New Documentary Details Fight Where Prince Harry \201cSlammed the Phone Down\201d on Prince William

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 27 August 2022

Details of (another) alleged confrontation between estranged brothers Prince William and Prince Harry are coming to light in a new French documentary called Red Line: William and Harry, the Enemy Brothers (very dramatic title). This time it’s over the Meghan Markle bullying claims that became news in March 2021, right around the time Harry and Meghan appeared in their television special with Oprah Winfrey.

According to OK!, during a phone call where a furious William confronted Harry about the allegations, Harry hung up on his brother, who then jumped in a car to race off to Kensington Palace to confront Harry to his face.

The brothers’ tension was already high before it reached a fever pitch during this argument. “William, who already didn’t like his sister-in-law very much, became furious,” royal biographer Pierrick Geais says in the documentary. “He called Harry directly, and Harry slammed the phone down. Harry didn’t want to know anything, and so William jumped in a car towards Kensington Palace, where he was going to confront Prince Harry.”

The documentary blames “the behavior of Meghan for being at the heart of the breakup between William and Harry.” The bullying accusations against the Duchess of Sussex were first leveled in 2018 by Harry and Meghan’s former communications secretary, Jason Knauf, who sent an email to William’s secretary.

“I am very concerned the Duchess was able to bully two PAs out of the household in the past year,” the email allegedly said. “The treatment of X was totally unacceptable. The Duchess seems intent on always having someone in her sights. She is bullying Y and seeking to undermine her confidence. We have had report after report from people who have witnessed unacceptable behavior towards Y.”

Though the allegations happened in 2018, they did not become public until March 2021, the same month as the bombshell Oprah interview. Meghan denied the bullying allegations.

“Let’s just call this what it is—a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation,” a representative for Meghan said. “It’s no coincidence that distorted several-year-old accusations aimed at undermining the Duchess are being briefed to the British media shortly before she and the Duke are due to speak openly and honestly about their experience of recent years.”

Buckingham Palace summarily released a statement of its own, saying in part they “are clearly very concerned” about the situation. The investigation was finally completed this past June, though the findings were not made public.

Red Line: William and Harry, the Enemy Brothers is coming out on August 31, according to The Sun.

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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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