According to a new book by veteran royal writer Hugo Vickers, Meghan Markle scrutinized every public speech Prince Harry made as early as October 2018, just months after their wedding. It made the Duke of Sussex look like a man who had completely lost his footing, the book claims.
The detail, reported by Page Six, comes from Vickers’ new book, Queen Elizabeth II. A long-time friend of the royal family paints a picture of the prince struggling before the world knew anything was wrong.
“Observers noticed that Prince Harry’s speeches already had a California tone. He visited Australia in October 2018 and considered it a successful tour, but every speech Harry made was scrutinized by Meghan,” writes Vickers.
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The consequences of this arrangement, Vickers suggests, were visible to anyone paying attention. In the following year, Harry appeared to be a shadow of his former self in public.
“He looked uncomfortable and there seemed to be zero rapport between them. At Easter he seemed unhappy and in a general sense like a man who had ‘bitten off more than he could chew’,” writes Vickers.
The speech screening revelation is far from the only explosive claim in the book. Vickers also recounts that Markle, 44, was reprimanded by Queen Elizabeth herself for being rude to the Windsor gardeners. This striking detail is at odds with the careful image of warmth that the duchess has always projected in public.
It was also about parking the car. Harry and Markle moved into Frogmore Cottage in April 2019. It’s a Windsor Estate that the Queen gave as a gift for their wedding in 2018. Markle apparently struggled with cars being visible from the house’s windows.
There is a sports field nearby. Royals from Prince Philip to a young Prince George have played cricket there. Also, the household staff maintained the cricket team. It was only a five minute walk.
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The property has already been heavily fortified with additional fencing and security gates. Still, Markle reportedly banned cars from the property entirely because it was in her line of sight.
“The Duchess of Sussex refused to have cars on the grounds because she could see them from nearby Frogmore Cottage,” Vickers claims.
The Sussexes formally stepped down as working royals in January 2020. Three months later, they moved permanently to California.
They were asked to leave Frogmore Cottage in March 2023. This was shortly after Harry’s explosive memoir Spare was published.
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Megxit: The behind-the-scenes story
On Megxit, the Harry-Meghan royal exit, Vickers is equally revealing. He writes that Harry was “reluctant” to leave the royal family. He enforced a half-in, half-out arrangement. According to the book, he wanted to remain self-supporting while continuing to work for the institution.
The proposal was resoundingly rejected at Sandringham, where three senior private secretaries delivered a blunt verdict.
“Prince Harry went to Sandringham for a meeting and was told it was all in or all out. He returned to Canada – reluctantly gone,” writes the royal author.
