The Real Reason Prince William Just Ended A Friendship That Lasted 20 Years

It's fair to say that Prince William is not having the greatest time, public relations-wise, at the moment. And reports that the normally reserved future king has ended a 20-year friendship with journalist Tom Bradby is probably not going to help his image much.

After their infamous interview with Oprah Winfrey — which we will probably still be talking about 10 years from now — Prince Harry and Meghan Markle got very candid about the reasons they stepped down from their positions as senior royals. And while they never called him out by name, viewers reading between the lines could sense some family tension between the Sussexes (Harry and Meghan) and the Cambridges (William and Kate Middleton).

Though media coverage of the royal family tends to be somewhat kinder on their own turf in the U.K. than on the American side of the Atlantic, it isn't always fawning. And a royal insider has dropped some hints that Prince William isn't exactly jazzed about this — which may also provide some insight into just how tense the brothers' relationship is right now.

Scroll on for the piping hot and extremely British tea.

An insider spilled to The Daily Mail's Dan Wootton that Prince William "no longer trusts" journalist Tom Bradby, host of ITV's News at Ten, because Bradby seemed to have sided with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in his coverage of the debacle. "The friendship between William and Tom is very much over. The Duke feels let down by Bradby and the way he's acted over the past few months," the source reportedly said.

According to the Mail, Bradby's crimes include hosting the 2019 documentary, in which Meghan said that behind-the-scenes "it has been a struggle," and Harry acknowledged that he and his brother were "on different paths at the moment." Bradby is also thought to have been critical in getting ITV the rights to air the Oprah Winfrey interview.

The column notes that Bradby is also a friend of Harry's, and that royal staff see Bradby's tone as too Sussex-friendly: "Some staff at the Palaces are even angrier about Bradby and the tone of his reporting at ITV News, which they consider to be pro-Harry and Meghan."

Not unrelated, one of the bombshells Harry dropped during the Oprah interview was the royal family's "invisible contract" with the media — "if you, as a family member, are willing to wine, dine, and give full access to these reporters, then you will get better press." So, gentle reminder to royals everywhere that journalists who cover you might not be your real friends.