Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s relationship with the royal family could come under further strain after claims made in a book released this week. Tom Bower, who has written a new book about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex entitled ‘Revenge’, makes a shocking claim. He claims the Queen told the aides “thank goodness Meghan isn’t coming” ahead of Prince Philip’s funeral.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment, in keeping with its policy of never responding to unofficial books.
Several royal experts have reported on the tumultuous past years in the royal family.
Harry and Meghan struggled with royal life until they decided to put it behind them in 2020.
Royal author Robert Lacey claimed Harry and Meghan felt “shunted” during their last public royal appearance during the Commonwealth Day service in March 2020.
While senior royals like the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Charles and Camilla sat behind the Queen, Harry and Meghan had to “shuffle to their seats,” Lacey said.
In his book ‘Battle of Brothers’, published in October 2020, he said the Sussexes had been “punished”.
He added that it “would have cost nothing” to hire them one last time – as their “abrupt relegation was cruelly obvious”.
The author continued: “When Harry learned that he and Meghan had been so graphically sidelined at this latest appearance, he was furious.
“The subservience of a ‘reserve’ – one of the fundamental reasons for this very sad parting of ways – could not have been more aptly illustrated.”
Harry has plans to write his own book.
The Duke of Sussex planned to release his memoir, and Page Six reported that the book will contain “even more explosive truth bombs”.
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A publishing source told the outlet: “It’s juicy, that’s for sure”, while another commented: “There are a lot of new stories about the past that Harry hasn’t talked about before, about his childhood… There’s some substance in there his family should get nervous there.”
As things stand, it is not yet known when the memoir will be published.
Last week, royal sources told The Sun that the omission of the Duke of Sussex’s book from the latest Penguin Random House listings meant it might not be published this fall, as previously expected.
Speaking to The Sun, a royal source said: “If this book comes out this year as originally planned, it should be on the publisher’s marketing and promotion list unless they’re planning a surprise or there’s been a delay.
“Its omission has raised many eyebrows in royal circles.”
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However, a spokesperson for Transworld, the subsidiary of Penguin Random House, said last week: “We don’t list every book, so there’s nothing to extrapolate from that.”
Harry announced that he planned to write the memoir in July.
In a statement, the prince said: “I am writing this not as the prince I was born, but as the man I have become.
“I’ve worn many hats over the years, both literally and figuratively, and I hope by telling my story – the highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learned – I can show that it doesn’t matter where we come from. Come on, we have more in common than we think.
“I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to share what I have learned over the course of my life thus far and I am excited that people are reading a first-hand account of my life that is accurate and completely truthful.”