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Daily Mirror
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Meghan and Harry 'broke Queen's heart and made final years a misery'
A royal biographer has claimed that when Prince Harry and his wife Meghan left life as working royals behind and then went public with their grievances against the rest of the Royal Family they broke the late Queen's heart and "made her final years a misery" New allegations have emerged from a royal insider that the late Queen and her inner circle had major "doubts" about Meghan before she even married Prince Harry - and experts have weighed in on their significance. Author and journalist Sally Bedell Smith made the revelations on her Substack, Royal Extra, which included claims that one of the late Queen's cousins and closest confidants - Lady Elizabeth Anson - had divulged that the former monarch had serious "doubts" about Meghan ahead of the Sussex's royal wedding in 2018. The close pal of the late Queen claimed that Meghan had been rude to the former monarch in one 10-minute discussion about the couple's nuptials and that within the royal circle, they hoped Meghan loved Harry, but were not totally sure, with some even believing she "engineered" things between them. Meghan and Harry announced in early 2020 that they wanted to step back as full-time working royals, and "carve out a progressive new role" for themselves by becoming financially independent from taxpayer funding, and representing the crown on a part-time basis. Their dream wasn't to come to fruition, however, with the late Queen, the other senior royals, and palace aides, quickly vetoing a half-in, half-out model at what became infamously known as the Sandringham Summit. With a full break to be instituted after a transition year, the Sussexes were shocked when their police security was suddenly pulled - with borders rapidly closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the location of where they were staying in Canada public knowledge, they felt like sitting ducks. The cost of the kind of private security the Sussex family needs is astronomically high, with Harry revealing in his memoir Spare that one company quoted him a price of several million per year to protect his family. Unable to immediately foot such a big bill, Hollywood mogul Tyler Perry offered the family his LA home and security detail until they found their feet - and within months, they had signed multi-million-pound deals with Netflix, Spotify, and publishing house Penguin. However, existing tensions between Harry and the rest of his family were only becoming more strained with the couple outside the fold. In 2021, the couple sat down for their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, during which they levied a series of damaging allegations at some of the other royals, and their staff - and only a few weeks later, Harry's grandfather, Prince Philip, passed away. Royal biographer Phil Dampier explained to The Sun's Royal Exclusive show that in light of the new allegations, the couple's acrimonious royal exit, and the airing of public grievances, in his view, Harry and Meghan - along with the disgraced Duke of York - made the late Queen's final years a "misery" and that this is something the British public, with whom the former monarch enjoyed a great popularity, are not likely to "forgive". 'It must have been absolutely heartbreaking for her to see what was happening with Prince Andrew and what was happening with Harry and Meghan leaving in her final years," the expert said. "To cope with that as she was approaching the end, and Prince Philip died, and all this happened right at the end of her life. I think it must have been absolutely heartbreaking for her... probably the thing that people won't forgive Harry and Meghan for making her last years a bit of a misery." Get Royal Family updates straight to your WhatsApp! As the royals get back to their normal duties after a difficult year, the Mirror has launched its very own Royal WhatsApp community where you'll get all the latest news on the UK's most famous family. We'll send you the latest breaking updates and exclusives all directly to your phone. Users must download or already have WhatsApp on their phones to join in. All you have to do to join is click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in! We may also send you stories from other titles across the Reach group. We will also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose Exit group. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Edinburgh Live
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Live
Meghan Markle's dad swerved her wedding due to unexpected 'six-word reason'
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info It has been years since Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex had an active relationship with her father, Thomas Markle Senior. The Duchess has shared in the past that she "grieves" the loss of their once-close bond, and it is a known fact that Thomas hasn't met his grandchildren: six year old Prince Archie and four year old Princess Lilibet. The rift between Meghan and her father started ahead of Prince Harry and Meghan's high-profile wedding. In the run-up to their nuptials, Thomas was caught up in a media storm for staging photographs with paparazzi while getting his wedding attire tailored. These staged photos caused quite the stir and, alongside Thomas's serious health concerns, were rumoured to be why he failed to attend Meghan's wedding, resulting in King Charles stepping in to accompany his daughter-in-law down part of the aisle. Yet, according to a Royal confidante, there might be a far more significant reason for Thomas's absence from Windsor on Megan's special day – one that supposedly wasn't related to the notorious paparazzi incident. Royal author Sally Bedell Smith has disclosed in her Substack newsletter, Royal Extra, new information provided by one of Queen Elizabeth II's trusted friends - information which sheds light on the true cause of Thomas Markle's failure to witness his daughter's wedding, reports the Mirror. Lady Elizabeth Anson, the late Queen's cousin and close confidante, revealed to Sally Bedell Smith that Thomas Markle's primary reason for not attending the star-studded wedding was due to fear. According to Lady Elizabeth, arrangements had been made for Thomas to attend, including an accessibility plan for St George's Chapel. As Thomas "didn't do steps" due to health issues, he was scheduled to enter through a side door. However, in the end, he was simply "too scared to attend the wedding," Lady Elizabeth disclosed. Meghan has since shared that she discovered her father wouldn't be at her wedding through the media, and found it challenging to communicate with him directly in the lead-up to the big day. She was appalled when her father participated in and received payment for a paparazzi photoshoot - as was her mother, Doria Ragland. In Harry and Meghan's self-titled Netflix documentary, Doria expressed her shock at her ex-husband's actions, stating, "as a parent, that's not what you do. That's not parenting."
