The Royal family’s lawyers asked a US broadcaster to hand over the Duke of Sussex’s latest interview, as he expressed concern for royal children.
A legal firm acting for Buckingham Palace contacted ABC while the Duke’s Good Morning America interview was on air, saying it needed to consider exactly what was said and “the context in which it appears” in order to have the opportunity to respond.
Royal sources insisted it was a standard “right of reply” letter, but it raised the prospect that they were concerned about something specific that the Duke may have said.
Neither Buckingham Palace nor Kensington Palace has so far commented on any of the allegations made.
However, the Queen Consort is widely reported to be the King’s “red line”.
In his ITV interview on Sunday evening, the Duke repeated a claim, also made in his book, that Camilla leaked a story about her first meeting with Prince William to the press.
He has also alleged that his own interests were “sacrificed on her PR altar” and referred to her as a “villain” who left “bodies in the street” as she strove to rehabilitate her image.
It is a matter of public record that the Queen Consort did not leak the story about meeting William. The details were leaked, inadvertently, by Camilla’s own private secretary, who was eventually sacked over the incident.
Palace lawyers asked both ABC and CBS, which also broadcast an interview with the Duke on Sunday evening, for a copy of the Duke’s interviews but the requests were declined.
It will be followed on Tuesday with an interview in People magazine and a live appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in New York.