Prince Harry has contradicted reports his father Charles continued to provide for him and his family financially after Megxit. Photo / Getty Images
Prince Harry has contradicted reports his father Charles continued to provide for him and his family financially after Megxit. Photo / Getty Images
Prince Harry has responded to claims from Prince Charles' office that he continued to receive "substantial sums" from his dad following Megxit.
The claims come after Harry's assertion that he was "literally cut off financially" by his family, reports the New York Post.
The Duke of Sussex, 36, complained about the loss of financial support in his TV chat with Oprah Winfrey, telling the talk show host that he was only able to leave the royal family thanks to his inheritance from Princess Diana.
But Charles gave Harry and his brother William a total of over $8.23 million in the last financial year, an audit from Charles' office at Clarence House reveals.
The records don't specify the exact sum Harry and his family received, a "substantial sum" was given them even after they quit working as senior royals, a spokesperson for Clarence House told UK media.
According to the Telegraph, the spokesperson said, "As we all remember in January 2020 when the Duke and Duchess announced that they were going to move away from the working royal family, the Duke said that they would work towards becoming financially independent.
"The Prince of Wales … allocated a substantial sum to support them with this transition."
They went on to say that the couple's exit from royal life was "a matter of enormous sadness to the family," but Harry's father "wanted to help make this work".
The spokesperson also referenced the Sussexes' lucrative Netflix and Spotify deals, saying, "I betray no confidence when I say they've been very successful in becoming financially independent."
But the couple then accused Clarence House of putting an inaccurate spin on the finances and "conflating two different timelines", as their spokesperson told the BBC.
Accounts show Charles gave Harry and his brother William a total of over $8 million in the last financial year. Photo / Getty Images
"It's inaccurate to suggest that there's a contradiction.
"The Duke's comments during the Oprah interview were in reference to the first quarter of the fiscal reporting period in the UK, which starts annually in April."
But the revelations have still sparked outrage in the UK.
Telegraph writer Robert Taylor wrote, "Do they realise just how spoiled it sounds? The average person in the UK earns less than 1 per cent of that gift?
"And do they appreciate just how ungrateful it looks to accept a handout of that scale, and then publicly denigrate the man who gave it, saying he'd cut them off?"
Noting that Harry is 36 and Meghan is 39, he went on to say, "These are not snotty youngsters. They're mature adults.
"Frankly, I'd be ashamed to be living off my parents at that age, however much security I needed to pay for. There comes a time – and it shouldn't take until 36 – when you need to buy your own dinner."
