Why the relationship between princes William and Harry "has changed irreparably"
The strained relationship between some of the media and British royalty is not new.
Already in the late 90s, Prince William and Harry's mother, Diana Spencer or simply Lady Di, complained in a revealing interview with the BBC about the harassment of the press, while she was married to Prince Charles and after divorcing from the.
Diana died at the age of 36 in a car accident in Paris while escaping from the paparazzi, in 1997.
Last weekend, a documentary aired on British television in which Prince Harry and his wife, former American actress Meghan Markle, reveal how difficult it is for them to face the press harassment, in addition to how hard it is. being for Markle to endure the pressures after becoming a member of the royal family.
In the documentary, Prince Harry also came to reveal that he had distanced himself from his brother, William.
"We are certainly on different paths right now," he said of his relative.
His statements suggest a change that, according to the BBC's real affairs journalist Jonny Dymond, is "irreparable."
Here he explains why.
"For ordinary people like you and me," a Buckingham Palace official recently told me, "there are two crucial issues: death and taxes."
"For them - in reference to royalty - there is death, taxes and the media."
As the waters return to their course after one of the most revealing interviews since Princess Diana spoke to the BBC in 1995, that is still the reality that Harry and Meghan, and the rest of the royal family, have to live with.
Perhaps the interview broadcast in the documentary was a moment of liberation for Harry and Meghan, an opportunity to tell the world about their unhappiness: the pressure she has felt, his anger at what he sees as a journalistic campaign against his wife. , the prince's battle for her sanity, the lack of support she feels from the rest of the Palace.
Perhaps it was a gamble to win public sympathy, an attempt to bypass the filter of newspapers that Harry despises so much.
But what's puzzling is what the couple thought it would achieve in the medium term. And that seems more like a triumph of tactics than of strategy itself.
The cameras and lights won't go away now that Harry said they remind him of the worst part of his mother's life.
The newspaper columnists, who have harshly criticized the Duke and Duchess for so many months, are not going to change her personality because Meghan says the UK's best-selling newspapers weren't fair to her.
And the scrutiny on the couple, which has shown some degree of "I say one thing but do another," is not going away. In fact, it will likely increase.
Because these interviews are a double-edged sword.
They give participants an opportunity to present their case to the public. But they also give the couple's critics a clear target.
How can Harry and Meghan now ask for privacy and restraint on issues like their mental health or well-being when they came out on national television and discussed it with a friendly interviewer?
That is why any experienced royal adviser they consulted would have asked for extreme caution, to say the least.
And that's why there was so much concern about the interview among other parts of the royal family.
A source very close to what happened told the BBC that William was "furious" with Harry. Another source close to Prince William said that was not what he understood. But whatever the immediate reaction, there will have also been bewilderment.
One of the ways in which the brothers have differentiated is in their attitude towards the media.
William understands that newspapers, radio, and television are a very important part of getting his message across to the public.
Harry can't get over his hatred for the people and institutions he blames for the death of his mother, Diana, the Princess of Wales. He gets angry at the press, particularly the best-selling newspapers.
The relationship between William and Harry has irreparably changed.
And everything indicates that, given the separation of the homes and the charitable foundation (in his name), and the establishment of communication teams and separate activities, relations will sour even more.
This is how it works when you have different goals and staff. They have friction.
Two days after the interview aired, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex fought back: An unidentified source speaking on their behalf or close to the clearly unhappy couple spoke to CNN.
In addition to suggesting that the uproar over the interview was somewhat armed, he made a criticism of the Palace and a slight to the Royal Family that would have come from one of his closest employees.
"Echoes of the years of Diana and Carlos"
The source told CNN "that the institution surrounding the British royal family is full of people who are fearful and inexperienced in how to help better harness and unfold the value of the royal couple."
The source said Harry and Meghan "have modernized the monarchy on their own."
The BBC repeatedly asked to speak to the couple's communications secretary, Sara Latham, but received no response.
A friend of Latham's told the BBC that the comments defending Harry and Meghan, and criticizing the Palace, did not come from her.
Communication wars are rarely won. They continue in humiliating fashion, each side dropping even lower with each response. And the monarchy falls with them.
The echoes of the unhappy years of Diana and Carlos are strong, growing stronger.
