The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s first overseas tour as a married couple was a huge success. Over the course of 16 days, Meghan and Prince Harry 75 assignments performed in Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Tonga, where they were consistently welcomed by huge crowds.
Now, in his upcoming book Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the war between the Windsors, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, investigative journalist Tom Bower has “convinced himself” during their royal tour in Oceania that Prince William was “jealous of their success”.
In an excerpt published by The Sunday Times, the author sensationally claimed: “On October 23, a week after the tour, the die was cast.
Harry and Meghan seemed to have convinced themselves that William was jealous of their success in Australia.
“The time was right for ‘change’. They had to escape the claustrophobic fishbowl of Kensington Palace.
Harry suggested that the palace rewrite the rules.
“Instead of Meghan being a dutiful member of the supporting cast, she should be starring as a campaigner independent of the Cambridges and even the Queen.”
The author also claimed that “perhaps encouraged by Harry, Meghan seemed to conjure up a fantasy that she could provide the leadership the monarchy needed”.
He added: “Her activism would strengthen the brand.
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“She gave the impression to her staff that she believed she personified the importance of the monarchy.”
Express.co.uk has contacted Sussex representatives at Archewell for comment.
Meghan and Prince Harry themselves touched on their visit to Australia during their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, broadcast last March.
When asked by the TV host if he thought Meghan had been “well received” by his family at first, Harry said: “Yes. Much better than I expected.
NOT MISSING
“But, you know, my grandmother has been great all the time. You know, my father, my brother, Kate and the rest of the family, they were, they were very welcoming.
“But it really changed after the Australia tour, after our South Pacific tour.”
He continued: “But it was also the first time the family got to see how great she is at her job. And that brought back memories.”
Mrs. Winfrey asked Harry if he was referring to the memories of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s Australian tour in the early 1980s, which clearly showed the popularity of the Princess of Wales and, as later reported, overshadowed the jealousy of the Prince of Wales might have fueled it.
After the Duke gave Mrs Winfrey an affirmative answer, she asked him to elaborate, saying: “[The tour] where your father and your mother went, and your mother was intoxicating. So you’re saying there were hints of jealousy?”
He replied, “Look, I wish we could all learn from the past.”
He added that during the tour, the Duchess got into the family “so quickly” and “effortlessly” and was able to connect with people with ease.
Meghan joined the Royal Family as one of its working members in May 2018, after she tied the knot with Prince Harry.
She immediately started working on causes close to her heart and in January 2019 she acquired four royal patronages ranging from animal welfare to supporting women and gender equality.
The Duke and Duchess left the firm as senior royals in late March 2020 and have since relocated to California.
At the end of 2020, they founded their organization Archewell, which includes audio and video production companies and a non-profit foundation.
As well as performing charitable work and supporting causes they care about – such as mental wellbeing and women’s empowerment – they also made deals as producers with Netflix and Spotify, and Harry has become chief impact officer at mental wellbeing and coaching company BettterUp.