Relations between senior royals like King Charles and Prince William versus Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been exceedingly strained since Megxit in 2020. But now, it seems things may have deteriorated even further behind palace walls, thanks in large part to one very bold move made recently by Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
According to inside sources close to the firm, Sophie had grown so tired and annoyed by constant begging calls from Harry and Meghan to stay in her sprawling country mansion that she was forced to take drastic action.
Sophie and her husband, Prince Edward, reside full-time at Bagshot Park, a grand 120-room Georgian-style home located in Surrey, just an hour outside London. The luxurious stately property sits on 125 acres of enviable landscaped grounds and countryside.
Ever since stepping back from royal duties and relocating to California, Harry and Meghan have made no secret of their desire to maintain a sizable property base inside the UK as well for various personal and business trips back home. They had previously occupied Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, but that arrangement became untenable once they quit as working royals.
So, sources say the Sussexes have been persistently phoning and emailing Sophie for months, pleading for permission to occasionally stay as guests in some of the many vacant rooms within Bagshot Park's palatial walls. They cited reasons like wanting their children, Archie and Lilibet, to experience family time in the UK with their royal cousins.
However, Sophie has apparently grown exceedingly wary of the couple's motives after their numerous bombshell media appearances tearing down the institution. She suspected they simply wanted to utilize the estate's prestige and connections for self-promotional purposes while causing chaos and conflict behind closed doors.
After stonewalling their calls for space at Bagshot for over six months and fed up, Sophie took the unprecedented step of outright cutting their telephone line access completely without notice. The humiliating move effectively banned the exile duo from directly contacting her residents ever again.
Sources say this angered Harry greatly, who viewed it as a personal slap in the face given Sophie and Edward's vows to always be supportive friends and mentors after Diana's death. But Sophie had lost all patience with the Sussexes' constant upheaval and disrespect towards the Queen and other senior royals like Charles and Anne.
Word of Sophie's ruthless line-severing move quickly spread through palace circles and was met with approval from senior courtiers who felt Harry and Meghan had crossed an unforgivable line long ago with their hurtful Oprah broadsides and jabs.
Even minor royals like Princess Anne are said to now refuse any contact. So, in summary, this decisive phone line cutoff by the usually genteel Countess of Wessex demonstrated just how toxic relations with the Sussexes have become, that even their closest royal confidants want nothing further to do with them.
It highlights Harry and Meghan remain personae non gratae, both physically within palaces and now even communication-wise. Their permanent exile from the working firm and all royal privileges looks complete, barring any dramatic U-turn or unforeseen change of course.
So perhaps it's no surprise frequent trips back to the UK may not be viable after all if even secondary royals are shutting doors in their face at every opportunity. These two have some serious bridges left to rebuild.
