Prince Harry scoffed that William and Charles were trapped
Prince Harry scoffed that Prince William and King Charles were “trapped” in a “toxic” royal system during his 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview, saying they “don’t get to leave.” The remarks resurface as Harry and Meghan Markle announced a move back to the UK with their children, six years after stepping back from royal life.
Key Takeaways
- In 2021, Harry told Oprah that his father and brother were “trapped” in the royal “system” and “don’t get to leave.”
- He said he initially “didn’t see a way out” of royal life before leaving the UK in 2020 with Markle.
- Page Six confirmed Wednesday that the Sussexes are returning to Britain with Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5.
- Harry’s bond with William remains “so broken,” while he has reportedly made inroads with Charles.
What did Prince Harry say about William and Charles being trapped?
During the 2021 interview with Winfrey, Harry described royal life as a “toxic” environment. “I was trapped but I didn’t know I was trapped,” he said. “Trapped within the system like the rest of the family. My father and my brother are trapped. They don’t get to leave and I have huge compassion for that.”
Asked if he meant William also wanted “to leave the system,” Harry replied, “I don’t know — I can’t speak for him.” On why Charles stayed, he said, “He’s had to make peace with it.”
Harry, now 41, said watching Markle struggle made him rethink how his family handled things. He recalled going to “a very dark place” and feeling he had “no one to turn to,” adding that relatives had a mentality of “this is just how it is. You can’t change it. We’ve all been through it.”
Why is the 2021 Oprah interview back in the spotlight?
The quotes are circulating again because the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they are moving back to the United Kingdom — a reversal of the 2020 departure often called “Megxit.” Page Six reported that Harry once sounded glad he could leave a life he said his father and brother could not exit.
According to Page Six, the couple will return at the end of the month for an “extended period.” A source said the palace was informed and that King Charles III learned of the decision on Sunday. Another insider said, “I know that Charles is the reason they are moving back.”
Charles, 77, was diagnosed with cancer in February 2024. Later palace briefings said he had “responded exceptionally well to treatment,” though he was not described as “in remission” in December 2025. A source said he “looks forward” to more time with the Sussexes privately, but their status as “non-working members” of the royal family will not change. They will live in “a non-royal residence” and “continue with their business enterprises,” The Sun first reported.
For more celebrity breaking news, the contrast is sharp: in 2024 Harry told the New York Times DealBook Summit that raising Archie and Lilibet in Montecito, California, was “the life that my mom wanted for me,” and that he planned to stay in the United States indefinitely.
How strained is Harry’s relationship with William now?
Page Six says tension between Harry and William, 44, dates to 2018 and deepened after the Oprah interview, the 2022 Netflix series “Harry & Meghan,” and the 2023 memoir “Spare.” An insider told People last month that the brothers’ relationship remains “so broken.” A second source said there has been “no movement, especially on William’s side” and “there is no contact.”
The family saw Charles and Queen Camilla at Highgrove House last month, the monarch’s first meeting with his grandchildren in four years. There was no interaction with William and Kate Middleton at the time. Harry was photographed smiling Wednesday at a veterans roundtable in Washington as the UK return news broke.