Prince Harry’s relationship with Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie is under renewed scrutiny after Beatrice was photographed having lunch with Piers Morgan, a prominent critic of Harry and Meghan Markle.
The meeting has fuelled speculation that the Duke of Sussex may have grown apart from his royal cousins, although there has been no public confirmation of a rift.
The photographs emerged around the time Harry visited the UK earlier this month. Meghan later joined him with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. During the trip, the family was reportedly hosted privately by King Charles and Queen Camilla at Highgrove House.
A royal observer told Radar Online that Beatrice’s lunch with Morgan was likely to attract attention because of the broadcaster’s history of publicly criticising the Sussexes.
“Photographs of Princess Beatrice with Piers Morgan were always likely to generate intense interest, given Morgan’s long-running public criticism of Prince Harry and Meghan,” the source said.
The insider claimed some people may interpret the meeting as evidence that Beatrice and Eugenie are no longer as close to Harry and Meghan as they once were. However, a lunch between Beatrice and Morgan does not, by itself, establish the current state of the sisters’ relationship with the Sussexes.
Morgan has repeatedly criticised Harry and Meghan in newspaper columns, television appearances and social media posts.
Following Meghan’s 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Morgan said he did not believe her comments about her mental health. The remarks prompted a heated on-air exchange on Good Morning Britain, and Morgan subsequently left the programme.
He has also accused the couple of damaging the royal family, benefiting commercially from their titles and presenting themselves as an alternative royal operation during international visits.
Harry has previously pushed back against Morgan, accusing him of pursuing a prolonged campaign of personal attacks against both him and Meghan. He has also referred to the broadcaster while discussing his legal battle with Mirror Group Newspapers over unlawful information gathering.
Morgan has denied wrongdoing and continues to speak publicly about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Neither Harry nor the York sisters has commented on the latest speculation surrounding their relationship.
