Prince Harry Explains Why Queen Elizabeth Didn't Defend Him, Shares 'Saddest' Part Of Royal Exit

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are going into detail about their 2020 royal exit in the last three episodes of their Netflix docuseries, "Harry & Meghan."

In part two of the docuseries, which aired Thursday, the Duke of Sussex revealed that his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, was aware of the struggles he and his wife were facing as working members of the royal family at the time.

"She knew that we were finding things hard. I'd spoken to her many times about it," he said of the late monarch, according to Entertainment Tonight, which noted that the interview took place before the Sept. 8 death of the Queen.

Prince Harry also detailed his meeting with Queen Elizabeth, then-Prince Charles and Prince William to "talk things through" on Jan. 13, 2020 — five days after the Sussexes released their statement announcing their intention to step back as working royals.

The Duke of Sussex said he planned to discuss with them his and Markle's choice to be "half in, half out" of their royal roles, meaning that the couple would "have [their] own jobs but also work in support of" Queen Elizabeth. But he claimed that he quickly realized that "that goal was not up for discussion or debate."

He recalled the "terrifying" experience of having his older brother William allegedly "scream and shout" at him and his father allegedly saying "things that simply weren't true."

"And my grandmother quietly [sat] there and sort of [took] it all in," Prince Harry claimed.

But the Duke of Sussex clarified that he didn't harbor any resentment toward the Queen and that he understood why she chose not to defend him.

"You have to understand that, from the family's perspective, especially from [the Queen's], there are ways of doing things — and her ultimate sort of mission goal or responsibility is the institution," he explained. "People around her are telling her, 'By the way, that proposal or these two doing 'XYZ' is going to be seen as an attack on the institution,' then she's going to go on the advice she's given."

Prince Harry also shared what he believes was the "saddest part" about the ordeal — "this wedge created between me and my brother so that he's now on the institution's side."

But he said he understood his brother's reaction because Prince William is the heir to the British throne.

"Part of that I get. I understand, right? That's his inheritance," Harry said of his older brother. "So to some extent, it's already ingrained in him that part of his responsibility is the survivability of the continuation of this institution."

Earlier this year, Vanity Fair royal correspondent Katie Nicholl commented on where the royal siblings currently stand, years after Prince Harry and Markle's royal departure.

She said she believes that part of the reason the brothers' relationship remains strained was that Prince William "can't completely forgive" Prince Harry for quitting royal duties.

"It had a huge impact on him, on [Princess] Catherine, on their young family. It put them in that prime sort of center. It moved them center stage far sooner than they would otherwise have been," the royal expert told Us Weekly of Prince William and his wife.

She continued, "I think William had always expected that he would have the support of his brother. And I think it wasn't just that Harry had chosen to leave and to stand down. I think a lot of it was how he chose to do that and what William saw as [a] great disrespect to the institution and to his, to his family, to his grandmother."

All episodes of "Harry & Meghan" are now streaming on Netflix.