Prince William believes Meghan Markle saw Harry as a ‘stepping stone' to fame and fortune, biographer claims
After Queen Elizabeth II's cousin and closest confidante, Lady Elizabeth Anson, claimed the late monarch was apprehensive about the Duchess of Sussex's intentions, royal journalist and commentator Phil Dampier alleged the Prince of Wales was sceptical about Markle entering the royal family.
'I think, unfortunately, that confirms what I've been saying or thought for the last few years that, sadly, Meghan never really had any intention of staying in the royal family,' Dampier told The Sun, referencing Anson's comments.
'She saw as a stepping stone getting married to Harry to new fame and fortune. And I think that's what initially Prince William was concerned about,' he alleged.
Dampier claimed that the siblings 'fell out' because of William's feelings about Markle.
'And now we are where we are. But to have this confirmed by somebody so close to the Queen is really dynamite,' he said.
However, a source fired back at the author's claims, telling Page Six, 'The opinions of Mr. Dampier are just that, opinions. They are completely without merit and not grounded in fact.
'There is no way Mr. Dampier, nor anyone at the Sun newspaper, could possibly know what the Duchess' intentions were or are, about anything.'
Page Six has reached out to Kensington Palace and reps for the Sussexes but did not immediately hear back.
Harry, 40, has had a strained relationship and William, 43, and their dad, King Charles III, since the Duke of Sussex quit the royal family in 2020 and moved to North America.
Things got worse between the relatives when Harry and the Suits star, also 43, accused the royal family of racism and released a Netflix series about their issues.
Then, in January 2023, the Invictus Games founder dropped his bombshell memoir, Spare, in which he alleged that William physically attacked him over Markle.
In May, Harry said he was willing to 'reconcile' with his family.
'There have been so many disagreements, differences, between me and some of my family,' he told BBC News on May 3.
'This current situation that has been ongoing for five years with regard to human life and safety is the sticking point. It is the only thing that's left,' the dad of two said, referring to him losing his appeal against the UK government's decision to strip him of his publicly funded security after he left the royal family.
The dad of two acknowledged that 'some members' of his family would 'never forgive' him for 'lots of things.'
Harry admitted that he didn't 'know how much longer' his father, Charles, 76, had left amid his cancer battle.
'He won't speak to me,' the prince claimed, 'because of this security stuff. But it would be nice to reconcile.'
Despite their 'disagreements' and 'differences,' Harry said he would 'love reconciliation with [his] family' because 'there's no point in continuing to fight.'
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