It’s been two weeks since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s explosive tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in which they dropped some shocking bombs about the British royal family. While the royal family responded in a brief statement two days later, a royal expert is now speaking out to claim that Harry’s 74 year-old father Prince Charles was eager to issue a far more lengthy rebuttal about the interview.

“My understanding is that Prince Charles did want to issue a more detailed statement [in response] to the Oprah interview and possibly address some of those issues point by point,” expert Katie Nicholl told Entertainment Tonight. “But there was an evening to think about things and in the end, it was decided that a shorter statement would be better, [and] that going at things point by point could be potentially more damaging and give more ammunition for the row to continue. I think Prince Charles and Prince William were keen to correct some of the things that the couple had said.”

During the interview, Harry claimed that Charles cut him off and refused to take his calls after he and Meghan announced that they were stepping down as senior royals.

“Prince Charles was particularly frustrated by the suggestion that financially he just cut the couple off, when if you speak to sources in Charles’ camp, that wasn’t the case,” Nicholl added. “He did continue funding them for quite some time after they moved first to Canada and then to America. So yes, I think there was at one point the feeling that they did want to address more than just the issue of race.”

Two days after the interview, the royal family responded in a statement released through Buckingham Palace.

“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,” their statement read. “The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While 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.”

As for rumors of a rift within the royal family, Nicholl feels that they are actually united right now.

“I’m not sure there’s truth to the queen being frustrated with Prince Charles,” she said. “I think in all of this, certainly over the past year, both as a result of the pandemic and as a result of Megxit, I think what you’re seeing is a very closely aligned, top tier royals, the queen, Prince Charles, and Prince William, really working as a unit together. I think there isn’t discord there. I think they’re coming at this from the same place and working together as a team.”