Prince Philip was, reportedly, part of the negotiations between the royal family and Prince Harry in Sandringham in January. The Duke of Edinburgh was supposed to sit down with his grandson, who announced that he and Meghan Markle were dropping their royal roles. However, the elderly royal decided to walk out of the crisis talks at the last minute, a new biography revealed.
Finding Freedom underscored that Prince Philip was seen leaving Sandringham just hours before Prince Harry had a meeting with Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and Prince William. Sources told the biography's authors, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, that the Duke of Edinburgh went to his farmhouse nearby instead of joining the negotiations.
Apparently, Prince Philip's reaction regarding Prince Harry and Meghan's announcement to step back was "explosive." Reports revealed, at that time, that Queen Elizabeth's husband was furious mostly because the Sussex pair's decision hurt the Queen.
Daily Mail reported that Prince Philip felt Prince Harry and Meghan disrespected Queen Elizabeth. A source told the news outlet that the Duke of Edinburgh also felt that Prince Harry let them down. The new biography, which will be out in August, confirmed Prince Philip's reaction.
On July 22, Prince Philip briefly came out of his three-year retirement to hand over an honorary military role to Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. Reports stated, however, that Prince Harry could have inherited the honor as the Colonel-in-Chief of the Rifles had he not quit the royal family.
As a former military man, Prince Harry was the obvious choice to succeed his grandfather in the role. Upon Prince Philip's retirement in 2017, he made Prince Harry the Captain-General of the Royal Marines.
But, part of Prince Harry's agreement with the royal family was that he had to give up his ceremonial military roles when he quit being a working royal. However, he was allowed to retain the ranks he worked hard for and earned in his 10 years in the service.
Prince Harry undertook two tours of duty in Afghanistan and left the military as a captain. His military career was cut short when the press got wind of his assignments, which made Buckingham Palace worried for his safety.
Today, Prince Harry still works with his former brothers-in-arms via the Invictus Games, the charity he established for wounded and former soldiers. His family, including Prince Philip, were able to watch one of these events in London in its early years but the Invictus Games have been canceled this year due to the coronavirus.
