The rift between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the British royal family remains as wide as ever. Since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the U.K. six years ago and stepped away from their royal duties, the younger son of King Charles and his wife have neither been present nor expected to return.
Even the scandal surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, Duke of York, has not prompted the King or the heir to the throne, Prince William, to seek their help. Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan continue with their schedules, combining the royal world with the celebrity sphere.
Now, a new bombshell book has surfaced that lays bare the strained relationship on both sides of the Atlantic and what the Windsors really think of Meghan Markle. In Betrayal: Power, Deceit and the Fight for the Future of the Royal Family, author Tom Bower includes barbs that further fuel the controversy that has long surrounded both the Palace and the Sussexes.
The British newspaper The Times has published excerpts from Bower’s book in installments. In them, the author writes that tensions between Prince William and Prince Harry escalated shortly after Harry and Meghan returned from their honeymoon in 2018.
© WireImageIn the book, which has already stirred considerable buzz, it is claimed that Queen Camilla privately told a friend that Markle had “brainwashed” Prince Harry amid the ongoing family dispute. According to the author, the remark was made when relations between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the rest of the royal family had reached a critical point shortly after their lavish 2018 wedding at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
According to the excerpts, tensions between Prince William and Prince Harry escalated during one confrontation, when Meghan allegedly told her brother-in-law, “If you don’t mind, get your finger out of my face.”
Prince William’s reservations about Meghan were reportedly clear from the beginning. The future king had warned Harry that things had moved “too fast” in his relationship with the former Suits actress. William and Kate Middleton reportedly saw Meghan Markle more as a threat than an ally.
© Samir Hussein/WireImageBower writes that Meghan soon became a divisive figure within the royal family and that, in an effort to please her, Harry avoided seeing his old friends and became “obsessed with revenge,” The Times reports. His personality increasingly resembled Meghan’s, and the once “sociable and cheerful young man” changed.
The biography also suggests that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex felt a lingering resentment about their place in the royal hierarchy, believing they would always remain in Prince William and Kate’s shadow rather than heirs to the throne.
The Sussex camp responds
In response to the claims published in the book, a spokesperson for Prince Harry and Meghan strongly criticized the author, accusing him of promoting conspiracy theories about the couple.
© MLB Photos via Getty Images“Mr. Bower’s commentary has long crossed the line from criticism into fixation,” the spokesperson said. “This is someone who has publicly claimed that the monarchy, in fact, depends on the complete removal of the Sussexes from our society.”
The spokesperson also said the author “has built his career constructing increasingly elaborate theories about people he does not know and has never met.” They added, “Those looking for factual information will have to look elsewhere. Those seeking deranged conspiracy and melodrama know exactly where to find it.”
Response over the Invictus Games
Regarding the Invictus Games, a spokesperson for the Invictus Games Foundation also pushed back against the claims.
© Invictus Games Foundation via Ge“It is disappointing to see The Times give prominence to commentary that appears to be driven by a pre-existing agenda rather than a genuine understanding of the Invictus Games and the community it supports,” the spokesperson said.
The organization emphasized that the Games focus on “the recovery and rehabilitation of wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans from around the world.” It added that attempts to question the legitimacy of competitors or minimize conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder are “deeply disrespectful to the men and women the Games were created for.”
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