Harry and Meghan ‘have torpedoed any chance at returning to royal life’
Harry and Meghan may never resume official roles within the Royal Family after Megxit because of claims made in a new book on the couple.
In Finding Freedom, which is being serialised by the Times and the Sunday Times, authors Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie make a series of claims about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the early days of their relationship.
Extracts claim Prince Harry was angered by William’s ‘snobbish’ attitude after he referred to Meghan as ‘this girl’. It also claims the Sussexes felt other royal households were leaking stories about them to the press.
Detailing the pair’s first few dates, the book claims that Harry said ‘I love you’ to Meghan three months into their relationship. Meghan, then best known for her role in legal drama Suits, immediately said the feelings were reciprocal and the pair started talking about their future together.
The couple went on dates in London, Toronto and Botswana as the relationship bloomed, the book claimed. It also detailed how the now Duchess of Sussex left ‘clues’ about the romance before it became public, including posting a photo of a Love Hearts candy with the inscription Kiss Me and the caption ‘Lovehearts in #London’ to Instagram on the night of a date.
She also began to follow an Instagram account with the username @Spikeymau5 which, the co-authors said, was Harry’s private account.
Spike apparently came from a Facebook alias that he used – Spike Wells – while the second half of the moniker was a nod to one of his favourite DJs Deadmau5.
New extracts also claim that Prince Charles had just 20 minutes notice of his son’s plans to confirm his relationship with Meghan in 2016.
Clarence House was said to be ‘crushed’ as the confirmation of the rumours dominated the news cycle and took the limelight away from Charles and Camilla’s diplomatic tour of the Gulf.
The authors wrote that Harry felt a need to ‘prioritise’ Meghan over his duty to the greater royal family in the statement which hit out at the ‘racial undertones’ of some coverage.
According to the co-authors, Charles was ‘disappointed’ with the timing of the announcement but understood that a ‘tipping point’ had been reached with Harry’s relationship with Meghan.
A spokesman for Harry and Meghan told The Times: ‘The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not interviewed and did not contribute to Finding Freedom.’
Harry confirmed he was dating US actress Meghan Markle in the November 2016 statement and lashed out at the ‘wave of abuse and harassment’ she has faced from the media.
In a lengthy and strongly-worded statement, Harry’s Communications Secretary Jason Knauf outlined the difficulties Miss Markle had experienced since news of their relationship broke.
Mr Knauf said ‘The past week has seen a line crossed. His girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment.’
He added: ‘Prince Harry is worried about Ms Markle’s safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her.’ It was the first official confirmation from Kensington Palace that the pair were dating.
News of the royal romance emerged around a week before the statement was issued, with The Sunday Express reporting the pair met in May while Harry was in Canada promoting Invictus Games 2017, the paralympics-style competition for injured servicemen and women and veterans he founded.
According to the Daily Mail, the publication of the new biography has ‘torpedoed’ any chance of creating a new position for Meghan and Harry with the help of the Queen and senior royals when their Megxit ‘trial period’ in the US ends.
The newspaper quotes a source within the royal household as saying ‘the door will always be open to them’ but ‘it’s hard to see how they can now salvage the new role they wanted as “hybrid” royals’.
Harry and Meghan stepped back from royal duties in January with a one-year ‘probationary’ period to allow them to establish independent new lives, offering them the chance to return to the royal fold if they changed their minds.
Buckingham Palace has declined to comment.
The book is due to be published by HQ on 11 August.
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