Tom Bradby last TV encounter with 'bruised and vulnerable' Harry and Meghan
Prince Harry 's latest revealing interview airs on ITV this Sunday and looks set to create some major talking points, but it's not the first time the Duke of Sussex has made TV history with his interviewer Tom Bradby.
Filmed in California, where Harry now lives with his wife Meghan Markle and their children, Harry: The Interview sees the Prince go into unprecedented depth and detail on life in and out of the royal family.
The dad-of-two, 38, chose ITV News at Ten presenter Tom Bradby to open up to once again, after previously working with the journalist on a 2019 documentary which retrospectively laid the groundwork for Harry and Meghan's departure from the Firm just a few months later.
Amid Harry and Meghan: An African Journey airing in 2019, Tom revealed how working with the two stars showed him "everything wasn’t entirely rosy behind the scenes" for Harry and Meghan ahead of their exit from the Royal Family and move to America.
Tom Bradby's documentary with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle acted as the catalyst for their royal exit (ITV)The broadcaster - who attended both Prince William and Harry's respective weddings in 2011 and 2019 - admitted how he initially set out to make a documentary about the couple's tour of Africa, but instead got a candid insight into the struggles of royal life.
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Throughout the TV feature, Tom famously asked Meghan how she was feeling – prompting the Duchess of Sussex to open up about her mental health struggles as a working royal.
The former Suits actress, 41, famously told the broadcaster she was "not okay" and thanked him for asking.
Tom's simple to question to Meghan provided an historic royal moment in 2019 (ITV)"Not many people have asked if I’m okay", Meghan told Tom during filming, confirming that life had been "hard" in recent years.
"The reality I found was just a couple that seemed a bit bruised and vulnerable," Tom admitted when discussing the documentary ahead of it airing in American in 2019. "That was the story I found."
The broadcaster - who has known Harry for over 20 years - added during an interview on Good Morning America: "I’d seen them obviously before we left and had a pretty long chat and so I formed a certain view there.
Harry and Meghan: An African Journey was released just months before the couple quit Britain (ITV)"And I speak to Harry relatively often and have done over the years so, as I said, I knew that things weren’t entirely brilliant behind the scenes, but it sort of built as the tour went on really."
Tom went on to muse how Harry and Meghan had strayed away from the traditional path most royals follow - unlike Harry's big brother Prince William.
"I think some of what they were doing here was just emotional, it was just saying well this is where we’re at, and some of it was trying to do things differently," Tom explained in 2019.
"If this documentary has an outcome, I do hope that it’s that everyone, perhaps including them, takes a really deep breath and maybe thinks really hard about how the future may play out," the former royal correspondent added.
Harry The Interview will air on ITV on Sunday at 9pm (ITV)Shortly after Harry and Meghan: An African Journey aired in 2019, the couple made history in January 2020 when they announced their decision quit their roles as working members of the Royal Family.
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Following Harry and Meghan's exit from the royal family in 2020, and their subsequent interview with Oprah Winfrey, Tom admitted last year that he felt he was in an awkward position due to his friendship with both Harry and Prince William.
Speaking to RadioTimes in June 2022 about the brothers' tainted relationship, Tom admitted that their falling out was "difficult" for him and that he’d felt "a little bit caught in the middle".
Tom interviewed the future king and queen when they announced their engagement in 2010 (PA)Tom's comments followed claims from royal insiders that heir to the British throne William had "cut ties" with the broadcaster, thanks to his belief Tom had taken Harry's side in the fallout.
The journalist was very close to both brothers at one point – with the broadcaster even handpicked to interview the Cambridges about their engagement back in 2010 – but his close connection to Harry and Meghan as they forge a new life for themselves away from the royal family has seemingly ended his friendship with Prince William and Kate Middleton.
A royal insider told the Daily Mail in 2021: "The friendship between William and Tom is very much over.
"The duke feels let down by Bradby and the way he’s acted over the past few months.
"William is a sensitive soul and believes it’s in times of crisis when you find out who your true friends are. It would be fair to say Bradby hasn’t been one of them."
Tom and Harry have enjoyed a close relationship over the years
The journalist attended Harry and Meghan's wedding in May 2019 (PA)The insider went on to add: "Some staff at the palaces are even angrier about Bradby and the tone of his reporting, which they consider to be pro-Harry and Meghan."
Chatting to GQ during the same year as the source comments, Tom explained the origins of his relationship with the royals and admitted William is not one of his "proper friends".
"My mother hated that calculation and she particularly hated people who kissed a***, especially the a****s of those who were powerful," Tom explained when looking back how he forged royal connections.
"I suppose that stuck with me."
Tom added: "William has his proper friends and I am not one of them."
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