EXCLUSIVE: Prince William 'Blackballed' Reporter 'After He Cozied Up to Brother Harry and Meghan Markle'
Prince William cut ties with a longtime reporter who sided with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Feb. 22 2026, Published 12:15 p.m. ET
Prince William allegedly cut off a long-standing friendship with ITV News anchor Tom Bradby after feeling "betrayed" by the journalist's role in a 2019 documentary featuring Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The claims appear in William and Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story, written by royal reporter Russell Myers.
Prince William reportedly severed his long-standing friendship with ITV anchor Tom Bradby.
His book details how William, 43, now Prince of Wales, had previously formed a close bond with Tom, 59, during the broadcaster's tenure as royal correspondent for U.K. network ITV.
That relationship is said to have fractured after Tom fronted an ITV documentary during the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's tour of South Africa in 2019 – the program in which Harry publicly acknowledged tensions with his brother.
In the film, Harry addressed speculation about a rift with his older sibling, saying they were on "different paths" and had both "good days" and "bad days."
Meghan, 44, meanwhile, spoke candidly to Tom about the pressures of royal life and new motherhood, noting few people had asked whether she was "OK."
The broadcast was widely viewed as a pivotal moment in the Sussexes' relationship with the wider royal family.
'A Profound Personal Betrayal'
William believed Bradby crossed a professional line by siding with the Sussexes’ narrative.
According to Myers' book, William reacted strongly.
A source cited in the biography said: "William felt betrayed and severely let down. He considered Tom a friend, they had always got on and Harry was close to him too, but (William) never thought (Bradby) would take a side like he did."
An insider described the exchange as a breaking point.
The source stated: "William experienced it as a profound personal betrayal, not just a professional disagreement. He had trusted Tom as someone who understood the sensitivities of family dynamics and royal life, and he felt that trust had been mishandled. In his view, the documentary crossed an unspoken boundary, leaving him deeply disappointed and convinced that he had been let down by someone he had once regarded as a friend."
Myers' book suggests William believed Bradby had "crossed a line" by appearing to align himself with the Sussexes' narrative.
Trust Described as 'Binary'
A palace insider claims William viewed the documentary as a 'profound personal betrayal.'
Another source familiar with palace dynamics said the episode proved decisive.
The insider said: "In William's eyes, Tom's program stopped being an objective piece of reporting and started to feel like an endorsement of Harry and Meghan's narrative. He believed Tom had blurred the line between journalist and confidant, and that shift fundamentally altered how he viewed him.
"For William, trust is binary – once he concluded that Tom had aligned himself too closely with one side of a deeply personal family matter, the damage was irreversible. After that, there was no realistic path to repairing the relationship."
Myers writes one particular grievance of William's was Tom's alleged failure to question the Sussexes about internal family tensions.
The source commented: "Tom knew full well what Meghan was accused of and chose not to raise it in the documentary, whilst she ran roughshod over the family. As far as (William) was concerned, the friendship was over there and then."
Catherine's Pragmatic View on the Sussex Split
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The Princess of Wales viewed Harry’s eventual departure from royal life as 'inevitable.'
The book also portrays Catherine, Princess of Wales, 44, as taking a more pragmatic view of Harry's dramatic departure from royal duties.
According to the biography, she regarded his exit as "inevitable" and ultimately accepted she "could do no more to bring the brothers together," despite previously acting as a voice of reason in their feud.
Beyond the Sussex split, William and Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story examined William's apparent wish for his uncle, the former Prince Andrew, 65, to be removed from royal life following his disastrous 2019 BBC Newsnight interview about his links to Jeffrey Epstein.
Myers also details Catherine's response to her recent cancer diagnosis and traces her and William's relationship from their meeting at the University of St. Andrews to their current roles shaping what the author describes as a modern monarchy.
Another royal source told us the revelations underscore the depth of William's sense of personal loyalty.
They added: "For William, this went far beyond headlines or public relations considerations. He viewed it through the lens of loyalty and personal trust. He believed there are clear boundaries between professional coverage and private friendship, and in his mind those boundaries were overstepped.
"Once he concluded that someone he had confided in appeared to take sides in a deeply personal family dispute, he saw the bond as irreparably damaged. From that point on, the friendship was, in practical terms, over."
