Through the so-called 'warning shot,' The Firm allegedly alerts the Sussexes 'that these kinds of allegations [against the royal family] will not be left unaddressed.'

• Jul 9, 2021

AceShowbiz - The Palace may have had enough with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle trash-talking the royal family in public. Following their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in March followed by other shocking allegations against the family they left behind in the U.K., the Firm has allegedly issued a "warning shot" to the couple.

"At that point, the family felt it best to stay the course and do what they always did which was to keep calm and carry on," a source told Best Life of the Palace's initial reaction to the interview with Oprah. "But things keep escalating. The Palace was starting to realize something had to be done about the nonstop barrage of these destructive and questionable comments."

The Palace allegedly issued the warning after Omid Scobie, a friend of the Sussexes and co-author of highly favorable biography "Finding Freedom", spilled that Kensington Palace aides planted stories in newspapers about Harry's mental health, and suggested they may have been instructed to do so by his own brother Prince William.

"[Omid's] comments crossed the line and could not be ignored," said a royal source. "At the time, William was deeply concerned about Harry's state of mind and would have never had his staff leak stories about his brother's mental health. Besides being protective of the family, William has been championing the need for mental health awareness for years. The Palace had to step in."

A source added of the Palace 's response to Omid's claim, "This was clearly a warning shot that these kinds of allegations will not be left unaddressed. Harry and Meghan now know their comments and those of their supporters won't go unchecked. It could be a game changer."

Omid's comments were included in a rough cut of the documentary special. After the Palace was alerted to the comments, officials reportedly warned ITV and the production company, Spun Gold, of the legal repercussion that they may face if Omid's comments were made public. The reference to Harry's mental health was then edited out at the last minute before the show aired in the U.K.

In the final version, Omid still makes the allegations against William's household, though. "I would say it was no coincidence that it was shortly after [the Tom Bradby interview] aired, I believe the next day, that there was source quotes that came from a very senior aide at Kensington Palace that said that William was worried about his brother," he says. "Now, whether William directed that or not, no one will ever know. But it came from his household, the household that he is the boss of."