Queen Camilla told a friend that Meghan Markle had ‘brainwashed’ Prince Harry as the bitter feud between the Sussexes and the rest of the Royal Family deepened, a new book claims.
In a dramatic account of the breakdown in relations, author Tom Bower claims tensions were already spiralling just weeks after Harry and Meghan returned from their honeymoon in the summer of 2018.
The book alleges that a supposedly conciliatory teatime meeting between Harry and his brother culminated in Meghan snapping at Prince William: ‘If you don’t mind, get your finger out of my face.’
The clash came amid mounting concern within the Royal Family that Harry was changing under Meghan’s influence, even swapping his mobile phone number in secret.
‘Meghan’s brainwashed Harry,’ Camilla is said to have told a friend as the dispute intensified.
The remark allegedly reflected fears within the family that the once carefree prince had become estranged from his relatives and the life he had led before meeting Suits actress Meghan.
William had harboured doubts about Meghan long before the couple’s wedding, warning Harry that the relationship was moving too fast, it’s claimed.
‘It’s gone too quickly,’ the future king is said to have told his younger brother about his budding romance.
His misgivings were reportedly shared by William’s wife Catherine, the Princess of Wales, who Bower claims was also wary of Meghan’s influence.
According to the book, serialised in The Times, both William and Kate believed Harry – who had struggled following the death of his mother Diana and had battled issues with drink, drugs and his mental health – was particularly vulnerable.
While Meghan’s ambition captivated Harry, the family regarded her as a potential destabilising force.
The author claims that William and Catherine suspected Meghan was unhappy about the limits of Harry’s future within the monarchy, and ‘regretted’ the fact that she would probably never become queen.
Instead of accepting the traditional role of the royal ‘spare’, Harry pushed back against palace control and distanced himself from his old circle of friends.
The prince, who had been known for his boisterous, boozy, fun-loving ways, became ‘possessed by seeking revenge’, Bower writes.
Since the Sussexes quit royal duties and moved to California in 2020, they have become isolated from Britain while Meghan has focused on building a commercial brand in the United States.
At a recent Netflix event promoting its upcoming shows, Meghan’s new lifestyle series With Love, Meghan, reportedly failed to receive a mention from the streaming giant’s head of content.
Bower also recounts how the couple attempted to boost their public image during devastating wildfires in California by visiting a Pasadena soup kitchen and sharing footage of the trip on social media.
But critics accused them of staging a publicity stunt, with Hollywood film-maker Justine Bateman branding the couple ‘ambulance chasers’ and ‘disaster tourists’.
Harry reportedly hopes that his father Prince Charles will open the 2027 Invictus Games, the international sporting event for wounded veterans he founded in 2014, which is due to take place in Birmingham.
But with the family still deeply strained, Bower suggests such a reconciliation remains unlikely.
