Nicholas Witchell, a veteran journalist with a 25-year career in broadcasting, recently voiced his criticism of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as he prepares to retire. Throughout his career, he honed his skills reporting on the royal family on camera. However, a significant incident occurred during a live broadcast outside Buckingham Palace in May 2019, when he announced the arrival of baby Archie. The unexpected setback led to online speculation about Archie’s health, and Witchell was called “horrible” by then-Prince Charles in a Sunday Times article.
As he nears retirement, Witchell took the opportunity to explain his views on what happened on the show. His criticism of Harry and Meghan was scathing, describing it as the worst moment of his 48-year career in front of a live television audience. He implied that perhaps subconsciously he just wasn’t very interested in their story at the time. Reflecting on the incident, he admitted: “I was tired. You have to prepare yourself to stand there and do that, and I didn’t. I was complacent. You can’t afford to “Be complacent about live TV because, as I’ve demonstrated in front of millions, it can backfire and bite you.”
Witchell mentioned that he received public support after the incident, with actors who had experienced similar incidents on stage writing to him to share their own experiences. However, he confessed that he could never bring himself to watch that moment again as it had significantly shaken his confidence.
He also reflected on Archie’s birth, pointing out that it deviated from royal protocols and was a chaotic affair. Rumors circulated, at the time and since, that the Kensington Palace birth announcement on the website indicated that Archie was born to a surrogate mother. This ad remained on the website for several hours before being removed, claiming it was a hack. Witchell pointed out that there had never been a hack like this before or since, raising the question of whether commentators and journalists possessed inside knowledge that they could not openly discuss.
Witchell didn’t mince his words when discussing Prince Harry’s recent attacks on the British media, calling them paranoid and misguided. He suggested Harry and Meghan should be more resilient and use the media instead of criticizing it. He believed that they could have accomplished much as royals if they had been more patient and less inclined to view well-meaning individuals as adversaries.
Witchell dismissed rumors that Buckingham Palace was against Harry and Meghan from the start, saying the team had made sincere efforts to accommodate them and be sensitive to their needs. He acknowledged the palace could have tried harder, but attributed the difficulties to a culture clash, suggesting Harry was not well suited for the role. Witchell criticized Harry and Meghan’s fixation on media representation, calling it unhealthy and pointing out that they were missing opportunities by being overly preoccupied with it.
