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Prince Harry has spoken about the breakdown of his relationship with brother William and blamed the media for Meghan suffering a miscarriage in the final episodes of the couple’s documentary series.

The second volume of Harry & Meghan goes much further than the first, with Harry accusing William of screaming and shouting at him at a summit meeting over “Megxit”, and saying he believes he and his wife lost their baby in 2020 because of coverage in the Mail.

‘She never asked me to leave’, Harry says – live updates as final episodes drop

Other revelations include the duke saying a joint statement was put out without his permission in his and his brother’s name, denying a story that William had “bullied” him out of the Royal Family. He also accuses William’s office of trading stories – something they “promised” they would never do when they were younger.

Palace aides would have been preparing themselves for bombshells in the second volume after a trailer included accusations that the royal household leaked negative stories as part of a “war against Meghan”. However, they are yet to comment on the programme.

Harry & Meghan. The Netflix Global event continues December 15.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9WMpiH8qd8
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Pic: Netflix

Key talking points from the first three episodes:

  • Harry says it was “terrifying” to hear William ‘shout and scream’ during Megxit crisis meeting
  • He says there is now a “wedge” between them and accuses brother’s office of trading stories
  • Duke also blames media for Meghan’s miscarriage in 2020
  • Meghan talks about suicidal thoughts
  • Harry says he was “trained” to keep stiff upper lip over wife’s struggles
  • He also describes how Meghan “stealing the limelight… that upsets people”
  • Broadcaster Danny Baker’s tweet following birth of Archie also addressed

‘It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me’

Talking about tweet - "Meghan needs to die"
Screen Grabs taken from Harry and Meghan  Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan
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In the fifth episode, Harry recalls a meeting with the Queen, his father and William, now the Prince of Wales, about the couple’s future plans after they had announced they wanted to step back as senior royals.

Recalling what happened behind the scenes after the Queen summoned them to Sandringham in January 2020, he says: “I went in with the same proposal that we’d already made publicly, but once I got there I was given five options – one being all in, no change, five being all out.

“I chose option three in the meeting – half in, half out. Have our own jobs but also work in support of the Queen.

“It became very clear very quickly that goal was not up for discussion or debate. It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that just simply weren’t true. And my grandmother, you know, quietly sit there and take it all in.

“But you have to understand that, from the family’s perspective, especially from hers, there are ways of doing things and her ultimate, sort of, mission, goal/responsibility is the institution.”

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Queen Elizabeth, Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex pose for a picture with some of Queen's Young Leaders at a Buckingham Palace reception following the final Queen's Young Leaders Awards Ceremony, in London, Britain June 26, 2018. John Stillwell/Pool via Reuters/File Photo

Harry says the Queen would act on advice she was given by staff.

“People around her are telling her, ‘by the way, that proposal, or these two doing X,Y, Z is going to be seen as an attack on the institution’,” he says.

“The meeting finished without any solidified action plan. I think from their perspective, they had to believe that it was more about us, and maybe the issues that we had, as opposed to their partner, the media, and that relationship that was causing so much pain for us. They saw what they wanted to see.”

Read more:
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Harry and Meghan’s wedding album – new pictures revealed
Key revelations from first three episodes

Screen Grabs taken from Harry and Meghan  Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan
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Pic: Netflix

Harry goes on to say the “saddest part” of what has happened is “this wedge created between myself and my brother, so that he’s now on the institution’s side”.

The duke continues: “And part of that I get, I understand, right, that’s his inheritance. So to some extent it’s already ingrained in him that part of his responsibility is the survivability and continuation of this institution.”

Harry says a story came out that day saying that “part of the reason that Meghan and I were leaving was because William had bullied us out”.

A joint statement was issued on the day of the Sandringham meeting branding a front page story about the brothers’ relationship as false, offensive and potentially harmful.

Harry says he was told about the statement “squashing the story about him bullying us out of the family” after the meeting. “I couldn’t believe it. No one had asked me permission to put my name to a statement like that.

“I rang M and I told her and she burst into floods of tears, because within four hours they were happy to lie to protect my brother and yet for three years they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us.”

Meghan’s mother and Harry speak of devastation hearing she contemplated suicide

Harry & Meghan. The Netflix Global event continues December 15.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9WMpiH8qd8
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Pic: Netflix

In the fourth episode, Harry speaks about “lies” in the Royal Family, and compares Meghan’s treatment in the media to that of his mother, Diana.

“The lies that’s one thing, you kind of get used to that when you live within this family, but what they were doing to her and the effect it was having on her – like, enough, enough of the pain, enough of the suffering.”

As shots of Diana and Charles are shown, he continues: “No one sees what is happening behind closed doors. Back in the day my mum was in the back of the car going to engagements in floods of tears, and then my dad saying, ‘we’re almost there’ and 30 seconds to wipe the tears away, slap on some make-up, and the door opens and smile, everything is fine.”

Meghan talks about having suicidal thoughts – something she spoke about previously during the couple’s interview with Oprah in 2021.

A new Harry & Meghan trailer has been released for their Netflix docuseries.
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Pic: Netflix

“All of this will stop if I’m not here and that was the scariest thing about it, it was such clear thinking,” she says in the documentary.

Her mother, Doria Ragland, recalls finding out how her daughter was feeling: “I remember her telling me that she had wanted to take her own life and that really broke my heart because I knew that it was bad, but to constantly be picked at by these vultures, just picking away at her spirit that she would actually think of not wanting to be here, that’s not an easy one for a mum to hear. And I can’t protect her.”

Harry says he was “devastated” when he realised just how much his wife was struggling.

“I knew that she was struggling, we were both struggling, but I never thought it would get to that stage and the fact that it got to that stage, I felt angry and ashamed,” he says. “I didn’t deal with it particularly well. I dealt with it as institutional Harry as opposed to husband Harry, and what took over my feelings was my royal role.

“I had been trained to think, ‘what are people going to think if we don’t go to this event, we are gonna be late’, and looking back now I hate myself for it.”

Meghan says she wanted to get help but “wasn’t allowed”.

‘To see my brother’s office copy the very same thing… that was heartbreaking’

Britain's William, Prince of Wales and Prince Harry march during a procession where the coffin of Britain's Queen Elizabeth is transported from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament for her lying in state, in London, Britain, September 14, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

Speaking about the press interest, Harry says: “No one would have private conversations with the editors saying ‘enough’. My dad said to me, ‘darling boy, you can’t take on the media, the media will always be the media’. And I said I fundamentally disagree.”

Harry then says: “I have 30 years experience of looking behind the curtain and seeing how this system works and how it runs and just constant briefings about other members of the family, favours inviting the press in, it’s a dirty game.”

He also speaks about the “leaking” and “planting of stories” – an issue addressed by Meghan in the preview trailer. “So if the comms team want to be able to remove a negative story about their principal, they will trade and give you something about someone else’s principal, so the offices end up working against each other, so it’s kind of a weird understanding, acceptance that this happens,” he says.

He says he and William “both saw what happened in our dad’s office and we made an agreement to never have that happen to our office”.

With images of the brothers as children shown on screen, the duke says: “I would far rather get destroyed in the press than play along with this game or this business of trading, and to see my brother’s office copy the very same thing that we promised the two of us would never ever do, that was heartbreaking.”

Harry also says he believes Meghan suffered a miscarriage “because of what the Mail did”.

He says: “I watched the whole thing. Now, do we absolutely know that the miscarriage was created, caused by that? Course we don’t. But bearing in mind the stress that it caused, the lack of sleep and the timing of the pregnancy, how many weeks in she was, I can say from what I saw, that miscarriage was created by what they were trying to do to her.”

Meghan’s letter to her father

Thomas Markle fears he will never see his daughter again

The final three episodes of the series also take a look at a letter written by Meghan to her father, Thomas Markle, about interviews he was giving, which was published in part by the Mail on Sunday.

She says she wrote it after seeking advice from the Queen and Charles, but that she tried to send it discreetly.

“People are scratching their heads going, ‘how would the Mail have either the stupidity, or the whatever you want to call it, to print a letter between a daughter and a father?'” says Harry. “Well the answer is simple: they knew the family would encourage us not to sue.”

In the end, they did sue – with Meghan winning her privacy claim. However, she was awarded just £1 compensation from the Mail On Sunday’s publisher for misuse of private information.

‘Then one day this little organism comes in’

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‘When someone steals the limelight, it upsets people’

Meghan also says the couple’s former private secretary told her about the monarchy: “It is like a fish that is swimming perfectly. It is powerful, it is on the right current. Then one day this little organism comes in. This foreign organism. And the entire thing goes… What is that? What is it doing here? It doesn’t look like us. It doesn’t move like us. We don’t like it. Get it off of us.

“And she just explained that, you know, they’ll soon see, that it’s stronger, faster, even better with this organism as part of it. It will be hard at the beginning for them to adjust to this new thing but then it’ll be amazing.”

Meghan added: “And I was really hopeful that that was true.”

The episode addresses the couple’s initial popularity following their wedding and when they announced they were having their first child, and how this affected the Royal Family.

“The issue is when someone who is marrying in who should be a supporting act is stealing the limelight or doing the job better than the person who was born to do this, that upsets people, it shifts the balance,” says Harry.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s death

Prince Harry and Prince Philip

The final episode shows Harry watching footage of black cabs in London lining The Mall as a mark of respect following the death of Prince Philip in 2021.

Speaking about his grandfather’s death, Harry says: “I was actually really happy for my grandfather. He went quietly. He went peacefully. He went happily.”

Asked about what it was like returning to the UK for the funeral, he adds: “It was hard, especially spending time having chats with my brother and my father who just were very much focused on the same misinterpretation of the whole situation.

“So none of us really wanted to have to talk about it at my grandfather’s funeral, but we did. I’ve had to make peace with the fact that I’m probably never going to get genuine accountability or a genuine apology.

“You know, my wife and I, we’re moving on. We were focused on what’s coming next.”

Danny Baker’s tweet

Screen Grabs taken from Harry and Meghan  Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan
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Pic: Netflix

Harry also speaks in the series about broadcaster Danny Baker’s infamous tweet following the birth of baby Archie.

The radio presenter posted a black and white photo showing a well-dressed man and woman holding hands with a suited chimpanzee, captioning it: “Royal baby leaves hospital.”

“The amount of abuse that we got, especially you (Meghan), but the both of us, for not wanting to serve our child up on a silver platter was incredible,” says Harry.

“Someone in the media posting a photograph of a couple with a chimp, and at the top it said, ‘Royal baby leaves hospital’. So that was one of the first things that I saw.”

Baker later apologised, writing: “Sorry my gag pic of the little fella in the posh outfit has whipped some up. Never occurred to me because, well, mind not diseased.”

Read more:
Row over whether Royal Family were approached for series
‘I’ve always been a hugger’: Meghan on meeting the royals for first time

The final episodes of Harry & Meghan come a week after the first three launched, recording 81.55 million viewing hours so far, translating to viewing in 28 million households, according to Netflix.

The streaming platform has launched the series almost three years after the Sussexes revealed they intended to “step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent”.

They officially left the monarchy in March 2020 and went on to sign lucrative deals, thought to be worth more than £100m, with Netflix and Spotify.

Before the first episodes were released, it emerged a photo and footage shown in two preview trailers, apparently to illustrate hounding by the paparazzi, were from events the couple were not associated with.

Neither Kensington Palace, which represents the Prince and Princess of Wales, nor Buckingham Palace have commented on the series.

Sky News understands palace officials are focused on the Princess of Wales’s carol service, which is due to be filmed at Westminster Abbey on Thursday.

The event will aim to shine a light on a congregation of almost 2,000 people who have been helping their communities across the UK, as well as remembering the Queen’s legacy.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

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MP tells Sky News she was attacked online by Tate brothers after Commons contribution

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MP tells Sky News she was attacked online by Tate brothers after Commons contribution

An MP has told Sky News she was attacked online by the Tate brothers after she participated in a debate in the House of Commons about violence against women.

The controversial duo, Andrew and Tristan Tate, are facing charges of rape and human trafficking in the UK – all of which they deny.

But they are still very active online, and according to Sorcha Eastwood, the MP for Lagan Valley, are targeting her.

In a document seen by Sky News, Tristan Tate has highlighted one of the MP’s tweets and writes in private correspondence: “MP, nice target, can we sue her?”

Sorcha Eastwood says at first she thought the replies were from parody accounts and not the Tate brothers.

Her original tweet was about Elon Musk, not the Tate brothers. The MP said Musk’s tweets should be looked at through a counter-extremism lens.

“I was really concerned, I was concerned because to me that is a direct attack for want of a better phrase on me serving my constituents.

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“I couldn’t believe that they decided to pick this random Northern Irish MP. The fact that it wasn’t even about them. This is something I didn’t go looking for.

“I think from my perspective, it’s a very, very sinister attempt to shut down important voices in public life, political discourse.”

It was only when she started noticing an uptick in abuse from other accounts she realised she had encountered some of the brothers’ followers.

“I had rape threats. I had death threats. I had people saying I should be hung from a lamppost. I had people saying I should be chopped into liver. I also had people then who were like we’ll waste 15 minutes raping Sorcha Eastwood.”

Andrew and Tristan Tate
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A representative for the Tate brothers told Sky News that there was no targeted campaign against Sorcha Eastwood

A representative for the Tate brothers told Sky News that there was no targeted campaign against her.

They said: “Ms Eastwood has a distorted view regarding social media if she believes one is required to ‘invite or ask’ people to interact.

“Tristan Tate is entitled to his view in relation to her tweet regarding Elon Musk.”

The self-styled “misogynist influencer” Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have both been charged with human trafficking, face allegations of trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering in Romania.

There is also a European arrest warrant for them as they are facing separate, unrelated charges of rape and human trafficking in the UK. They deny all charges.

Ms Eastwood now worries for others who don’t have a platform like her and who may not feel like they can speak out.

“If this is what has happened to me I have absolutely no doubt that this has happened to others where they have been attempted to be silenced.”

Keir Starmer has previously commented on the Tate brothers’ case in the Commons saying it is “a live issue”, but adding that “the principle is absolutely clear” in relation to whether the brothers should face justice.

Sorcha Eastwood says she wants to see the government do much more to protect against abuse online.

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Tate brothers deny wrongdoing

“I think ultimately the government has taken the wrong course on this. They need to step up.

“This should be an issue of national security as far as the radicalisation of young people online. It should be an issue in terms of the levels of misinformation, disinformation and the lack of trust that is had in our politics right across the UK and Europe.

“I want the government to help me, help every other person to crack down on this and get serious about it. And the only way they’ll be able to do that, is by hitting these tech companies in the only language which they understand, which is money and via robust legislation.”

A government spokesperson said: “Violence against women and girls is a scourge on our society which is why we have set out an unprecedented mission to halve these crimes within a decade.

“Tackling illegal abuse both online and offline is central to supporting victims and preventing harm in our communities and we will not hesitate to strengthen laws to deliver this mission.

“Last month, parts of the Online Safety Act came into force meaning companies must take action to protect users from illegal material including extreme sexual violence.

“Further protections from this summer will require platforms to protect children from harmful, misogynistic, and violent content.”

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‘It’s just nasty’: Birmingham residents ‘overwhelmed’ by foul stench and massive rats as bins strike rumbles on

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'It's just nasty': Birmingham residents 'overwhelmed' by foul stench and massive rats as bins strike rumbles on

In parts of Birmingham, the stench is overwhelming – enough to make you heave.

At a block of flats in Highgate, in Birmingham city centre, we find a mountain of bin liners full of rubbish spewing out of the cavernous bin store, which is normally locked.

Mickel comes out to speak to us, while all around bin liners lie open, with the contents for all to see, including used nappies and rotting food.

Birmingham
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Mickel says they’ve had ‘foxes and rats, literally the size of cats’

Outside Mickel's flat in Highgate, bin liners lie open, spewing out rubbish, including used nappies and rotting food
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Outside Mickel’s flat in Highgate, bin liners lie open, spewing out rubbish

We both find it hard to keep talking amid the awful smell.

“We’ve had foxes and rats, literally the size of cats, flies, it’s just nasty, something needs to be done,” he says.

Birmingham
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Chris says the situation is ‘overwhelming’ as she’s ‘terrified of rats’

Around the corner, I meet Chris, in her dressing gown, popping the bins into her bin store beneath her flat before work.

She unlocks it, and although it isn’t bursting out on to the street yet, it is getting full.

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She says the situation is “overwhelming” as she’s “terrified of rats”. But, even so, she has sympathy for the striking bin workers.

“It’s not an easy job; they must have a heart of gold to do that job,” she says.

“Pay them whatever they need, they deserve it.”

Striking bin workers in Birmingham
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Striking bin workers at Lifford Lane tip, south of the city centre

a mountain of bin liners full of rubbish spewing out of the cavernous bin store, which is normally locked.
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There’s an awful smell coming from a mountain of bin liners outside Mickel’s flat in Highgate

At Lifford Lane tip, south of the city centre, Brigette has pulled up alongside picketing workers. The back seat of her car is full of rubbish.

She apologises for the terrible waft, mixed with air freshener.

Read more:
Pest controllers ‘feel like an emergency service’
Bin workers strike explained

“It’s very pungent, isn’t it? Not nice,” she admits.

“It’s unfortunate, I have some sympathies for all the parties, but, equally, we have a duty of care to stay clean and tidy.”

She says she has her rubbish and that of her elderly aunt and plans to make weekly trips to the tip until a resolution in this pay dispute between the council and the Unite union is found.

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‘US is our closest ally’, Jonathan Reynolds says in reaction to Trump tariffs – but ‘nothing off the table’

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'US is our closest ally', Jonathan Reynolds says in reaction to Trump tariffs - but 'nothing off the table'

The US is “our closest ally” but “nothing is off the table” in response to Donald Trump’s 10% tariffs on imports from the UK, the business secretary has said.

In a statement following the US president’s nearly hour-long address to the world, Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “We will always act in the best interests of UK businesses and consumers.

“That’s why, throughout the last few weeks, the government has been fully focused on negotiating an economic deal with the United States that strengthens our existing fair and balanced trading relationship.”

Follow the latest following Trump’s tariffs announcement

Mr Reynolds reiterated the statements from the prime minister and his cabinet over the past few days, saying the US is “our closest ally”, and the government’s approach is to “remain calm and committed to doing this deal, which we hope will mitigate the impact of what has been announced today”.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds arrives in Downing Street, London, for a Cabinet meeting. Picture date: Tuesday January 28, 2025.
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Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds says “nothing is off the table” following the tariffs announcement. Pic: PA

But he continued: “We have a range of tools at our disposal, and we will not hesitate to act. We will continue to engage with UK businesses, including on their assessment of the impact of any further steps we take.

“Nobody wants a trade war, and our intention remains to secure a deal. But nothing is off the table, and the government will do everything necessary to defend the UK’s national interest.”

More on Donald Trump

‘Get back round the negotiating table’, say Tories

The Conservative Party’s shadow business and trade secretary described the US president’s announcement as “disappointing news which will worry working families across the country”.

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Sky’s Ed Conway examines how economies across the world are impacted by tariffs

Andrew Griffith hit out at the government for having “failed to negotiate with President Trump’s team for too many months after the election, failed to keep our experienced top trade negotiator, and failed to get a deal to avoid the imposition of these tariffs by our closest trading partner”.

“The chancellor’s emergency budget of just a week ago with its inadequate headroom is now at risk, casting uncertainty about more taxes or spending cuts,” he continued. “Sadly, it is British businesses and workers who will pay the price for Labour’s failure.”

He called on ministers to “swallow their pride” and “get back round the negotiating table to agree a fair deal to protect jobs and consumers in both the UK and the US alike”.

Relief in Westminster – but concessions to Trump to come

It has been quite a rollercoaster for the government, where they went from the hope that they could avoid tariffs, that they could get that economic deal, to the realisation that was not going to happen, and then the anticipation of how hard would the UK be hit.

In Westminster tonight, there is actual relief because the UK is going to have a 10% baseline tariff – but that is the least onerous of all the tariffs we saw President Trump announce.

He held up a chart of the worst offenders, and the UK was well at the bottom of that list.

No 10 sources were telling me as President Trump was in the Rose Garden that while no tariffs are good, and it’s not what they want, the fact the UK has tariffs that are lower than others vindicates their approach.

They say it’s important because the difference between a 20% tariff and a 10% tariff is thousands of jobs.

Where to next? No 10 says it will “keep negotiating, keep cool and calm”, and reiterated Sir Keir Starmer’s desire to “negotiate a sustainable trade deal”.

“Of course want to get tariffs lowered. Tomorrow we will continue with that work,” a source added.

Another source said the 10% tariff shows that “the UK is in the friendlies club, as much as that is worth anything”.

Overnight, people will be number-crunching, trying to work out what it means for the UK. There is a 25% tariff on cars which could hit billions in UK exports, in addition to the blanket 10% tariff.

But despite this being lower than many other countries, GDP will take a hit, with forecasts being downgraded probably as we speak.

I think the government’s approach will be to not retaliate and try to speed up that economic deal in the hope that they can lower the tariffs even further.

There will be concessions. For example, the UK could lower the Digital Services Tax, which is imposed on the UK profits of tech giants. Will they loosen regulation on social media companies or agricultural products?

But for now, there is relief the UK has not been hit as hard as many others.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has reacted furiously to Mr Trump’s announcement of a “destructive trade war”, and called on the government to stand up against “Trump’s attempts to divide and rule”.

“The prime minister should bring our Commonwealth and European partners together in a coalition of the willing against Trump’s tariffs, using retaliatory tariffs where necessary and signing new trade deals with each other where possible.”

Speaking on Wednesday evening at a White House event entitled ‘Make America Wealthy Again’, the US president unleashed sweeping tariffs across the globe.

Mr Trump held up a chart detailing the worst offenders – which also showed the new tariffs the US would be imposing.

The UK’s rate of 10% was perhaps a shot across the bow over the 20% VAT rate, though the president’s suggested a 10% tariff imbalance between the two nations. Nonetheless, tariffs of 10% could directly reduce UK GDP by between 0.01% and 0.06%, according to Capital Economics.

A 25% duty on all car imports from around the world is also being imposed from midnight in the US – 5am on Thursday, UK time.

Read more:

World reacts to Trump’s tariff announcement
Tariffs will have consequences for globalisation, the US economy and geopolitics
Trump’s tariffs explained

The UK government had been hoping to negotiate an economic deal with the US in a bid to avoid the tariffs, but to no avail. The government says negotiations will continue.

The Confederation of British Industry said “negotiating stronger trading relationships with all like-minded partners will be foundational to any success”.

The business secretary is expected to make a statement in the House of Commons on Thursday, and we are also expecting to hear from the prime minister.

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