will never move back to the UK and hints they won't give up Sussex royal titles despite demand - as polls shows his popularity with the British public has slumped to a record low
- Prince Harry today dramatically declared he will never return to the UK
- The Duke of Sussex made the announcement on Good Morning America
- Harry previously hinted that he and Meghan won't give up their royal titles
- The prince has given a series of bombshell interviews to promote his memoir
Prince Harry today dramatically declared that he and Meghan will never move back to the UK and become working members of the Royal Family - just hours after using another bombshell US interview to rubbish suggestions that the couple give up their official titles.
Speaking on Good Morning America, the Duke of Sussex said: 'I don't think it's ever going to be possible, I don't think that even if there was an agreement or an arrangement between me and my family, there's that third party that's going to do everything they can to make sure that that isn't possible, not stopping us from going back but making it unsurvivable.'
He continued: 'Because that's essentially breaking the relationship between us. There was something in the future where, you know, we can continue to support the Commonwealth that of course is on the table.'
In a separate interview with the CBS network, the duke swerved a question by Anderson Cooper who asked him why, given his clear antipathy to the monarchy, do he and Meghan not just renounce their titles as Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
'And what difference would that make?' was his only answer.
It comes as Harry's popularity among the British public slumps to an all-time low, with a new YouGov survey finding that the Duke's net favourability now sits at a staggering -38. Almost two-thirds of those polled admitted they hold a negative view of the prince, while his support among the 18-24 age group has also fallen to its lowest ever score.
Prince Harry today dramatically declared that he and Meghan will never move back to the UK and become working members of the Royal Family
Harry and Meghan at Windsor Castle during the Queen's mourning in September
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In the US television interview, the Duke insisted his grandmother the late Queen was not angry or upset with him for wanting to step down as a senior working royal.
Promoting his autobiography Spare, Harry said the monarch 'knew how hard' it was for him, but was sad at how things turned out. He also described how he 'can't ever get out' of the Royal Family.
Good Morning America presenter Michael Strahan asked the duke: 'Did she ever express that she was upset at you?'
Harry responded: 'For what?'
Strahan replied: 'For wanting to change your role.'
Harry said: 'No. My grandmother and I had a very good relationship. It was never a surprise to anybody, least of all her.
'She knew what was going on. She knew how hard it was. She never said to me that she was angry. I think she was sad that it got to that point.'
Harry's controversial biography Spare, due out on Tuesday, comes just four months after the death of Queen Elizabeth, amid turbulent times for the monarchy with the long-running feud between Harry and his brother the Prince of Wales.
Harry described his sadness that there was no compromise from his family over his hybrid plan to move to Canada but still remain part of the working monarchy in 2020.
The Queen summoned the now King and his sons William and Harry to her Norfolk estate to try to resolve the Megxit crisis, but it was ultimately decided Harry and Meghan could not be half in and half out.
Strahan asked: 'There was no compromise with the family?'
Harry replied: 'No - which was really sad because I still to this day believe that this was entirely possible.'
Strahan asked: 'There are going to be people who say 'Why don't they either be in or get out, because if you get out there's no hypocrisy'.'
Harry said: 'I can't ever get out and I'm incredibly aware of my position.
'I'm incredibly grateful for the life that I've had and continue to live.
'But there's no version of me being ever able to get out of this. I was stunned that my family would allow security to be taken away, especially at the most vulnerable point for us.'
It was at the Sandringham summit that Harry said William left him terrified by screaming and shouting at him, the duke claimed in his Netflix documentary.
Cooper said: 'One of the criticisms that you've received is that okay, fine, you wanna move to California, you wanna step back from the institutional role. Why be so public? Why reveal conversations you've had with your father or with your brother? You say you tried to do this privately.'
Harry retorted: 'Every single time I've tried to do it privately there have been briefings and leakings and planting of stories against me and my wife.
'You know, the family motto is never complain, never explain. But it's just a motto. And it doesn't really hold.'
The couple first made the shocking announcement that they were going to step back from their royal duties on January 8, 2020.
Anderson Cooper pointed out during 60 Minutes that 'one of the criticisms' that the pair has received is that they 'want to step back from the institutional role' but still want to 'be so public'
In a separate interview with the CBS network, the prince swerved a question by Anderson Cooper who asked him why, given his clear antipathy to the instruction of the monarchy, do he and Meghan not just renounced their titles as Duke and Duchess of Sussex. 'And what difference would that make?' was his only answer
At the time, they wrote in a joint statement that they had reached the decision after 'many months of reflection and internal discussions.'
They said they wanted to 'work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.'
'We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honor our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages,' the statement continued.
'This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity.'
At the time, Norman Baker, a former Liberal Democrat MP and a Home Office minister in the coalition government, said they should give up their titles in a scathing interview, stating: 'You can't be one foot in, one foot out.'
'You are either a member of the royal family or you are not,' he told the Express.
Just over a year later, in February 2021, Harry and Meghan announced that they were permanently stepping down as royals and moving to California full-time, where they purchased a $14million mansion in Montecito.
One month later, the pair sat down with Oprah for a two-hour, tell-all conversation - during which they alleged that someone in the royal family voiced concerns over their son Archie's skin color before his birth and that Meghan had suicidal thoughts while she was pregnant, but that she was told by the Palace that she couldn't 'get help' because 'it wouldn't be good for the institution'.
This image released by ABC shows Prince Harry during an interview with Good Morning America co-host Michael Strahan
When the couple (seen in 2020) announced that they were stepping away from the monarchy and moving to America that year - many people called for them to give up their royal titles
After the interview aired, palace aides called on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to give up their titles once again.
'The Duke of Sussex has now spent a significant amount of time emphasizing that he's no different to anyone else and attacking the institution which he says has caused him so much pain,' a senior courtier told The Mail on Sunday.
'There is a growing feeling that if you dislike the institution that much, you shouldn't have the titles.
'They should just become Harry and Meghan. And if they refuse to do that, they have to explain why not.'
In their recent Netflix documentary, the couple made more shocking statements - like that they were victims of 'institutional gaslighting' and that the royals would lie to protect his older brother, Prince William.
Harry also said in the series that he told his father, King Charles II, that he and Meghan were willing to relinquish their titles during discussions surrounding their plan to move to America.
Following its premiere, a poll by YouGov, carried out for The Times, revealed that 44 per cent of participants said that Prince Harry and Meghan should have their titles removed, while 32 per cent thought not.
A separate poll for Mail+ resulted in 98 per cent of 9,700 people stating that they wanted the royal couple to lose their titles.
Royal expert and biographer Robert Jobson said afterwards: 'Harry claims in his Netflix docuseries he offered to give up his title Duke of Sussex.
'Given his and his wife's distaste for our constitutional monarchy, surely it is time for the Crown to accept his offer. The title was given in anticipation of service to the Crown and country.'
It was also reported that Members of Parliament have been trying to get a bill passed that would give the Privy Council the power to downgrade Harry and Meghan's status.
To change the royal couple's status, legislation would have to amend the 1917 Titles Deprivation Act that was used to remove honours such as peerages from enemies who supported German aggression in the First World War.
Harry faces backlash for denying calling royals 'racist': Duke is accused of 'hanging his family out to dry' by 'failing to correct narrative' after he and Meghan told Oprah of 'concerns' about Archie's skin colour - amid calls to return anti-racism award
Prince Harry was today accused of having 'hung his family out to dry' after he 'failed to correct' accusations of racism made about the Royal Family in his bombshell Oprah interview and the recent Netflix series.
The Duke of Sussex last night denied calling the Royal Family racist but said they were guilty of 'unconscious bias' while discussing Meghan's controversial claim to Oprah that an unnamed royal had expressed 'concern' about Archie's skin colour.
Ms Winfrey asked Meghan in 2021: 'They were concerned that if he were too brown, that would be a problem? Are you saying that?'. Ms Markle responded: 'If that's the assumption you're making, I think that feels like a pretty safe one, which was really hard to understand, right?'
It prompted a worldwide guessing game about the senior royal who said it and hours later Harry's estranged brother, Prince William, was forced to publicly remark that they were 'very much not a racist family'. The Queen gave a rare statement and said 'the issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning' but stressed that 'recollections may vary'.
But last night in an incendiary interview to plug his new memoir, he told ITV's Tom Bradby that the Royal Family is not racist. Mr Bradby was visibly stunned - as were millions of viewers - by his screeching U-turn from previous incendiary claims.
The British broadcaster, a friend of Harry's, raised the 2021 Oprah interview with Meghan and said: 'You accused members of your family of racism.'
But Harry snapped back: 'No I didn't. The British press said that. Did Meghan ever mention that they're racist?'. The duke then insisted the comments made about his son Archie's skin colour were 'unconscious bias'. Mr Bradby appeared taken aback by the answer - while experts said that Harry clearly didn't understand the term he was now using.
Former BBC Royal Correspondent Jennie Bond told ITV's Lorraine: 'So much of what he said seemed conflicted and contradictory... he allowed his family to be hung out to dry on an accusation of racism which Harry says now he never said and wasn't true. That in my view is almost unforgivable.'
Prince Harry is today facing allegations that he failed to 'correct the narrative' around racism in the Royal Family after sensationally accusing an unnamed royal of asking about the skin colour of his and Meghan's then-unborn son Archie during his bombshell Oprah interview
Jennie Bond (left) told Lorraine: 'He allowed his family to be hung out to dry on an accusation of racism which Harry says now he never said and wasn't true'. ITV's Royal Editor Chris Ship (right) said: 'Harry is right to say that Meghan or Harry didn't use the word ''racist'' at any point... [but] Harry didn't correct the narrative when this whole racism row then started'
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Harry denies the Royal family are racist but again repeats relative asked about son Archie's skin colour
And ITV News's Royal Editor Chris Ship said on Good Morning Britain: 'Harry is right to say [they] didn't use the word ''racist'' at any point... [but] Harry didn't correct the narrative when this whole racism row then started, and not correcting the narrative is something he accused the Royal Family of not doing, when he criticised Jeremy Clarkson and other things as well.'
While the Duke has not referred to the Oprah interview in his memoir, which is published tomorrow, he was asked by Bradby in the interview to plug the book: 'Wouldn't you describe that as essentially racist?'
The prince replies: 'I wouldn't, not having lived within that family.' But he adds: 'The difference between racism and unconscious bias… the two things are different.
'But once it's been acknowledged, or pointed out to you as an individual, or as an institution, that you have unconscious bias, you therefore have an opportunity to learn and grow from that so that you are part of the solution rather than part of the problem.'
And he accused Buckingham Palace of failing to follow up on promises it made in the wake of the Oprah controversy, including appointing a 'diversity tsar'.
Harry and Meghan's 'tell-all' conversation with Oprah in 2021 marked their first major interview since they stepped down as senior members of the Royal Family in 2020.
One of the most shocking moments from the interview came when Meghan said there were 'several conversations' between herself, Harry and members of the Royal Family about 'how dark' their baby could be before Archie was born.
Speaking about the family, Oprah had asked Meghan: 'Because they were concerned that if he were too brown, that that would be a problem? Are you saying that?'
Meghan then replied: 'I wasn't able to follow up with why, but that - if that's the assumption you're making, I think that feels like a pretty safe one, which was really hard to understand, right?'
In his interview with Bradby last night, Harry said: 'That conversation, I am never going to share. At the time it was awkward, I was a bit shocked.'
His refusal to name the person involved sparked an international guessing game about who the 'royal racist' was.
Critics accused the Duke of not understanding the difference between denying the royals are racist while also accusing them of 'unconscious bias', arguing they amount to the same thing
The Duke of Sussex last night conceded that the Royal Family were not racist but said they were guilty of 'unconscious bias' while discussing the controversial claim in an incendiary interview to plug his new memoir
Pictured, Meghan, Archie and Harry at a Polo match in Wokingham in 2019
In a statement the late Queen said the claims were 'concerning' but stressed that 'recollections may vary' and the claims would be addressed privately.
Referring to the racism allegations made previously by his wife, Harry bridled at the suggestion by Bradby that he accused his family of racism, snapping back: 'No I didn't. The British Press said that. Did Meghan ever mention that they're racist?'
'She said there were troubling comments about Archie's skin colour,' Bradby replied.
'There was – there was concern about his skin colour,' Harry corrected him. When Bradby suggested that there was a danger by not naming the person concerned, Harry said: 'Yes, you're right, the key word is concern, which was troubling.
'But you speak to any other couple, mixed race couple around the world, and you will probably find that the white side of the family have either openly discussed it, or secretly discussed, you know, 'What are the kids gonna look like?' And that is part of a, you know, bigger conversation that needs to be had.'
He claimed that after the interview with Miss Winfrey 'they said that they were gonna [sic] bring in a diversity tsar. That hasn't happened'.
He added: 'Everything they said was gonna [sic] happen hasn't happened. I've always been open to wanting to help them understand their part in it, and especially when you are the monarchy – you have a responsibility and quite rightly people hold you to a higher standard than others.'
In the couple's Netflix series Harry & Meghan, the Duke claimed: 'In this family, sometimes you are part of the problem rather than part of the solution. There is a huge level of unconscious bias.
![Harry told Netflix: 'In [the Royal Family], sometimes you are part of the problem rather than part of the solution. There is a huge level of unconscious bias'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/01/09/13/65382593-11614811-Harry_told_Netflix_In_the_Royal_Family_sometimes_you_are_part_of-m-61_1673272044215.jpg)
Harry told Netflix: 'In [the Royal Family], sometimes you are part of the problem rather than part of the solution. There is a huge level of unconscious bias'
'The thing with unconscious bias, it is actually no one's fault. But once it has been pointed out, or identified within yourself you then need to make it right. It is education. It is awareness. It is a constant work in progress for everybody, including me.'
The Duke added that members of the Royal Family asked why the Duchess should be 'protected' when they questioned newspaper headlines about her.
'The direction from the palace was don't say anything,' he said. 'But what people need to understand is, as far as a lot of the family were concerned, everything that she was being put through, they had been put through as well. So it was almost like a rite of passage, and some of the members of the family were like, ''My wife had to go through that, so why should your girlfriend be treated any differently? Why should you get special treatment? Why should she be protected?''
'I said ''The difference here is the race element''.'
How could Harry do this to Kate on her birthday? Royal fans rally around Princess as she celebrates turning 41 - while King Charles and Camilla ignore drama to send their best wishes
King Charles and Camilla have shared their best wishes with the Princess of Wales as she marks her 41st birthday today - as Prince Harry released a series of bombshell interviews overnight.
The Duke of Sussex, 38, sat down with Tom Bradby for a primetime television interview as part of a publicity blitz for his controversial memoir Spare before joining Anderson Cooper for a shocking interview on CBS.
In a series of bombshells twisting the knife on his closest family members, Harry claimed royals sought to protect their own reputation 'to the detriment' of him and Meghan and that they were 'complicit' in their 'pain and suffering'.
As the world was left reeling over the interviews this morning, the official Royal Family's social media channels shared a birthday wish for the Princess, posting: 'Wishing the Princess of Wales a very happy birthday.'
King Charles and Camilla have shared their best wishes with the Princess of Wales as she marks her 41st birthday today - as Prince Harry released a series of bombshell interviews overnight
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Meanwhile royal fans were also quick to share their birthday messages with the Princess of Wales, posting a host of supportive tweets online.
One commented: 'I can't believe Harry is doing this to Kate on the eve of her birthday...'
Another wrote: 'Prince Harry: I love Kate! Also Harry: I'm releasing this book on your birthday darling.'
A third added: 'Harry can't be trusted. Just imagine if he had a sister and spoke about her body like he has his brother.
Charles and Camilla were quick to share a birthday message with the Princess as she marks the big day today
'As far as I'm concerned, he is no royal to me.
'Happy birthday to Kate - and we know why the interview was today.'
Other fans flooded social media with snaps of the Princess, sharing their best wishes with the royal today.
One wrote: 'My role model. Let's focus on this cutie. Tomorrow is her birthday so let's show her extra love and support!'
Royal fans were quick to flood social media with support for Kate, following Harry's bombshell interviews overnight
Another commented: 'Happy birthday to the Princess of Wales! Kate is the best thing that happened to the British Royal Family in this century.'
A third added: 'Let's celebrate Catherine, the Princess of Wales and the style icon she is today is her birthday. Like this tweet as a way of wishing her a happy birthday. We love Kate.'
'Today is our Princess of Wales' birthday. I hope William and Kate have a lovely day today and hope William, George, Charlotte and Louis spoil Catherine. Happy birthday my princess.'
'Happy birthday to Kate Middleton,' another wrote. 'She turns 41 today and please help her wish and celebrate her big day.'
As the world was left reeling over the interviews this morning, the official Royal Family's social media channels shared a birthday wish for the Princess
In the interviews last night, Harry described a fractious relationship between his wife and Kate, while also addressing the rift with his brother and his sensational accusation towards Camilla of plotting to marry Charles.
But social media has exploded amid the bombshell interview, with claims of 'hypocrisy' over Harry's desire for his family to reach out privately when he is publicly discussing behind closed doors conversations.
One user tweeted: 'Harry literally turning the British Monarchy into an episode of The Kardashian's. This is cringe.'
Another said: 'If you want communication with your family to be private, why are you doing this interview?! So contradictory.
Prince Harry twisted the knife on family members with a series of bombshells during the interview
Prince Harry sat down last night for a number of primetime interviews to promote his memoir, Spare
A third added: 'He wants any future conversation to stay private but is sitting here telling us what other 'private' conversations they have had.'
A fourth tweeted: 'I've never heard such hypocritical, delusional, self-serving, narcissistic ramblings in my life!!
'He's actually said that he 'hopes' his family can respect HIS privacy whilst talking incessantly about THEM to the world's press! KNOWING they cannot respond!'
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