Rift between Harry and Meghan and rest of royals ‘very sad’, says Edward

The rift between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the rest of the royal family has been “difficult for everyone”, the Earl of Wessex has said.

Speaking on what would have been his father the Duke of Edinburgh’s 100th birthday, Edward said all senior royals had faced “excessive” media intrusion over the years, adding: “We’ve all dealt with it in slightly different ways.”

Asked by American news network CNN about the “family rift which is undeniably there”, the earl laughingly replied: “Are you euphemistically referring to Harry and Meghan?”

“It’s very sad, weirdly we’ve all been there before – we’ve all had excessive intrusion and attention in our lives,” he said.

“We’ve all dealt with it in slightly different ways, and, listen, we wish them the very best of luck.

“It’s a really hard decision.”

Edward continued: “(It’s) fantastic news about the baby, that’s great. I hope they will be very happy and it’s just … families are families, aren’t they, really?”

Asked how his mother the Queen is coping with the split on top of losing her husband, the earl said: “It’s difficult for everyone, but, as I said, that’s families for you.”

He replied: “I stay well out of it. It’s much the safest place to be.”

Questioned whether he felt “any sadness” about how the situation had played out, he responded: “Of course. There are all sorts of issues and circumstances there, but we’ve all been through there.

“We’ve all had that same spotlight shone on our lives, we’ve all been subjected to massive intrusion and all the rest of it, and we all deal with it in different ways.”

And, referring to the birth of the Sussexes’ baby daughter, he added: “We just wish them all happiness, it’s fantastic news, and, absolutely, (we) hope they are very happy.”

– Advertisement –
– Advertisement –