Prince Harry was angered at the beginning of his relationship with Meghan after her brother William referred to her as “this girl”.
New excerpts from a book about Harry and Meghan’s separation from the Royal Family claim to reveal details of a conversation between the brothers.
“Don’t feel like you need to rush this,” William told Harry, according to sources cited in the book, Finding Freedom. “Take all the time you need to get to know this girl.”
The excerpts, quoted in The Sunday Times, explain how Harry heard a “tone of snobbery” that was “anathema to his approach to the world” in the words “this girl”.
The new claims also include the alleged reaction of the broader royalty when Meghan first entered the scene.
“Meghan had often been the subject of conversation and gossip between them. When it came to the prince’s life, a royal member referred to the American actress as ‘Harry’s showgirl,'” the book says.
“Another said to an assistant, ‘She comes with a lot of luggage.’ And a high-ranking courtier was heard saying to a colleague, ‘There is something about her that I don’t trust.’
Describing Meghan’s relationship with Kate, the authors say that the couple never spent much time together before Meghan and Harry’s wedding and that they never got closer, despite Meghan becoming a member of royalty.
But the book adds that while there were some “awkward moments,” the duo never had a fight.
She says, “Meghan would agree with the assessment that the duchesses were not best friends. Their relationship had not progressed much since she was Harry’s girlfriend.
“But they weren’t at war with each other, either. There were awkward moments, like the day the women crossed paths at Kensington Palace (in early 2017, when Harry and Meghan were still only dating), and even though they were both dating to go shopping, on the same street, Kate entered her own Range Rover. “
The Sussexes, who married in 2018, now live in Los Angeles with their 14-month-old son Archie, after giving up their royal duties in March.
While the media speculated that Meghan was behind the couple’s decision to back down, the book says she was “willing to do whatever it takes” to make it work.
Meghan is said to have told a friend in March, “I gave up my whole life for this family. I was willing to do whatever it takes. But here we are. It’s very sad.”
An earlier excerpt from the book., published Saturday morning, alleges that the relationship between the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was extremely bitter in March this year, and they did not even speak during a service at Westminster Abbey.
“As Harry and Meghan greeted William and Kate with smiles, the Cambridge showed little response,” says the book. “It was the first time the two couples had seen each other since January.”
The book claims that William nodded at Harry to acknowledge him, but ignored Meghan.
“Although Meghan tried to make eye contact with Kate, the duchess barely recognized her,” adds the book.
But, according to the authors, the crack was due to Harry feeling suffocated by his brother, rather than the “duel duchesses”.
The authors wrote, “The truth is, Meghan and Kate just didn’t know each other that well.”
But rumors that Meghan made Kate cry during a bridesmaid dress for Princess Charlotte are false, the book insists.
Those present were “perplexed” by reports that Meghan’s “strict demands” had left Kate crying and a source who was there said, “Some of the children were not cooperating, and a lot was happening.”
“Everyone tried to help where they could, but it’s never easy for the kids with the accessories. There were no tears from anyone.
“And in the end, the adaptation was fine. Kate and Meghan were a little stressed but professional in the room, and there were other people there.”
The book also claims that Meghan felt sorry for her estranged father, wanted him at her wedding, and blamed the media for “corrupting him.”
Meghan was disappointed when Thomas Markle lied to her, denying that she helped the paparazzi present photos of her life in a Mexican resort town before the royal wedding, but she and Harry were also angry with the media for persisting until she relented. .
According to an unidentified “trusted confidant” of the duchess, Meghan had said, “My dad never looked for this. I really think he is the victim, and now I feel sad because I think he has been completely corrupted.”
Markle did not attend the wedding in the end, in part due to a heart attack days earlier, which she attributed to stress.
“As much as she was hurt and humiliated, she wanted him to be there and she was willing to move on,” said an unidentified friend of Meghan.
“Also, I was worried about him; honestly, I wasn’t sure if he was really okay. His behavior was strange.”
A spokesperson for Meghan and Harry said: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not interviewed and did not contribute to finding freedom.”
“This book is based on the authors’ own experiences as members of the royal press corps and their own independent reports,” the statement added.
Finding Freedom will be published in August and will be serialized in The Times and The Sunday Times.
Analysis: worrying and annoying ‘distance’ from siblings’
By Rhiannon Mills, Royal Correspondent
“Revenge is sweet, Rhiannon, revenge is sweet,” was Prince William’s reply when I asked him in 2018 what it was like to be Prince Harry’s best man.
It was the usual joke he expected from the siblings and at the time there were no real signs of the rift that was now exposed in this book.
We’ve certainly heard rumors that they weren’t getting along, so it’s not exactly a surprise, but this gives us awkward details about what was going on, at least from the Sussex perspective.
Words like snobby don’t look good for an institution that has worked so hard to be identifiable.
But I think there will be many who will only see this as incredibly sad.
There has been great affection in this country for the two brothers.
We have seen them grow and they could not have seemed closer, so to think that the bond has been broken after all they have been through is troubling and disturbing.
