Prince Harry Says William Screamed, Shouted in Exit Meeting: 'Terrifying'

In his new Netflix series, Prince Harry has described how his brother Prince William began "screaming and shouting" at him during a "terrifying" meeting with Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth II to discuss his and Meghan Markle's decision to step down from their senior working royal roles in 2020.

Labeled the "Sandringham Summit" by the press, the meeting was held after Harry and Meghan released a statement during a January visit to Britain announcing their plans to split their time between the U.K. and North America while working to become "financially independent." Their intention was that this would be in tandem with performing official duties for the queen when called upon to do so.

The announcement created widespread controversy in Britain, with tabloids and commentators criticizing the couple for wanting to "have their cake and eat it too."

The Sandringham meeting, held at the queen's Sandringham estate in Norfolk, was called to work out an official plan for the Sussexes' future while Meghan returned to Canada where the couple were staying with their son Archie.

"It was clear to me that they'd planned it so that you weren't in the room," Harry told Meghan in the docuseries.

The content of the meeting has been widely speculated on, with Harry opening up about it for the first time in detail in the fifth episode of the Harry & Meghan show.

"I went in with the same proposal that we'd already made publicly but once I got there I was given five options," he told viewers. "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. But it became very clear very quickly, that goal was not up for discussion or debate."

"It was terrifying," he continued. "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 sort of take it all in."

This is the first time that the prince has openly addressed in detail his brother William's anger towards him during this time, which was reported on at the time.

After discussing the meeting concluding without any firm action plan, Harry reflected on his resulting relationship with his brother and the tensions the preceding months had caused.

"I mean, the saddest part of it was the wedge created between myself and my brother so that he's now on the institution's side," he said.

"And part of that I get, I understand. That's his inheritance. So, to some extent it's already ingrained in him that part of his responsibility is the survivability and the continuation of this institution."

Later in the episode Harry describes press reports that claimed the Sussexes' move out of the royal fold was due to bullying from William.

"That day a story came out, saying that part of the reason why Meghan and I were leaving was because William had bullied us out and once I got in the car after the meeting, I was a told about a joint statement that had been put out in my name and my brother's name squashing the story about him bullying us out of the family," he said.

"I couldn't believe it," he continued. "No one had asked me permission to put my name to a statement like that. And I rang M [Meghan] 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."

The relationship between the two princes has been closely watched since then, with Harry commenting in his 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey one year after the meeting: "As I've said before, I love William to bits. He's my brother. We've been through hell together. I mean, we have a shared experience. But...we're on different paths."

He said that the relationship was "space at the moment. And, you know, time heals all things, hopefully."

The brothers were last photographed together in public this September when they both participated in events commemorating the death of Queen Elizabeth.

Newsweek approached Kensington Palace for comment.

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