Channel Nine presenter Brooke Boney has questioned Prince Harry’s account of the so-called “Sandringham Summit” after claiming the late Queen had been sidelined in discussions about his future in the royal family.
The Queen summoned the Duke of Sussex, his brother Prince William and now King Charles to her Norfolk estate on January 13, 2020 to try to resolve the “Megxit” crisis that erupted days earlier when Harry and his wife Meghan Markle announced their decision to step down as senior royals.
It was eventually decided that Harry and Meghan couldn’t be half in and half out, leading to their exile to California, with Harry later saying the Queen did it “quietly”. [sat] there,” as William “yelled at him” and his father said things that were “not true.”
Speaking on Tuesday’s Today Show, Boney balked at claims that the Queen was a passive bystander during the Megxit talks due to her status as head of the royal family.
Today’s host Brooke Boney (centre, with Alex Cullen, left, and Russell Myers, right) has questioned Prince Harry’s account of the so-called “Sandringham Summit” after he claimed the late Queen was discussing his future been sidelined Royal Family
She asked the Daily Mirror’s royal editor Russell Myers: “So if the Queen, the monarch, isn’t running the place, who is?”
Myers agreed that it was surprising to hear Harry describe his grandmother, who had been on the throne for 66 years at the time, as a “small player” in the biggest crisis to hit the royal family since Princess Diana’s death has.
“That’s a big question, isn’t it?” said Myers. “Just last week Harry had said that during the Sandringham Summit where they all got together to negotiate this deal for Harry and Meghan to leave the royal family, he said that pretty much the Queen was sitting there as a supporting actor.
‘And it was his brother who was yelling at him from across the table [and] Charles sits and groans a little at the situation.
‘So what is it? Was the Queen a scapegoat in her final days? Or was she the store manager running the show?
The Queen summoned the royal family to their Norfolk estate on January 13, 2020 to try to resolve the “Megxit” crisis, which exploded days earlier when Harry and his wife Meghan Markle announced their decision, as high-level Royals “resign”. Harry has “quietly” claimed the Queen ever since [sat] there,” when his brother William “yelled at him” and his father Charles said things that were “not true.” (Pictured: The Queen and Harry at the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle on 18 May 2019)
“Harry can’t have everything his way. And I get the point throughout his book [Spare] and the interviews he really messes up a bit to try to deliver “his truth”. And that’s just one side of the story, and because the royal family won’t fight back, that’s all we’ll hear.”
The Duke of Sussex claimed in his Netflix docuseries that the late monarch watched silently as he was left terrified by William screaming about the exit talks she called after Harry and Meghan decided to step down from royal duties.
He said: “It was terrifying that my brother was yelling and yelling at me and my father was saying things that just weren’t true and my grandmother was, you know, sitting still and taking it all in.”
At the time, royal experts said any suggestion that the Queen had been sidelined at the now infamous “Sandringham Summit” was “complete nonsense”.
![Harry doubled down on his version of events in his interview with Good Morning America host Michael Strahan (right) on Monday. '[The Queen] knew what was going on. She knew how difficult it was. I don't know if she was able to change it,' he said](https://www.spamchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/1673296417_332_Brooke-Boney-names-issue-in-Prince-Harrys-Sandringham-Summit-report.jpg "Brooke Boney names issue in Prince Harry's 'Sandringham Summit' report 5")
Harry doubled down on his version of events in his interview with Good Morning America host Michael Strahan (right) on Monday. ‘[The Queen] knew what was going on. She knew how difficult it was. I don’t know if she was able to change it,’ he said
Harry doubled down on his version of events in his interview with Good Morning America host Michael Strahan in the final leg of his transatlantic television blitz, in which he promotes his new memoir, Spare, due for release this week.
Strahan asked if Her Majesty, who died in September aged 96, was “mad at you” for retiring from royal duties with his American wife in early 2020.
‘For what?’ Harry replied, adding that his grandmother was “sad” about what happened.
Boney (pictured at the ARIA Awards in Sydney on November 24) asked the Daily Mirror’s royal editor Russell Myers: “So if the Queen, the monarch, isn’t running the place, who is?”
“I’ve had many, many conversations with her over the years, both in the UK and leading up to this change, so it came as no surprise to anyone, least of all her,” he said.
But he hinted that she was sidelined, continuing: “She knew what was going on. She knew how difficult it was. I don’t know if she was able to change it.”
Harry also admitted that when his book came out, the gulf between him and his family “couldn’t be bigger”.
Myers (pictured) agreed it was surprising to hear Harry describe his grandmother, who had been on the throne for 66 years at the time, as a “small player” in the biggest crisis the royal family has faced since her death met by Princess Diana