Prince William ends friendship with key British media figure over Harry support

Prince William has reportedly ended a 20-year friendship with ITV's Tom Bradby due to Bradby's open support for Harry and Meghan.

The royals are known to forge close working relationships with key members of the British media, with members of the 'Royal Rota' being given special access to members of the monarchy.

It has been through this arrangement that William, the Duke of Cambridge, and Tom Bradby initially forged a close bond and the royal trusted him enough to confide in him during regular phone calls. In fact, Bradby was chosen to cover William and Kate Middleton's engagement announcement in November 2010 and attended the couple's 2011 wedding.

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"The friendship between William and Tom is very much over," a royal insider has told Daily Mail. "The Duke feels let down by Bradby and the way he's acted over the past few months.

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"William is a sensitive soul and believes it's in times of crisis when you find out who your true friends are. It would be fair to say Bradby hasn't been one of them."

Bradby has been equally close to Prince Harry and he was chosen by Harry and Meghan to cover their tour of South Africa for a documentary that was broadcast on ITV.

He has also reportedly helped the Duke and Duchess of Sussex navigate media during this tumultuous time.

It was during the ITV documentary that Meghan first opened up about her struggles during her time as part of the monarchy. When Bradby asked how the duchess was doing she responded: "Not many people have asked if I'm okay. It's a very real thing to go through behind the scenes…it has really been a struggle."

Since then Harry and Meghan have been in regular contact with Bradby as the couple's issue with the monarchy grew.

It is understood Harry contacted Bradby to publicly confirm his feud with his brother when he said he and William were "on different paths at the moment".

Bradby is also believed to have been behind ITV being granted the rights to broadcast the Sussexes interview with Oprah on March 7.

And it isn't only William who is upset with the reporter, with the royal source saying they now consider him to be "pro-Harry and Meghan".

"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," the source said. "It's well-known Bradby personally communicates with Harry on a regular basis and that is pretty obvious to royal aides who know how things work.

"But it's been very difficult to accept given the long history between Bradby and William."

Since the airing of Harry and Meghan's Oprah interview, Buckingham Palace has sought to address claims of racism made against the royal family, reportedly hiring a diversity advisor.

Following the airing of the Oprah interview the palace released a statement on behalf of Queen Elizabeth which read: "The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.

"The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. Whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.

"Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members."