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Prince Edward Reacts to Royal Family Rift: It's 'Very Sad'

Prince Edward Reacts to Royal Family Rift: It's 'Very Sad'

Prince Edward is addressing the tension in the royal family after his nephew, Prince Harry, made the decision to step down as a working royal last year with his wife, Meghan Markle, and has spoken about family issues.

In an interview with CNN, Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son called the situation "very sad."

"Listen, weirdly we've all been there before -- we've all had excessive intrusion and attention in our lives," he commented. "And we've all dealt with it in slightly different ways, and listen, we wish them the very best of luck. It's a really hard decision."

Edward, 57, also pointed out that the royal family is not immune to family issues.

"It's difficult for everyone but that's families for you," he says, adding that he hopes Harry and Meghan are happy.

ET recently spoke with royal expert Katie Nicholl, who said that the meaningful name Harry and Meghan chose for their daughter, Lilibet "Lili" Diana -- named after both Queen Elizabeth and Harry's late mother, Princess Diana -- represents an "olive branch" to the royal family after a year of tension.

"This family division has really gone on for a long time now, well over a year," Nicholl said. "It has been many, many months since Charles and the Queen and the Cambridges have seen Archie in the flesh, we know that there has been some really quite deep problems between Harry and William, difficulties between Harry and his father and I think that it is everyone's hope that this little baby will be a peace offering in many ways and that she will hope to bring this divided family back together."

And it already appears to be happening. Harry's father, Prince Charles -- whom Harry revealed during his bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in March that he had become estranged from -- recently spoke publicly about his new granddaughter for the first time while visiting the BMW MINI factory in Oxford, England.

"The development of technology like electric vehicles is vital for maintaining the health of our world for future generations, something I am only too aware of today, having recently become a grandfather for the fifth time," he told royal reporters.  "Such happy news really does remind one of the necessity of continued innovation in this area -- especially around sustainable battery technology -- in view of the legacy we bequeath to our grandchildren."

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