While the royal family continues to have a strained relationship with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the ongoing drama has only brought King Charles III and Prince William closer.
“They’ve had to put up this united front against Harry and Meghan,” royal expert Christopher Andersen exclusively told Us Weekly on Monday, July 24, while promoting his new book, The King: The Life of King Charles III. “They’ve been insulted by members of their own family. It’s been quite the ordeal for them, and I think that they kind of circled the wagon, so to speak. And they’ve come out of that with a stronger bond.”
Unlike Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, Andersen noted that William, 41, and his wife, Princess Kate, have been “naturals” at living the royal lifestyle “from the very beginning.” As for how the Wales’ eldest son, Prince George, 10, is handling his position as second-in-line to the throne, “he seems to be surprisingly comfortable.” (The couple also share daughter Princess Charlotte, 8, and son Prince Louis, 5.)
Harry and Meghan have been at odds with the British royals since stepping down from senior royal duties in January 2020 and moving to California. In the years since, the couple — who share son Archie, 4, and daughter Lilibet, 2 — have been candid about their negative experiences within the famous family, many of which Harry detailed in his bombshell memoir, Spare, earlier this year.
Among the book’s many revelations, Harry claimed William knocked him down during a physical fight after allegedly calling Meghan “difficult and “rude.” Harry also alleged that Charles, 74, was “unmoved” by his pleas to help him stop the British press from slamming Meghan prior to their engagement.
The pair have also taken their story to Hollywood with their six-part Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, as well as Meghan’s podcast, “Archetypes.” The Spotify series was canceled after one season last month after the streaming platform and the couple’s Archewell Audio “mutually agreed to part ways,” according to Deadline.
Though the Sussex’s Hollywood projects have been met with criticism from the royal family — as well as some stars and fans alike — Andersen told Us that backlash is something Harry and Meghan have always had to face in their marriage, just from being in the public eye.
“Trying to carve out this new life for them in Hollywood, I suppose they expected the honeymoon to go on,” Andersen explained. “And as time passed, more and more of their allies and friends and admirers have just fallen away because they see this as a kind of a narcissistic romp through Montecito. … They’re not getting the kind of support now that they had when they arrived.”
Despite dealing with constant drama, Andersen doesn’t “see any evidence” that Harry and Meghan are headed for a split. Still, he explained, their union is “not just a Hollywood marriage. It’s a Hollywood marriage with the whole tensions of royalty thrown in. Frankly, people on that level, it’s very hard to imagine how they keep their sanity because [there’s] no privacy, none whatsoever,” Andersen shared. “And people are constantly harping about them. The best thing they can do is ignore everything.”
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
