Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
World
Benjamin Roberts-Haslam

Harry reveals King Charles was worried about Meghan 'grabbing the limelight'

Prince Harry has claimed that his father, King Charles, was jealous of both Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton.

The Duke of Sussex has reportedly said that the reason his father reportedly said he didn't "have money to spare" for him and his wife was down to the King's fear that the American actress would steal his limelight, Harry claims in his upcoming memoir, Spare.

Harry explains that his father had "experienced that before and he had no interest in letting it happen to him again", an apparent reference to Harry's mother, the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

READ MORE: Doctors 'ashamed' by chaotic scenes in new Royal Liverpool Hospital

As reported by the Daily Telegraph, one of many media outlets to get their hands on a copy of the Spanish version of the book and translate it, Harry said, before his engagement to Meghan, his father has brought up the subject of the actress's livelihood and asked his son if she planned on continuing to work after their marriage.

After Harry told the now-King that he didn't think she would, the duke claims that he replied: "Well, my dear son, you already know that we don't have money to spare."

Following the wedding, however, the couple was financially supported by Charles while Harry and Meghan continued to be working royals. This was discontinued when they made the move to the US, with the book also alleging that Harry then questioned his father's ability to support his elder brother and his family.

Harry claims he questioned his father's money complaints, although it doesn't clarify whether this was at the time of the initial conversation or retrospectively. The paper reports that the duke queried the then-Prince of Wales about struggling to support the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge when he was earning "millions from the tremendously lucrative" Duchy of Cornwall.

The duke also continues to say how he believes his father actually feared Meghan and how she had the potential to "dominate the monarchy". The fear, it was alleged, was that she could become another Diana for the public and press - which would in turn steal the limelight away from Charles and Camilla.

US publication Page Six, which has also obtained a copy of the Spanish version of the book, reports harry wrote: "Pa might have dreaded the rising cost of maintaining us, but what he really couldn’t stomach was someone new dominating the monarchy, grabbing the limelight, someone shiny and new coming in and overshadowing him.”

According to the Telegraph, Harry goes on to say his father was also jealous of the amount of public attention William and Kate received.

In one translated excerpt in the newspaper, where the Duke again refers to his brother by his pet name, Harry says: “Willy did everything he (Charles) wanted, and sometimes he didn’t want him to do much, because my dad and Camilla didn’t like Willy and Kate getting too much publicity.”

Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here

Put-downs only people from Liverpool will know

'Bully' who murdered 'drinking partner' wipes away tears as she's jailed for life

Everything murder trial has heard so far after man died in 'ferocious' gang attack

Parkinson's symptom that starts years before hand tremors

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.