Friday, 24 May 2024

How Harry and Meghan’s relationship with Palace staff fell apart

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Meghan, 41, is said to have made the remark in the spring of 2017 and was prepared to offer her opinion in a way that was different to previous royal girlfriends.

The former Suits actress was also said to be unhappy at dealing with more junior staff, which a source said: “She would take it as an insult.”

The explosive claims appear in Courtiers: the Hidden Power Behind the Crown, a new book by author and royal reporter Valentine Low.

It claims in a conversation with one of Harry’s advisers ahead of their engagement, Meghan said: “I think we both know I’m going to be one of your bosses soon.”

But Harry’s immediate concern was protecting his girlfriend after intrusion into her life after their relationship was revealed in October 2016.

Meghan wanted to make their relationship official to the press. Low’s book claims she threatened to split from the Prince if this didn’t happen.

A source said: “She was saying, ‘If you don’t put out a statement confirming I’m your girlfriend, I’m going to break up with you’.”

The situation reportedly led Harry, 38, to panic and another source said: “He was freaking out, saying, ‘She’s going to dump me’.”

It led the Duke of Sussex to turn to Jason Knauf, who had been brought in to work with Harry and the then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Kensington Palace as communications secretary in 2015.

Mr Knauf issued the statement confirming Harry was in a relationship with Meghan. But the Prince hit out at racist and sexist undertones in some of the media coverage.

Meghan had wanted public validation she was in a serious relationship with Harry but was said to feel the Palace was not going to be able to adequately protect her from the scale of media interest.

Meghan told Harry’s staff: “I know how the Palace works.”

“I know how this is going to play out. You don’t care about the girlfriend.”

Trying to keep both Meghan and Harry happy was seen by staff as a challenge, says an extract from Mr Low’s upcoming book. And it was the organisation of their wedding which led to the most stress.

There were a series of rows over everything from the scheduling, wedding announcements, the gospel choir and Meghan’s choice of tiara.

The soon-to-be Duchess of Sussex was told the Queen would loan her a tiara as she did for Kate when she married William.

Meghan was invited to consider a shortlist of jewelled beauties at Buckingham Palace along with Harry and Angela Kelly, the Queen’s dresser, who was also curator of Her Majesty’s jewellery.

Meghan chose Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau tiara and wanted to make sure her hairdresser, Serge Normant, had a chance to practise with it ahead of the ceremony.

But when he was available, apparently Ms Kelly wasn’t and it is said Prince Harry thought his grandmother’s close aide was being obstructive.

It was claimed in another book, Finding Freedom, that Ms Kelly ignored repeated requests from Kensington Palace to set up a date for a hair trial.

It sparked a furious response from Harry, according to the authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand.

But the alternative view was the couple were naive to expect the tiara to be produced without making an appointment.

Mr Low’s source says: “Meghan demanded access. She didn’t make an appointment with Angela but said, ‘We’re at Buckingham Palace. We want the tiara. Can we have it r re now please?’ Angela essentially said, ‘I’m very sorry, that’s not how it works. There’s protocol in place over these jewels. They’re kept under tight lock and key. You can’t turn up and demand to have the tiara just because your hairdresser happens to be in town’.”

Harry was said to have tried to bend the rules in a series of calls and Ms Kelly is said to have reported his behaviour to the Queen.

The Prince was summoned to a private meeting and a source said: “He was firmly put in his place. He had been downright rude.”

Meghan, who gave a tearful interview to ITV’s Tom Bradby about public scrutiny as a royal in 2019, was accused of speaking out of turn to a young female member of the team.

The Duchess is said to have criticised her, saying: “If there was literally anyone else I could ask to do this, I would be asking them instead of you.”

Prince William apparently sought out the woman afterwards to tell her she was doing a good job, at which she burst into tears.

Miguel Head,William’s private secretary, is said to have told Meghan ahead of the wedding the Palace would do everything it could to help her.

One source said: “The entire place, because of everything about her and what Harry’s previous girlfriends had been through, was bending over backwards to make sure every option was open.”

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