Richard Madeley has taken a swipe at Prince Harry for speaking ‘inappropriately’ about his relatives, saying he feels ’embarrassed’ for the Royal Family.
The TV presenter, 65, made the impassioned comments while discussing recent reports that the Queen has dropped her ‘never complain, never explain’ policy.
Detailing his opinion during Monday’s Good Morning Britain, Richard explained: ‘I don’t really want to see any family washing their dirty linen in public.
Impassioned: Richard Madeley has taken a swipe at Prince Harry for speaking ‘inappropriately’ about his relatives, saying he feels ’embarrassed for the Royal Family on Good Morning Britain
‘I do agree that it’s important to talk and we all know Harry’s had acres of therapy and he’s had these conversations in private.’
Richard then continued: ‘But I don’t think it’s remotely appropriate for him to talk in the detail he has in public about his grandparents and about his father.
‘I just don’t want to hear it, and when I do I’m embarrassed for that family because I know that I’d hate it as a family member myself, as a family man, I’d loath it…
‘It is deeply embarrassing.’
Heated discussion: The TV presenter, 65, made the comments while discussing recent reports that the Queen has dropped her ‘never complain, never explain’ policy (Harry pictured in May)
It comes after The Mail On Sunday reported that the Queen will no longer remain silent when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex allow ‘mistruths’ about the Royal Family to circulate in the public domain.
In a dramatic departure from her longstanding ‘never complain, never explain’ policy, Her Majesty has instructed courtiers to correct any statements which misrepresent her private conversations or those of other senior Royals.
The extraordinary move demonstrates the Queen‘s exasperation at the relentless briefings that allies of the couple have been giving to the media and follows the bitter dispute over Harry and Meghan’s choice of name for their new daughter.
An insider said the latest bruising episode had sent the Queen ‘over the edge’.
Reports: The Mail On Sunday reports that Her Majesty has instructed courtiers to correct any statements which misrepresent her private conversations (pictured on Saturday)
The feud began when US-based journalists favoured by supporters of Harry and Meghan reported that the couple had ‘asked permission’ to name their daughter Lilibet, a deeply personal childhood nickname of the Queen that was used by very close relatives, including her late husband Prince Philip.
But a Royal insider described the conversation between Harry and his grandmother as ‘a telling, not an asking’ – confirming a BBC report last week which said the Sussexes had not asked the Queen if she had any objection to their choice of name.
Harry and Meghan reacted furiously, instructing their lawyers to contest the BBC story, which they described as ‘false and defamatory’.
The Royal Family has also been dealing with the claims made in Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey and Harry’s subsequent TV series on mental health.
Family: It follows the furore involving Harry and Meghan’s choice of name for their daughter, Lilibet, which is a family nickname for the Queen (couple are seen with Archie in April)
After Harry and Meghan claimed there was racism in the Royal Household, William snapped: ‘We’re very much not a racist family.’ And Buckingham Palace –which is investigating the claims – pointedly said ‘recollections may vary’.
Elsewhere on Monday’s show, GMB suffered a clumsy gaffe as Richard’s off-air cue suddenly interrupted Laura Tobin’s weather report.
Viewers also took to social media complain about constant ‘coughing and spluttering’ from the TV stalwart, 65, and guests on the show’s panel.
Richard Madeley’s off-air cue was heard, when a booming voice from the studio’s gallery interrupted Laura Tobin before she’d finished presenting her weather report.
The man pleasantly informed the TV host: ‘Morning Richard, I’ll just cue you like this…’ – but his message wasn’t intended to be heard by viewers.
Oops! Elsewhere on Monday’s GMB, the show suffered a clumsy gaffe as Richard Madeley’s off-air cue suddenly interrupted Laura Tobin’s weather report
Oh dear: Laura’s expression immediately dropped when she realised her segment had been cut in on by one of her colleagues
Laura’s expression immediately dropped when she realised her segment had been cut in on by one of her colleagues.
GMB viewers also complained about the constant ‘coughing and spluttering’ from Richard and some of his panellists as they kept trying to clear their throats.
One person took to Twitter, demanding: ‘Someone get them a drink! Or a cough sweet!! So much coughing.’
Someone else tweeted: ‘They sound like a really health lot of here today, coughing and spluttering through every sentence.’
The awkward GMB show came as Richard – who regularly co-hosts Good Morning Britain with Susanna Reid – revealed his wife Judy Finnigan, 73, does not miss being on the TV as she ‘hated fame’.
Not happy: GMB viewers took to Twitter to complain about the coughing
The TV presenter and his partner are one of the small screen’s most famous duos but Richard admitted Judy was always a ‘reluctant’ host.
Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine on Monday, Richard said: ‘People still want her to come back and do TV but she’s not having it, she loves not being on telly.
‘Despite her talent as a presenter, she was the most reluctant presenter you’d ever meet. She hated the fame, she hated being recognised.
‘She enjoyed the job but when it was over she wanted to just go home and be Judy.’
Career: It come as Richard admitted his wife Judy Finnigan, 73, was always a ‘reluctant’ TV host (pictured on This Morning in 2019)