Prince Harry Blasted by Meghan Markle's Ex-Friend for Failing to 'Step up to the Plate' as King Charles Deals With Health Challenges

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were expected to help King Charles modernize the monarchy, but plans changed once the duo decided to step down from their senior-level roles. Currently, Charles and Kate Middleton are taking a step back from royal engagements as they recover from medical procedures, and their absence highlights how important the Sussexes were to The Crown.

"The thing is with this, that's why Prince Harry was called 'the spare,' so they could call on him at times like this when they would need him to step up to the plate," Lizzie Cundy said on GB News.

The former Bond girl was friends with Meghan before she became a working duchess, and she has been critical of the Suits star since she left the U.K.

Days after it was announced Charles and Kate would be on medical leave, Harry attended the Legends of Aviation Awards in California, and he joked about his father's pilot skills.

"But sadly, he's ruined it all. He'd rather be schmoozing and coughing champagne with the likes of John Travolta," Cundy continued. "It's quite sad."

"The fact is, King Charles had no choice, he had to slim down the royal family because there was no Harry and Meghan anymore as working royals and there was the Prince Andrew scandal," the model noted.

The Sussexes fled the monarchy publicly, and the duo had a controversial tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in which Meghan accused an unnamed in-law of being bigoted.

"Remember what happened with the whole interview on Oprah when Prince Philip was dying?" television host Nana Akua asked Cundy.

"They didn't bother with that one," she said. "They didn't care. As for the Queen, she died thinking there was an alleged racist, which there wasn't, in the royal family."

The Wales' team asked for the public to respect Kate's privacy during this time, but Cundy is worried about the Princess of Wales' well-being.

"From what I hear, it was a very big operation, and she's really got to take her time to get well with this. So she's going to be out of action for a long time, maybe longer than we think," she shared. "So it's very worrying."

"And sadly the news about King Charles, I think it was unbelievable he was so open about this illness," Cundy said. "Never before has a royal been so open. And you know, one in eight men get this prostate problem."

OK! previously reported the Sussexes attended a movie premiere in Jamaica, and royal experts were critical of the event's timing.

"Harry and Meghan clearly staged this appearance in Jamaica because they knew it would get a huge amount of publicity during a difficult week for the royal family, with the King due to enter hospital and Catherine in hospital after an operation and due to take some weeks to recover," Richard Fitzwilliams said in an interview. "This appearance by the Sussexes was no accident."

"It will reinforce the royal family’s views that they are not to be trusted and it seems a deliberate ploy by the couple to remind the wider world of the pull their brand could have had in the Commonwealth," he continued.