Many close toPrince Harryare concerned about the growing distance between him and the rest of the royal family — especially given that he has recently pulled away from many longtime friends.
A well-connected source tellsPEOPLE in this week’s cover storythat the Queen’s grandson, 35, “cut off” many of his close pals “about six months into”Meghan Markle‘s pregnancy with sonArchie, born May 6.
“Most no longer even have his cell number,” says the insider. “They totally understand that men often drift from their friends after marriage, but there’s still a lot of resentment because they had been so close for so long.”
One exception is Charlie van Straubenzee. The pals met at Ludgrove Prep School and have remained close ever since — in fact, they were all smilesattending each other’s weddingsjust months apart in 2018. Van Staubenzee is also a godfather to Archie.
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Meghan Markle and Jessica Mulroney.George Pimentel/WireImage
A fracture betweenPrince HarryandPrince Williambegan when the older sibling voiced concern that Harry and Meghan were moving too fast — and the split widened as the newlyweds increasingly felt ostracized from the rest of the family.
Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex released a statement last week announcing their intent to “carve out a progressive new role within this institution” — however, the public announcement came with little formal warning and left senior royals “hurt,” a royal source says.
But in this week’s cover story, a family friend tells PEOPLE that the couple felt they had no choice but to manage things the way they did, even as they went against the family’s “never complain, never explain” mantra.
“This is not how they wanted to handle this, but Meghan and Harry’s hand was forced,” says the friend. “There is so much bad blood in that family — it’s toxic.”
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The friend adds, “If relationships had been better, things would have been different.”
Phil Boucher
source: people.com
