‘Incredibly sensitive’ Harry branded William a ‘snob’ for warning him to be careful about ‘this girl’ Meghan
TOUCHY Prince Harry was “p***ed off” when William warned him not to be “blindsided by lust” over new girlfriend Meghan, a book sensationally claims.
The actress was dubbed “Harry’s showgirl” by a senior royal, while an aide warned she “comes with a lot of baggage”, it is claimed.
⚠️ Read our Meghan and Harry blog for the latest news on the Royal couple.
William angered his younger brother soon after he fell for Meghan in 2016, says Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of A Modern Royal Family.
Harry, 35, was enraged when William, 38, told him not to rush the relationship and referred to Meghan as “this girl”, say authors.
Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, who had access to Harry and Meghan’s close pals, quote a friend of Harry as saying: “Harry could see through William’s words. He was being a snob.”
In another outrageous claim, the book says moaning Meghan was upset that Kate didn’t “reach out” when she entered the royal scene.
And she felt she suffered racism by being labelled “demanding” and “aggressive”.
The book, by writers described as Harry and Meghan “cheerleaders” and serialised in The Times and The Sunday Times, says the brothers had first discussed Meghan after William met her a “handful of times”.
The authors say: “William wanted to make sure the American actress had the right intentions.”
They quote a source as saying: “After all, these are two brothers that have spent their whole lives with people trying to take advantage of them.
“As William didn’t know a lot about Meghan, he wanted to make sure that Harry wasn’t blindsided by lust.”
The book says their chat came as staffers were “whispering words of alarm” to William about Meghan.
The biography says William told Harry: “Don’t feel you need to rush this. Take as much time as you need to get to know this girl.”
The authors say the words “this girl” sent Harry into meltdown.
The book continues: “Harry heard the tone of snobbishness that was anathema to his approach to the world.
“During his ten-year career in the military, outside the royal bubble, he had learnt not to make snap judgements about people based on their accent, education, ethnicity, class or profession.
“Harry was tired of the dynamic that had become established between him and his older brother.
“There had come a point when Harry no longer felt as though he needed looking after.
“There was a thin line between caring and condescending.
“William may have felt he was acting out of concern, but Harry was offended his brother treated him as if he were immature.”
The book quotes a separate source as saying: “Harry was p***ed off that his brother would ask such a thing.
“But this sums them up as people — William, the calm and rational one, and Harry, who can’t help but take things far too personally.”
A “family friend” told the writers: “Harry has a heart of gold, but he’s incredibly sensitive.”
William was also said to be concerned that Harry had isolated himself from old friends.
And other family members are claimed to have voiced fears to each other over the pace at which Harry’s relationship moved.
The book claims: “When she arrived in the prince’s life, one senior royal referred to the American actress as ‘Harry’s showgirl’.
“Another told an aide, ‘She comes with a lot of baggage’.
“And a high-ranking courtier was overheard telling a colleague, ‘There’s just something about her I don’t trust’.”
Harry didn’t care what his family thought or said
Authors
Harry was aware of the chat and extremely protective of Meghan from the outset, the authors say. And he felt “a lot of people are against them”.
The authors say: “Harry didn’t care what his family thought or said.”
The writers quote a source as saying: “Nothing was going to get in the way of his happiness.
“He knew Meghan was right for him. Their love was real.”
Harry’s relationship with Meghan blossomed amid claims of “intense competitiveness” between royal palaces, the book says.
William had initially been pleased that his brother seemed to be “happy and content” with Meghan, the book says. But the brothers “hardly spoke” after William’s talk.
BLAME KATE
Harry used to “pop across the grounds” of Kensington Palace with gifts for Charlotte and George, his nephew and niece, but the visits came to a “virtual halt” by the summer of 2017.
Astonishingly, the authors blame Kate for doing “little to bridge the divide” with Meghan, who was dubbed Duchess Difficult.
The writers say: “William and Kate’s feelings seemed obvious to the Sussexes.”
Tensions led to Harry and Meghan moving to Windsor’s Frogmore estate — away from William and Kate at Kensington Palace.
The book says: “The friction between the brothers was one of several reasons Harry wanted to base his family in Windsor.
“He wanted to get away from the goldfish bowl that was Kensington Palace.”
The authors say the relationship between Meghan and Kate did not improve after the May 2018 royal wedding.
They write: “Meghan would agree with the assessment that the duchesses were not the best of friends.
“Their relationship hadn’t progressed much since she was Harry’s girlfriend.
“Although Meghan might have understood Kate’s wariness to strike up a meaningful friendship, they were still no closer by the time she was a fellow senior working member of the royal family and the wife of William’s brother.
“Flowers for her birthday were nice — but Meghan would far rather have had Kate check in on her.
“The truth was that Meghan and Kate just didn’t know each other that well.
“Although some aides claimed that they ‘talked and texted regularly’, by the time of Harry and Meghan’s wedding the sisters-in-law had spent only a handful of occasions together.
At the outset of her romance with Harry, Meghan had fully expected Kate to reach out and give her the lie of the land on everything an outsider to The Firm needed to know. But that was not how things turned out.
‘DEMANDING OR AGGRESSIVE’
“Meghan was disappointed that she and Kate hadn’t bonded but she wasn’t losing sleep over it.”
According to a source, Kate felt they didn’t have much in common “other than the fact that they lived at Kensington Palace”.
The authors say Meghan felt that “women of colour like her were labelled demanding or aggressive” in the UK.
And they claim she was criticised solely for being different — gaining her another nickname, Duchess Different.
A friend of Meghan is quoted as saying: “That’s what people have a problem with. She’s the easiest person in the world to work with.
“Certain people just don’t like the fact she stands out. Meghan felt as though some of the commentary and stories were sexist and prejudiced.
“If a man got up before dawn to work, he was applauded for his work ethic. If a woman did it, she was deemed difficult or ‘a bitch’.
“The double standard was exacerbated when it came to successful women of colour, often labelled demanding or aggressive.”
The authors claim: “Racism takes a different form in the UK from in America, but there is no mistaking its existence and how ingrained it is.
“It can come through in subtle acts of bias, micro-aggression such as the Palace staffer who told the biracial co-author (Omid Scobie) of these words, ‘I never expected you to speak the way you do’.”
The book also addresses claims Meghan reduced Kate to tears at a bridesmaid fitting.
The authors say: “Stories about tears have been ‘puzzling’ to those who were present.
“Those close to Meghan questioned whether someone from the Palace or a former employee could have been behind the story, and wondered aloud why aides refused to set the record straight there and then.”
Tonight royal author Phil Dampier said: “I find it hard to believe William was snobbish or looked down his nose at Meghan.
“It’s much more likely he was looking out for Harry. After all, William dated Kate for eight years and briefly split up with her, so he wanted to make sure Harry was being equally cautious.”
GOT a story? RING The Sun on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAIL exclusive@the-sun.co.uk