Yahoo News How friendly is Tom Bradby with Prince Harry?
Prince Harry is doing a series of interviews promoting the release of his bombshell memoir, Spare
Most of them are taking place with US outlets, but one has been secured by ITV's Tom Bradby
Bradby has been friendly with William and Harry for years, attending both of their weddings as a guest
Read on below to find out what Bradby has said in the past about his relationship with the brothers
Tom Bradby is set to conduct the only UK interview with Prince Harry on ITV this Sunday to promote his new memoir, Spare, which is officially released next week.
In promotional clips released by ITV, Bradby is seen quizzing the duke on a number of issues, including pressing him on accusations of hypocrisy that he has revealed private details about his family while complaining out his own privacy being compromised.
Watch: Trailer for Tom Bradby's interview with Prince Harry released
Bradby has previously alluded to his relationship with both brothers.
In 2016 he described himself as a "friendly face in the media" to Prince William, and "someone he can talk to if he wants to" while he also also said he "knows Harry and Meghan".
Who is Tom Bradby?
Tom Bradby is a seasoned correspondent and broadcaster who works for ITV. He has over 30 years experience as a journalist and has released a series of novels.
He has a long history with the royals, and is reported to have been hand-picked to conduct the 2010 interview to mark the engagement of William and Kate — now Prince and Princess of Wales.
This is said to be due to his long-standing acquaintance with William, but Bradby himself has admitted the pair aren't really "friends", saying in 2016: "William has his proper friends and I'm not one of them."
How did Tom Bradby meet the royals?
Bradby started covering the royal family in the early 2000s, including big events like the Golden Jubilee and the Queen Mother's funeral.
He covered a trip of Prince Harry's to Lesotho in 2004, which is said to be when the two men got to know each other.
Bradby was invited as a guest to both William and Harry's weddings, and is said to have maintained contact with Harry since his move to California.
Speaking to GQ magazine in 2016, Bradby said of his relationship with William: "I've always tried to build relationships without calculation - you could say, 'Oh that's bollocks!' and, of course, it did occur to me that building a relationship with Prince William might be useful to the rest of my journalistic life. But I've tended to gravitate towards people I like, who have humanity."
In October 2019, shortly before the Sussexes' royal exit became apparent, the couple spoke to Bradby as part of the ITV documentary, Harry & Meghan: An African Journey.
The programme was notable for the moment Bradby, who travelled with the royals during their 10-day tour of Africa, got Meghan to speak candidly about her experiences of royal life.
She admitted she had been "naive" about Britain's tabloid press and claimed she had been warned they "will destroy your life". Bradby proceeded to ask Meghan if she was okay, to which she responded: "Thank you for asking, because not many people have asked if I’m okay."
The tour had been seen as a resounding success, but Harry and Meghan's comments revealed how unhappy they had been behind closed doors.
It also saw Harry admit for the first time that his relationship with William was strained, with him admitting they were "on different paths".
Months later, the Sussexes left life as working royals behind for good.
Is Tom Bradby still friendly with William and Harry?
In 2021, it was reported that William no longer saw Bradby as a friend by anonymous royal sources. Bradby himself has conceded in an interview in June 2020 that he found himself in the "middle" of the warring brothers.
"The anxiety around that was that you don’t want to let anyone down. I know Harry and Meghan, and William, and I found myself dragged into a maelstrom which I didn’t particularly enjoy and which was quite stressful," he said.
"You find yourself wanting to do the right thing, which becomes very difficult because you become caught in someone else’s argument".
But Bradby refused to be drawn on Harry and Meghan's relationship with the rest of the Windsors, and the press at large.
He added: "I think I’ve said all I’m going to say on that. I’m a working journalist and not going to get involved with their battle with the press. It’s not my argument. They have got their story to tell and one day they may tell it. I just don’t want to be involved any more".
