Inside Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles' 'different plans' for Harry and Meghan's interview

Queen Elizabeth II and her son Prince Charles had very contradictory views on how to deal with the crisis caused by the recent tell-all interview by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. They had to come to an agreement before they finalised the "concerned" statement issued by Buckingham Palace.

According to a report in Us Weekly, Queen Elizabeth II wanted to take a sombre approach with her grandson Harry and his wife Meghan, who have accused Buckingham Palace of racism among other things, but Prince Charles wanted to sternly deny their allegations.

A source explained: "Charles and the Queen had very different plans for how to respond. Charles wanted to rebuke every claim made by Meghan and Harry and the Queen wanted to take a more modest approach."

The insider also revealed that the heir apparent "especially wanted to make a statement" against his son and daughter-in-law's claims that an unknown member of the royal family was concerned about the skin colour of their unborn son, but he was "overruled by other members of the family." The statement that finally went out read that the charge of racism was "concerning" and would be "taken very seriously," and that the matter would be "addressed by the family privately".

While Meghan and Harry said wonderful things about the Queen in their interview and spoke kindly of other family members as well, it was Prince Charles who faced the brunt of the criticism. Though Meghan did not make any statement against him, Harry confessed that he feels "really let down" by his father. The Duke of Sussex said that Charles "stopped" taking his calls after two conversations about his and Meghan's decision to step back as senior members of the royal family.

"I feel really let down because he's been through something similar and he knows what pain feels like and Archie's his grandson. But at the same time, of course I will always love him but there's a lot of hurt that's happened and I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship," the 36-year-old told Oprah.

Charles was asked about his thoughts on his son's remarks when he visited a COVID-19 vaccine site in London last week. According to Daily Express royal correspondent Richard Palmer, the heir to the throne "chuckled and carried on walking" upon hearing the question.