Prince Harry Apparently Told Jack Brooksbank He Was “Fed Up” in Intense Conversation Before the Coronation Started

Prince Harry and Jack Brooksbank chat at the Coronation

(Image credit: Getty)

published 9 May 2023

The lip readers coming in with all of the (alleged) tea! In a conversation with Jack Brooksbank, the husband of Princess Eugenie—and who Prince Harry was seated next to on the third row of Westminster Abbey at his father King Charles’ Coronation—Harry reportedly said he was “fed up,” The Mirror reports.

While waiting for the ceremony to start, Harry spoke intensely with Jack, who the outlet reports “seemed to have sympathy with his cousin-in-law.” Jack asked of Harry “The meeting?” (We aren’t sure what meeting is being referred to here, or whether it did or didn’t take place.) Harry then replied “It’s sad. I’m fed up, I’ve tried talking to him.”

Marie Claire reported recently that Harry and the King had a meeting back in March, so it can likely be deduced that Harry is probably referring to his brother, Prince William, who sat on the front row of the Abbey, just feet away from him.

Jack then asked Harry a question about Meghan, to which Harry replied “No, she’s at…” Jack tilted his head and asked, “And is she?” Harry, nodding his confirmation, responded “It’s not ideal.”

“If it makes [you] feel any better, even I can do it,” Jack said. “It’s not quite the life, is it?” Harry then shook his head as Jack continued “I haven’t had time for that, not if it’s over…” Harry then replied cryptically “It’s an eventuality.”

“The intriguing chat has perhaps thrown up more questions than answers as to the state of Harry’s relationship with the rest of the royal family,” The Mirror reports.

The Jack and Harry conversation wasn’t totally without lightheartedness, though: Lip readers caught Harry telling Jack “That’s funny” while smiling as they waited for the King and Queen to arrive.

Body language expert Judi James told The Mirror that “Harry performed what looked like an oddly-times act of ignore or attention diversion as his father, brother and sister-in-law walked in a procession in front of him. Harry had been chatting animatedly to Edoardo [Princess Beatrice’s husband], jerking a thumb over his shoulder at one point, sharing a giggling laugh that seemed to involve his tongue placed between his teeth, and then doing a mutual, mirrored eye gaze with a matching lip clamp smile to Edo that seemed to signal mutual sympathy or empathy.”

She continued “Harry was looking up as Charles, William, and Kate arrived to walk past, but after looking at his father, Harry turned his head to speak to Edoardo again in a very odd way at a crucial point in the ceremony when all eyes and attention were on Charles and William’s arrival.”

Lip readers and body language experts—what would we do without them?

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.

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