Here’s what Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has to say about the rift.

When Prince Harry married Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018, Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Caterbury, presided over the ceremony. Now, just ten days out from their sixth wedding anniversary, Harry and Meghan’s officiant has opened up about the royal rift between the couple and King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, and Princess Catherine.

During an interview on ITV’s Good Morning Britain today, May 9, 2024, the religious figure was asked what he thought of the drama between Harry and the rest of the royal family. Welby’s response was short and sweet. “We must not judge them,” he said. “They’re human beings, they must not be judged. They need to be prayed for and supported.” People reports that Welby declined to share information about any private conversations—or whether or not he’s even had any—with royal family members in regards to the rift.

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Harry and Meghan chose Welby to officiate their marriage and worked closely with him in the months leading up to their nuptials, so it’s understood that the Archbishop got to know the couple quite well; he also baptized Meghan into the Church of England, a requirement for marriage into the royal family. “It was very special. It was beautiful and sincere and very moving. It was a great privilege,” Welby told ITV News in 2018, People reports. “You know, at the heart of it, is two people, who have fallen in love with each other, who are committing their lives to each other with the most beautiful words and profound thoughts, who do it in the presence of God.”

Whether or not Harry and Meghan have turned to their former wedding officiant for counsel or support while making their decision to give up their roles as work members of the royal family or in the months following, as the drama between all members intensified, remains to be seen, but there’s no denying that the trio certainly grew to know each other well.

Earlier this year, Harry flew from his home in California to London to spend time with his father following news of the king’s cancer diagnosis. “I spoke to him. I jumped on a plane and went to go see him as soon as I could,” the prince told Good Morning America at the time. “Look, I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, I’m grateful for that.” Now, however, Harry is back in London for the Invictus Games, but a “full schedule” is being cited as the reason why he won’t be spending any time with King Charles.

Harry and Meghan will celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary in a little over a week, an occasion the pair will likely mark in private. Prince William and Kate Middleton took a similar approach to their own wedding anniversary last month, which they presumably enjoyed at home amid her ongoing cancer battle. According to reports, William had grand plans to “spoil” his wife after 13 years of marriage.