When his father King Charles informed Prince Harry that he would not be able to support Meghan Markle in the future, Prince Harry was reportedly “infuriated.” According to Robert Jobson’s latest book, Our King, Prince William reportedly questioned Harry after telling Charles and Prince William that he was engaged to Meghan Markle.
Then, Charles dropped the “bombshell” that he “couldn’t afford to pay for Meghan in the future” in front of Camilla, William and Kate, and their kids, according to an excerpt from the Daily Mail. According to Jobson, a “infuriated” Harry already believed William disapproved of Meghan because he believed their relationship had developed into a “whirlwind affair.” Kate was perceived by Meghan as being “stand-offish” with her. Before their now-famous argument over the bridesmaid dresses for Harry and Meghan’s wedding, Kate then demanded an apology from Meghan after Meghan suggested that Kate might have “baby brain.”
Photo: REUTERS/Tom Nicholson
According to Jobson, the queen herself had observed “volatile exchanges” between William and Harry and thought Harry and Meghan were “quite mad.” The late monarch was “tired” by their criticisms of the family, but she still had “great affection” for Harry.
Jobson claims that the queen ordered the Sandringham “Megxit” summit in January 2020 to be “swept for bugs” because she was worried about the possibility of press leaks of conversations between herself, Charles, William, and Harry. At this meeting, Harry and Meghan’s departure terms from their positions as senior royals were discussed.
The queen also said Meghan couldn’t participate in the conversation. There was a suggestion that Meghan should join Charles, William, and Harry via video link from Canada, but Jobson notes that the queen decided that Harry would serve as her representative and that Meghan’s presence was “not necessary.” A video link was considered less secure because Charles and William couldn’t tell if the meeting was being recorded or if Meghan had someone else listening in on them.
According to Jobson, following Harry and Meghan’s accusations and revelations in their 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview—including the claim that a senior royal had questioned the skin tone of their then-unborn child—Charles and William decided they couldn’t be by themselves with Harry.
William informed his father that the Royal Family needed a clear plan of action to deal with the renegade royals, according to Jobson. Charles concurred. Harry’s father and brother made the decision that starting that moment, they would no longer view him as a dependable, if frequently annoying, member of the family. They would never again encounter Harry alone, in a nutshell. There would need to be someone else present at all times.
Jobson was informed by a high-ranking royal household source that they were both extremely disappointed in him. He was not authorized or entitled to speak for them. The queen believed Harry’s “clouding of judgment” was a result of being “so consumed” by his love for Meghan. The queen considered Harry and Meghan’s departure as a “missed opportunity” and felt “let down” by their resignation as senior royals.
Jobson writes that Harry frequently spoke on the phone with the queen. She hoped he had found “peace and happiness,” but when Harry asked her to voice his complaints, she advised him to speak to Charles directly—even if, as Harry told Oprah, his father stopped returning his calls. The monarch felt “troubled” by this.
When Meghan was advised by Queen Elizabeth to seek support from Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Prince Edward’s wife, Meghan reportedly responded, “I have Harry,” which caught Queen Elizabeth off guard.
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The incident occurred during a one-on-one meeting between the two women, according to Jobson’s account in Our King. The late queen “warmly welcomed” Meghan to the family and expressed her happiness that “Harry had at last found love,” Jobson wrote.
Harry strongly condemned Meghan’s media and online harassment in a statement he issued in November 2016 out of concern for her safety. Some of this has been very public, including the defamation on the front page of a national newspaper, the undertones of racial commentary, and the overt sexism and racism of social media trolls and comments on web articles.
Jobson claims that Charles, who was in Bahrain as part of a trip to the Gulf states sponsored by the Foreign Office, was “disappointed at what he regarded as his son’s bad manners” in distracting him. One former aide reportedly told Jobson that “he would never have done such a thing if the Queen was on tour.” There is a hierarchy and a grid system, which is understandable, but Prince Harry appeared to believe that Meghan Markle would always come first. William was reportedly “uncomfortable” and privately believed that his brother had “overreacted.”
