Roya Nikkhah appeared on the BBC’s podcast “Harry, Meghan and the Media” to discuss the lead up to Prince Harry’s eventual departure from the Royal Family. Ms Nikkhah remarked that Harry was like “gold dust” to the institution as he was able to connect with a wide range of people and was extremely popular.
But the royal expert believed some animosity bubbled between Prince Harry and William as he was constantly told “William takes precedent” despite him believing his work was just as important.
Speaking on the BBC’s Harry, Meghan and the Media podcast, Ms Nikkhah explained there was “tension” between the brothers before the eventual departure of Prince Harry. She explained: “For quite a few years before Harry split from the royal family, there was a frustration between the brothers about the work they were doing and the direction that they were moving in.
“And I think William is very finely attuned because he’s going to be king to the institution, the hierarchy within it. “[He is] respecting that, and the deference that comes around that within the family. “I think Harry, certainly as he was leaving the Army and setting up the Invictus Games, he was wanting to go in a few different directions and take on certain causes and bits of work.
“He was frustrated that because of the setup within the institution that had to be run by William, there were certain decisions taken. “[Which meant] sometimes that Harry couldn’t do the work he wanted to do or had to wait or had to put something on the back burner because, you know, William takes precedence.
“There’s no doubt that for years Harry was the superstar of the royal family. “He was gold dust, he has that ability to connect with a huge range of people and I think there’s always tension when it comes to things like that within any family.
“But certainly within a public-facing family like the Royal Family.” The BBC podcast was rumoured to be scrapped after the BBC’s documentary “The Princes and The Press” garnered a furious reaction from the royal households.
Royal Editor of Harpers Bazaar US and co-author of Prince Harry and Meghan biography Finding Freedom, Omid Scobie, claimed on the documentary that the different households were briefing against each other to try and secure better coverage.
A joint statement from the royal households read: “A free, responsible and open Press is of vital importance to a healthy democracy. “However, too often overblown and unfounded claims from unnamed sources are presented as facts and it is disappointing when anyone, including the BBC, gives them credibility.”
