Thursday 22 September 2022 03:08 AM Prince Harry suggested a 'mediator' to 'clear the air' and help resolve rift ... trends now

Prince Harry suggested bringing in a mediator to solve his rift with the rest of the Royal Family, causing Camilla to 'splutter over her tea', a royal book has claimed.

In a book soon to be published about The Firm, The New Royals, author and journalist Katie Nicholl addressed the deepening division between the Sussexes and other members of the Royal Family after Harry and Meghan decided to step down as senior royals and begin a new life in the US in 2020.

The book quotes an unnamed family friend who told the author the Duke of Sussex met with his father in spring this year and wanted 'to clear the air' - but the awkward meeting left relations strained.

After the Duke and Duchess did not attend the Duke of Edinburgh's memorial service at Westminster Abbey in March amid a reported dispute over their UK security arrangements, Nicholl wrote that a glimmer of hope was on the horizon when the couple stopped off in the UK before a visit to The Hague for an Invictus Games event a few weeks later. 

She also wrote that Prince William and wife Kate felt 'relief' when Harry and Meghan announced their decision to move to the US, because they felt that the 'drama was gone'.

William is also reported to have held a summit of aides - which came to be known as the ‘Anmer Summit’ after the couple’s Norfolk home - to discuss the Royal Family's future in the wake of his move to the States. 

In an extract of the book published in Vanity Fair, Nicholl said King Charles, who was then Prince of Wales, insisted on a meeting with Harry over tea before he had an audience with the Queen.

'The meeting with Charles and Camilla was more awkward than their cordial tea with the queen,' Nicholl wrote, adding that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were late to the meeting which left Charles with just 15 minutes to catch up with his youngest son and daughter-in-law before he had to attend the Royal Maundy Service at Windsor Castle where he stood in for the Queen.

The family friend said: '[Harry] actually suggested that they use a mediator to try and sort things out, which had Charles somewhat bemused and Camilla spluttering into her tea.' 

They added the Queen Consort told the Duke his suggestion was 'ridiculous' and that they would resolve their differences within the family.  

Nicholl's book also claimed the Queen was left 'hurt and exhausted' by Harry and Meghan's decision to step down as senior members of the Royal Family and move to the US.

A source close to Her late Majesty claimed she didn't like to think about the Duke and Duchess's decision to leave the family, and also revealed the Queen was disappointed when Harry and Meghan didn't return to the UK in August with Archie and Lilibet, where she was hosting an annual 'sleepover' in Sandringham with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The source told the author: '[The Queen] was very hurt and told me, 'I don't know, I don't care, and I don't want to think about it anymore'.' 

The source added it was of more regret to Her late Majesty that the Sussexes' move meant she did not have the opportunity to see as much of Archie and Lilibet as she'd have liked.

Her late Majesty passed away at Balmoral Castle on 8 September at the age of 96, at which point her eldest son Charles automatically became King.

As the monarch, the book claims Charles is keen to heal the rift between the family and his youngest son Harry, 38. 

In his first televised address to the nation on 9 September, King Charles said: 'I want also to express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas.'

Some royal fans have claimed the mention of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was an 'olive branch' towards the couple, who happened to be visiting Europe when the Queen passed away.