LONDON – Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, have distanced themselves from a new book about their time in the British royal family.
To be published in August, “Finding Freedom” describes a culture of increasing tension between the couple and other members of the royal family, including Prince William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge.
Written by royal reporters Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie, the book is being serialized by London-based newspapers The Times and The Sunday Times.
The authors write that the Sussexs felt their complaints were not taken seriously and believed that other royal households were leaking stories about them to the press.
“As their popularity grew, so did Harry and Meghan’s difficulty understanding why so few within the palace were attentive to their interests. They were a huge draw for the royal family,” they added.
However, a spokesman for the couple said in a statement Friday night that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “were not interviewed and did not contribute to ‘Finding Freedom’.”
He added: “This book is based on the authors’ own experiences as members of the royal press corps and their own independent reports.”
Harry and Meghan, a former actress, were married in May 2018 at a wedding announced at the time for instilling an explosion of Hollywood glamor and modernity into the monarchy, and helping to make them one of the biggest celebrity couples in the world.
Earlier this year, however, the couple surprised the nation by announcing that they would “step back as members of the royal family,” with plans to divide their time between North America and the United Kingdom.
Although their January announcement was a surprise, it was no secret that the couple felt the strain of the constant barrage of media attention and the endless negative headlines.
Still, the couple’s struggles with the media have followed them across the Atlantic. In May, Meghan lost the first round of her legal battle against a British tabloid newspaper over the publication of excerpts from a handwritten “private and confidential” letter she wrote to her father.
Last Thursday, the couple filed an invasion of a privacy lawsuit against unnamed paparazzi, accusing photographers of taking drastic steps to obtain images of the couple and their son Archie at their California home.
