Following their departure from official royal duty in early 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have made no secret of their mistrust of the mainstream media, accusing certain publications and prominent figures of launching a ‘war’ against them.
But amidst the chaos, the couple have found solace in a select few, who have become part of their inner circle.
Across the pond, Oprah Winfrey and Anderson Cooper have been welcomed into the fold. And in the UK, their go-to guy is journalist and author Tom Bradby.
Following a 20 year friendship with the prince, the host of ITV’s News at 10 has been at the forefront of some of the royal’s biggest landmarks – including engagements, weddings and funerals. And this Sunday, the former ITV royal correspondent will sit down with Harry in a tell-all interview ahead of his hotly-anticipated memoir, Spare.
But who is Tom? And how did he form such a special bond with Harry and the royal family?
Like the Duke of Sussex, Tom was born into a Forces family and his father served in the Navy. He was privately educated at Westbourne House and Sherborne School before studying History at Edinburgh University, and discovering a love of journalism as the editor of the student newspaper.
In 1990, he joined ITN as an editorial trainee, and three years later, at 26 years old, was made ITN’s youngest ever Ireland correspondent. He became royal correspondent in 2001 and royal expert Duncan Larcombe claims it’s his military ties that have helped Tom bond with Prince William and Harry.
‘Tom was at ITN at the right time and reporting on royal news when Harry and William both attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst,’ he tells Metro.co.uk.
‘He already had good links with the military due to his forces family so they had that in common. And he really got to know the brothers well. Beyond just a journalist, he was someone they could also open up to.’
He adds: ‘Tom even lent the brothers recording equipment so they could learn to record things and document their lives. They both felt those skills were going to be useful in their royal lives.’
Opening up about his own friendship with the princes, Tom once explained: ‘They really hated the media at the time because they felt that certainly the paparazzi were directly to blame for their mother’s death.
‘So we sort of got together, started having lunch, and I think the idea was to try and convince them that not everyone was bad, and I really stuck to some quite simple principles which is that, yes, I’m a reporter. [But] you’re a human being first. If they said something in confidence, I kept it in confidence, so we built a bit of a relationship that way.’
In 2004, Tom spent time with Harry during his eight-week stay in the South African country of Lesotho and narrated the subsequent documentary: The Forgotten Kingdom – Prince Harry in Lethoso.
Tom’s royal role also saw him covering the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and the deaths of Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother, which all occurred in 2002.
And in 2010, insiders reported that Prince William and Kate Middleton had hand picked Tom to conduct their infamous engagement interview, describing him as an “old friend” of the future king.
Tom’s wife Claudia also worked with Kate together at the fashion company Jigsaw where they collaborated on jewellery pieces together. In 2011, Tom and Claudia were among the notable guests at Kate and William’s wedding.
Offering a brief insight into their marital life together, Tom once said of Kate and William: ‘He comes home, she cooks him dinner and they put their feet up and watch the telly.’
Popular culture expert Nick Ede tells Metro.co.uk that Tom – who also attended Harry’s wedding to Meghan in 2018 – was a true constant in the princes’ lives for a long time.
‘Both brothers have lent on him as he has a sympathetic ear, [he] is a great interviewer and has always had the royal family’s interests at heart,’ he explains.
However, insiders claimed that Tom’s friendship with William soured due to his ‘sympathetic’ coverage of Harry and Meghan’s royal exit.
After travelling with Harry and Meghan during their 10-day tour of Africa for the ITV documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey in 2019, he famously asked Meghan if she was okay.
The question appeared to leave her tearful and also cemented rumours of a royal rift in the family. In their recent self-titled Netflix series, Meghan even described it as a turning point in their journey.
Speaking last year, Tom admitted that the brothers’ feud had left him feeling ‘awkward’ and ‘caught in the middle’.
In a separate interview that same year, he also insisted that William was not one of his ‘proper friends’.
Like Harry, Tom has also been open about his battles with mental health and in 2018, claimed he suffered a meltdown that saw him signed off work for three months. He has since attributed his own mental health struggles for his sensitive handling of Harry and Meghan.
Speaking about their 2019 documentary, he has since said: ‘I had quite a well-publicised meltdown, a mental health meltdown of my own a few years before that. I think there is no doubt in my mind that I did the interview differently as a result of that.’
He also added that his wife Claudia had urged him to act more human towards the couple.
‘She said, “Look, stop being an idiot, start being a human being. You can clearly see they are not feeling great.
“So why don’t you elect them to tell you how they are feeling? That is what being a good journalist is.”’
Popular Culture expert Nick Ede tells Metro.co.uk that another reason Tom has gained such trust from the royals and Harry is his previous involvement with the News of the World hacking scandal.
Tom had called Prince William about meeting to discuss a project. When details of the meeting appeared in the paper, Bradby suggested the royal phone might have been hacked and encouraged the palace to go to the police.
‘Tom has been very vocal about media intrusion, which aligns with Harry’s values and views,’ Nick explains. ‘Tom has proven himself to be trustworthy on more than one occasion for Harry.’
But he adds that Tom’s alliance to Harry and Meghan could close him off to certain work opportunities.
‘There’s no doubt that Tom is a guy in demand right now. But I doubt the palace will continue their close relationship with him after this.
‘He may have been a trusted source to the royals in the past,’ adds Nick, ‘but after showing his support to Harry and Meghan, he may have burnt that bridge and any royal opportunities.’
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