Queen Consort Camilla ‘spluttered over her tea’ when Harry suggested bringing in a mediator to resolve the rift within the family, royal book claims

• Royal book claims Queen Consort was shocked at Harry wanting to use mediator
• The Sussexes and the Royal family have had strained relations since 2020 
• Harry and Meghan made the decision to leave The Firm to move to California, US

Queen Consort Camilla ‘spat out her tea’ when Prince Harry suggested bringing in a mediator to solve the Royal Family rift, 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 of this year and wanted ‘to clear the air’ – but the awkward meeting left relations strained.

A royal book has claimed Harry suggested bringing in a mediator to heal the rift within the royal family, to which Queen Consort Camilla ‘spat out her tea’. Pictured: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla at the Queen’s funeral on Monday

Harry and Meghan (pictured in Windsor two days after the death of Her late Majesty) made the decision to step down as senior royals in early 2020

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.

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.’ 

A source close to the Queen has claimed the couple’s decision left Her late Majesty ‘very hurt’ and unable to think about the situation

King Charles permitted Prince Harry (pictured), who served in Afghanistan, to wear his military uniform as he took part in a vigil on Saturday night in which he guarded the Queen’s coffin in Westminster Hall

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.

The Duchess of Sussex was pictured looking incredibly emotional following the Queen’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday

The Queen (pictured laughing with the Duchess of Sussex in Cheshire, June 2018) was said to have regretted not being able to see more of Archie and Lilibet

Harry and Meghan, who now live in a $14million mansion in Santa Barbara, California, extended their trip and remained in Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor Estate during the period of mourning following the Queen’s death and before her state funeral, committal service and private burial on Monday.

Despite the rift between the Sussexes and the rest of the family, there have been glimpses of a potential reconciliation following the Queen’s death.

On the Saturday after the monarch passed away, the Prince and Princess of Wales made their first public appearance outside the Windsor Estate to read tributes that had been left to Her late Majesty and greet mourners.

In an unexpected appearance, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex joined the couple as the ‘Fab Four’ were reunited in their grief.

King Charles also allowed Prince Harry, who served in Afghanistan, to wear his military uniform during a vigil last Saturday night along with the Queen’s other grandchildren, in which they guarded her coffin as it lay in state in Westminster Hall.

Despite the fact he is no longer a working royal, King Charles granted his youngest son permission to don the military uniform so he could pay his respects to his grandmother.

After Harry and Meghan left The Firm in February 2020, relations became strained between the Duke of Sussex and his father and brother.

The rift in the family deepened a year later when the Sussexes took part in an explosive interview with US presenter and journalist Oprah Winfrey, in which they made controversial claims about the Royal Family.  

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