Queen Elizabeth’s youngest son, Prince Edward, is weighing in on the Royal Family drama.
It’s been over a year since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down from their roles as senior members of the Royal Family. The couple has since moved to the U.S. and, more recently, opened up about the pressures of royal life and all the media scrutiny.
There’s been a lot of speculation surrounding the relationship between the Sussexes and the rest of the Royal Family, and when asked about the tensions in the family, the Earl of Wessex called the whole sitch “very sad.”
“Listen, weirdly we’ve all been there before — we’ve all had excessive intrusion and attention in our lives. And we’ve all dealt with it in slightly different ways, and listen, we wish them the very best of luck. It’s a really hard decision,” Prince Edward says.
He also points out that the Royal Family is a lot like many other families in that there are disagreements.
“It’s difficult for everyone but that’s families for you,” he says.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed their second child, daughter Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, on June 4. The couple also shared the special meaning behind her name in the official statement announcing the birth on the Archewell website.
“Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honor her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales,” the statement reads, in part.
Royal expert Katie Nicholl says that Prince Harry and Meghan naming their daughter after the queen represents an “olive branch.”
“While this may have proved controversial, if we are to take it as a genuine mark of respect to the queen and the ultimate tribute to Harry’s grandmother, then I think that suggests that the couple also are extending an olive branch,” Katie said, per Entertainment Tonight. “They want to make the peace.”
She also says that both sides are hoping to repair the rift.
“I think that it is everyone’s hope that this little baby will be a peace offering in many ways and that she will hope to bring this divided family back together,” she says, adding, “There is clearly a desire on both sides to repair this rift, to move on.”
