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Harry says Prince Charles stopped taking his calls before he stepped back as a senior royal

Watch: Meghan didn't research the Royal Family before marrying Harry

Prince Harry said he wants to heal his rifts with his brother and father as he opened up about stepping back from life as a senior royal to Oprah Winfrey.

He said he will always love his father Prince Charles and brother Prince William, noting that he and William had been "through hell together".

He also said his mother, the late Princess Diana, would have been "angry and sad" at the events that led up to Harry and Meghan Markle leaving the UK and stepping back as senior royals.

He said it was because of the money Diana left him that he and Meghan were able to afford security when they moved to the US.

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Here are some of Prince Harry's revelations from the explosive interview with Winfrey.

He 'feared history repeating itself'

Harry, 36, indicated he thought the same thing that happened to his mother could happen to his wife as he and Meghan dealt with life in the UK.

Harry said: “What I was seeing was history repeating itself, but definitely far more dangerous – because then you add race in, and you add social media in.”

He added: “When you can see something happening in the same kind of way, anybody would ask for help, ask the system of which you are part of, especially when you know there is a relationship there that they could help and share some truth or call the dogs off.

“So to receive no help at all… to be told continuously this is how it is, we’ve all been through it…”

He added: “Me having a girlfriend was always going to be a big thing.

“It takes living in her (Meghan’s) shoes for a day to see where it was gonna go and how far they (the UK press) would take it.”

Harry's mother Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997 when she was 36.

Watch: Harry says he 'feared history repeating itself' in Oprah interview

Read more: Royals 'had concerns about Archie's skin colour': Most explosive claims about Royal Family from Meghan Markle’s Oprah interview

Harry added of his mother: "I think she would feel very angry with how this has panned out and very sad."

Prince Charles 'stopped taking Harry's calls'

Harry claimed his father stopped taking his calls in the lead-up to the announcement in January 2020 that Harry and Meghan wanted to step back from senior-royal life.

He denied that he "blindsided" the Royal family with the announcement, something that was claimed at time.

He said his father knew they wanted to share the news on 7 January.

Winfrey asked: “Did you blindside the Queen?” Harry replied: “No, I would never blindside my grandmother, I have too much respect for her.”

He said he would "hazard a guess" that the story came from "inside the institution".

Harry said while he was in Canada he had "three conversations with my grandmother and two conversations with my father, before he stopped taking my calls".

He said Charles wanted him to put the request in writing.

He will 'always love' his father and brother

Speaking about Charles, Harry said: “I feel really let down because he’s been through something similar, he knows what pain feels like, (and) Archie’s his grandson.

“But at the same time – I will always love him – but there’s a lot of hurt that’s happened and I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship.

“But they only know what they know, or what they’re told.”

Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (L) and Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (2nd R) follow Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (C) and Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (R) as they depart Westminster Abbey after attending the annual Commonwealth Service in London on March 9, 2020. - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has been the Head of the Commonwealth throughout her reign. Organised by the Royal Commonwealth Society, the Service is the largest annual inter-faith gathering in the United Kingdom. (Photo by Phil Harris / POOL / AFP) (Photo by PHIL HARRIS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Harry and Meghan with Charles, William and Kate at the 2020 Commonwealth Service. (Phil Harris/AFP) (PHIL HARRIS via Getty Images)

Read more: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reveal they are expecting a girl

Of his brother Prince William he said: "I love William to bits, he’s my brother, we’ve been through hell together, we have a shared experience, but we were on different paths.

"The relationship is space at the moment. And time heals all things, hopefully.”

He said: "My father and my brother, they are trapped. They don’t get to leave."

Diana's money 'saved them'

Reflecting on the couple losing their security before they moved from Canada to the US, Harry said it was the money that Diana left him that saved them, because the Royal Family cut them off.

He said: "My family literally cut me off financially.

"But I’ve got what my mum left me and without that we would not have been able to do this."

He said that is how they paid for security in the weeks after their support was cut.

Harry believes his family is 'scared' of tabloids 'turning on them'

Prince Harry suggested his family is "scared" of the tabloids turning on them, suggesting there is "control by fear".

He added: “To simplify it, it’s a case of if you as a family member are willing to wine, dine and give full access to these reporters, then you will get better press.”

Winfrey said: “Why do you care about better press if you’re royal?”

Harry said: “I think everyone needs to have some compassion for them in that situation.

“There is a level of control by fear that has existed for generations.”

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - AUGUST 19:  Princess Diana With Prince Harry & Prince William At A Parade To Commemorate The 50th Anniversary Of Vj Day Designer Of Diana's Suit - Tomasz Starzewski (please Check - People Magazine, 04/12/1999)  (Photo by Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)
Princess Diana with Prince Harry and Prince William at a parade to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of VJ Day in 1995. (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images) (Tim Graham via Getty Images)

Read more: What an explosive past week has done to Harry and Meghan's popularity

The step was not inevitable

Harry and Meghan would still be in the UK if they had been given support, he said.

Winfrey said: “In conclusion, if you had the support, you’d still be there (the UK)?”

Harry replied: “Without question.

“I’m sad that what’s happened has happened, but I know and I am comfortable knowing we did everything we could to make it work.”

Oprah With Meghan And Harry will air on ITV in the UK on 8 March at 9pm.