Prince Harry 'heartbroken' over royal family rift, friend says: 'A lot of hurt feelings'

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It's been nearly a year since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shocked many, including their loved ones, by announcing they'd be stepping back as senior members of the British royal family.

They've since moved from the United Kingdom to a home in Santa Barbara, Calif., with their son Archie, who will turn 2 in May.

ITV anchor Tom Bradby, known for his documentary about Harry and Meghan's South Africa tour and a friend of the couple, is opening up in more detail about the royal rift. Despite the Duke and Duchess of Sussex appearing more "content" today than they were two years ago, Bradby claims the couple's departure has taken a toll on all royal family members, including Harry.

"I think they are feeling better, yes," Bradby told ITV's "Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh" via People. "So are they unhappy? No, I think they are content. The things they are doing they are quite excited by."

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Bradby, however, noted that he believes Harry is "heartbroken by the situation with his family," adding, "you don't necessarily need to have knowledge to know that, but I think it's true."

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and their baby son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his daughter Thandeka Tutu-Gxashe at the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation during their royal tour of South Africa on September 25, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa.  (Toby Melville - Pool/Getty Images)

Bradby confirmed the rumors of a rift between Harry and the rest of his family -- but insists that doesn't mean he isn't finding bliss with his wife and son in the U.S.

"The situation with the family clearly isn't ideal, and it has been a very difficult year for them all. But are they unhappy out there? No, I don't think that's right, I think they are pretty happy actually, but I think they wrestle with their position in life, I think they all do. I think [Prince] William does, too. I don't think he finds it easy," Bradby added, according to the report.

Bradby's interview with Titchmarsh is expected to air Sunday. The journalist went on to share that it's been an "incredibly painful" year for the royals, given Meghan and Harry's move.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's departure as senior members of the royal family is 'painful' for 'all' of their family members, journalist Tom Bradby claims in a new interview. (Chris Jackson/Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

"It is painful all round, painful for everyone, difficult to manage. Effectively they have just decided to completely leave the royal family. That has never been done  -- I mean, you could go back to the Duke of Windsor, but that was in very different circumstances. It's never been done voluntarily before, and no one still is absolutely clear how it is going to work."

Harry's pal concluded that the situation isn't completely smoothed over.

"There are still a lot of hurt feelings on all sides, and it's very difficult. … I think the public desperately wants them to be OK and everyone to be happy and clearly that hasn't been the situation over the past year. It is not a very easy or comfortable situation. I don't think it was ever going to be an easy or comfortable situation."

Royal family expert and Vanity Fair correspondent Katie Nicholl, meanwhile, recently told "Entertainment Tonight" that the relationship between the royal siblings got stronger over the holidays. 

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"There were phone and video calls over the Christmas and New Year holiday and the Sussexes sent presents to the Cambridges and vice versa," Nicholl told the outlet. ‘It was an opportunity in an otherwise very busy and chaotic year for both of the families to come together and connect, albeit virtually."

One source recently claimed Prince William and Prince Harry became closer in recent weeks after the holiday season. William, his wife Kate Middleton, and their three kids remain in the U.K. while Harry has relocated to California with Meghan and their son, Archie. (Paul Grover- WPA Pool/Getty Images)

In his upcoming interview, Bradby says it's important to remember that in addition to being a family, the British royals also, in a way, are a "firm."

"They are in the business of public service on a very elevated, exposed platform and to some extent, they are all locked in it together. And that creates lots of tensions that people perhaps do see relatively clearly from the outside, but at the same time they are trying to be a family and I am always acutely conscious of that and how complicated and frankly difficult it is," he said.

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Harry and William are expected to be reunited later this year at a statue tribute to their mother, Princess Diana, at Kensington Palace, Nicholl said.