A friendship in the royal ecosystem isn’t just a friendship. It’s access, it’s trust, it’s the quiet promise that whatever you know won’t become tomorrow’s headline. And if the latest claims are true, Prince William has decided that Tom Bradby—once a familiar, safe pair of hands—cashed that promise in when he stepped into Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s storm.
According to William and Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story by royal reporter Russell Myers, Prince William’s long-running relationship with the ITV News anchor fractured after Bradby fronted ITV’s 2019 documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, filmed during the Sussexes’ tour of southern Africa. That documentary is the one that lodged itself in the modern royal narrative like shrapnel: Prince Harry acknowledging the brothers were on “different paths,” and Meghan Markle giving voice to the exhaustion behind her public smile.
Bradby wasn’t just “a reporter” in this story. Myers’ book, as summarised in multiple reports, portrays him as someone who had spent years in the family’s orbit—close enough that when he appeared to tilt toward Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s perspective, Prince William read it not as journalism but as disloyalty.
Instyle (a magazine that is only online now) is claiming King Charles is exasperated with the drama between Prince William and Harry.
There is no drama coming from William. He has decided after the endless puff pieces, the rabid squaddies, and the stress that came with it, that… pic.twitter.com/bmX6TZUDEq
— Suburban Duchess (@SuburbanDuchess) July 20, 2024
RadarOnline, citing Myers’ book and a source described as close to the situation, says Prince William felt personally stung by Bradby’s role in the documentary—less a disagreement over coverage than a rupture over allegiance. “William felt betrayed and severely let down,” the source quoted in the book said, adding that William “never thought (Bradby) would take a side like he did.”
That wording matters because it exposes something the Palace rarely admits out loud: the royals don’t merely want “fair.” They want “faithful.” When Prince William reportedly decided Bradby had crossed from observer to participant, the relationship became unworkable in his eyes.
Other reported passages from Myers’ book put it even more starkly. Another source quoted in RadarOnline claimed, “For William, trust is binary,” and suggested Prince William believed the “damage was irreversible” once Bradby appeared to align himself with one side of a deeply personal family rift. If you take that at face value, it’s not hard to see why the alleged “blackballing” would be so complete: if trust is a switch, Prince William simply flipped it off.
What led up to Prince William insisting he and Harry separate their offices and the Royal Foundation? Harry was the one who spoke about it, with William being his usual private self. William and Harry stopped speaking to one another before Harry left with Meghan on their royal… pic.twitter.com/t1n4cUKLOF
— Suburban Duchess (@SuburbanDuchess) July 23, 2024
There’s also an uncomfortable question underneath the courtly language. Is it reasonable for a journalist to be punished for doing journalism—especially when a documentary subject is speaking in their own words? Or is this another example of a monarchy that insists on a modern image while still craving old rules?
The documentary itself wasn’t coy about emotion. ITV’s write-up of the project recounts Bradby asking Meghan Markle about the toll of scrutiny, and her reply landing with the kind of simplicity that travels faster than any press statement: “Thank you for asking because not many people have asked if I’m ok.” When Bradby followed up—“And the answer is, would it be fair to say, not really ok? That it’s really been a struggle?”—Meghan Markle answered, “Yes.”
If Prince William watched that sequence and saw not an interview but an endorsement, that says as much about the family’s worldview as it does about Bradby’s. Myers’ book, according to one summary, suggests Prince William resented what he saw as a lack of tougher questioning around internal tensions—an expectation that the Sussexes should have been cross-examined, not comforted.
And yet the entire Bradby episode also illustrates a basic truth about royal coverage: the closer you get, the less room there is to move. The royals rely on proximity to shape their public story, and journalists rely on proximity to report it. When the relationship turns sour, it’s never only personal—it’s professional fallout, reputational math, and a warning shot to anyone else hovering at the palace gates.
Would you support King Charles bringing Prince Harry back into the fold?
Is this fair to Prince William? pic.twitter.com/FISpbOqGf7
— MeghansMole©️ (@MeghansMole) January 4, 2026
For Prince William, who is trying to project steadiness as the future king, a former confidant publicly associated with “Team Harry and Meghan” may feel intolerable. For the rest of us, it’s a reminder that in royal life, the sharpest breakups don’t happen on television. They happen behind closed doors—quietly, finally, and with a coldness that can last for years.
