The Duke of Sussex has accused the royal family of a “really horrible reaction” on the day of the Queen’s death.

In an interview with Tom Bradby on ITV, Harry spoke of how his family was “on the back foot” when the late monarch died in September, and told the presenter he witnessed “leaking and planting”.

His words come after it was reported he claimed in his memoir, Spare, that Meghan was “not welcome” at Balmoral, with the King allegedly telling Harry not to bring his wife.

Harry said to his father: “Don’t ever speak about my wife that way,” according to the Telegraph.

Speaking about September 8, he told Bradby: “The day that she died was just a really, really horrible reaction from my family members.

“And then by all accounts, well certainly from what I saw and what other people probably experienced, was they were on the back foot and then the briefings and the leaking and the planting.

“I was like ‘we’re here to celebrate the life of granny and to mourn her loss, can we come together as a family?’ but I don’t know how we collectively – how we change that.”

In the controversial tell-all book Spare, Harry also recounts his final words to his grandmother when he visited her body at Balmoral.

“I whispered that I hoped she was happy and that she was with grandfather now.

“I said that I admired her for having carried out her duties until the end: the Jubilee, the welcoming of the new Prime Minister,” Harry revealed.