BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell claimed Meghan should have been “less impatient” with royal aides who were “overtiring” in supporting her.
The veteran broadcaster, 70, also dismissed claims Harry and Meghan made in their 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview, arguing that race was not a “significant factor” in their decision to leave the UK almost four years ago Years ago to leave for California.
He rejected the idea that the palace had been against them from the start and praised the Sussexes' team of courtiers, which included Australian private secretary Samantha Cohen and American communications secretaries Jason Knauf and Sara Latham.
Bound by the “discipline of a BBC reporter” for decades, Mr Witchell has shed light on what he really thinks about the royal family in a candid interview with the Sunday Times Magazine ahead of his impending retirement.
He even revealed he was close to interviewing Princess Diana for Panorama until he resigned in place of Martin Bashir, leading to an explosive BBC scandal over how the disgraced journalist secured the chat.
Mr Witchell said Harry and Meghan had been a great loss to the palace and wished they had tried harder and given more time.
He added: “If they [Meghan] Perhaps she was simply less impatient and less inclined to see that well-meaning people were against her in any way. It's sad, especially the relationship [breakdown] between Harry and William.'
BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell (pictured) claimed Meghan should have been less impatient with royal advisers who went “above and beyond” to support her
He also dismissed claims made in the Sussexes' Oprah Winfrey interview in 2021, arguing that race was not a “significant” factor in their decision to leave the UK
He said the Sussexes' advisers worked tirelessly and sympathized with Meghan, but ultimately it didn't work out. He said: “I really don’t think race was a significant factor in this. I think it was more about nationality and culture than race.”
But as well as claiming the Sussexes could have tried harder, Mr Witchell believes Buckingham Palace should have made more effort with Harry before he and Meghan left the royal family.
He claimed that it was difficult for the Queen to understand Harry's pain when the Sussexes decided to leave the UK to live in California.
Mr Witchell described Harry and Meghan's story as “boring” but claimed it needed to be covered because there was more interest in the more common “soap opera aspects of the royal family”.
But the royal correspondent praised Prince William and Princess Kate, who he said had a good image and were good at reading public sentiment by focusing on areas such as homelessness, the environment and mental health.
Mr Witchell said he knew the soap opera aspect was part of his job, although he was not comfortable with it.
Amid a glittering career, there are perhaps two soap opera moments in which Mr Witchell was the protagonist in his own right.
Mr Witchell also believes Buckingham Palace should have made “more effort” with Harry before he and Meghan left the royal family
The station came under fire when a group of gay rights activists stormed the Six O'Clock News studio in 1998 to protest against the Section 28 homosexuality law.
As his co-host Sue Lawley continued to read out the news, Mr Witchell sat on one of the women and covered her hand with his mouth, leading to a Daily Mirror front page the next day that read: “Beeb man sits up Lesbians.”
Another pivotal moment in his career was when King Charles described him as “terrible” during a photo shoot in the Swiss Alps in 2005.
The journalist asked Camilla Parker Bowles a question about the royal family's upcoming wedding.
While sitting next to his sons Prince William and Prince Harry, he said: “Damn people.” I can't stand this man. I mean, he's so terrible, he really is.'
William remained calm and said politely, “As long as I don't lose the rings, I have a responsibility and will inevitably do something wrong.”
Mr Witchell claims he was right to ask the question and was doing his job, but he said it was a fact that Charles had disliked him for many years.
In 2005, Prince Charles – as he was then known – insulted the BBC's royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell
In 1988, the Six O'Clock News studio was attacked by a group of lesbian protesters while Witchell and Sue Lawley were giving a lecture
They are now said to have “reconciled” and Charles even wished him well in his retirement as he flew back to the UK from a state visit to Kenya last month.
Mr Witchell also made headlines when he announced the birth of Harry and Meghan's baby Prince Archie in May 2019.
During a live broadcast outside Buckingham Palace, the journalist completely lost his train of thought and returned to the studio, sparking fears online about his health. He suspected he may have subconsciously tuned out because it was about the Sussexes.
Mr Witchell also addressed the Prince Andrew scandal, claiming the royals had no choice but to cut off the Duke over his friendships with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
And as he moves ever closer to breaking free from the BBC's chains of impartiality, he also said Gary Lineker's tweets about the Conservatives' immigration policy, which he compared to Nazi Germany, were “terribly unwise”.
The broadcaster, who did not initially set out to become a royal correspondent, has been at the center of the Beeb's coverage for 47 years.
Together with Huw Edwards he reported on the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8th last year, which touched him deeply.
He believes Mr Edwards has been a huge loss to the BBC since he was suspended amid allegations he paid a young person thousands of pounds and received sexual images.
Mr Witchell was the first to broadcast the confirmed news of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales on August 31, 1997, providing live radio commentary from outside Westminster Abbey at her funeral.
He had met Diana several times and the Princess of Wales had even invited him to lunch to discuss the possibility of a Panorama interview.
Before he could accept the invitation, he was informed by the Panorama editor that Martin Bashir had received the now infamous interview.
Bashir's 1995 Panorama interview with Diana was seen by 23 million people and hailed as the blockbuster of a generation. The princess explained: “There were three of us in this marriage” – referring to Charles' then-lover Camilla – and spoke of her post-natal depression and bulimia.
Mr Witchell even revealed he was close to interviewing Princess Diana on Panorama until he resigned in place of Martin Bashir, leading to an explosive BBC scandal over how the disgraced journalist secured the chat
However, Bashir had revealed that Earl Spencer, Diana's brother, had falsified bank statements to gain access to the Princess and then tricked her with a series of smears and lies, including the claim that Prince William's watch had been tapped, to record their conversations.
Mr Witchell initially joined the BBC after completing his law degree at Leeds University and in 1979 became a BBC reporter in Northern Ireland, where he covered, among other things, the assassination of Earl Mountbatten and the IRA hunger strikes.
He then became a television news reporter in 1982, covering the Falklands conflict and Margaret Thatcher's 1983 general election campaign for the BBC, before returning to Belfast to become the BBC's Ireland correspondent.
He was one of the founding presenters of the Six O'Clock News in 1984, along with Sue Lawley.
Mr. Witchell became lead presenter of the relaunched “Breakfast News” program from 1989 to 1994.
He then returned to frontline reporting for the BBC's Panorama program and was the BBC's royal and diplomatic correspondent from 1998.