Prince Harry's memoir Spare has got royal watchers across the globe talking about a number of issues raised in the controversial book. But it's the reaction of the now Prince and Princess of Wales that's now catching the attention of readers, as Harry reveals the two-word response his brother had for him when he told him he had just started dating Meghan Markle.
As well as spilling on the details of how he lost his virginity, the very personal experiences following the death of his mother Princess Diana, his father's marriage to Camilla and tales from his time in the Army, the Duke of Sussex also opened up on the early days of the tumultuous relationship between Meghan and William and Kate, including their initial reaction when he admitted he was seeing the actress.
Unbeknownst to the Duke of Sussex, his brother and sister-in-law hadn't just heard of his Hollywood star other half, they were, in fact, huge fans of her TV show Suits, and couldn't believe what they were hearing as the younger royal started talking during an evening at their Kensington Palace home, as writes the Mirror. Waiting to tell them after his niece and nephew Charlotte and George had gone to bed, Harry started to explain he had met someone who he felt was very special.
Harry writes that before he told them who she was, he swore them to secrecy.
When he said she was a Suits actress he claims their mouths “fell open” and that they turned to look at each other before William exclaimed “f*** off”.
He claims they didn’t believe him, saying it was “impossible” leaving Harry very confused.
He writes: “I was baffled until Willy and Kate explained they were regular - nay, religious - viewers of Suits.
“Great, I thought, laughing, I’ve been worried about the wrong thing. All this time I’d thought Willy and Kate might not welcome Meg into the family, but now I had to worry about them asking her for an autograph.”
Despite the promising start, relations quickly turned sour between the two couples after Harry finally introduced his family to Meghan. In the pair's recent Netflix documentary, Meghan suggests she was surprised by a "formality" which continues behind closed doors within the family, as she recounted her first introduction to the future king and queen.
And Prince Harry has also claimed that Prince William physically attacked following an argument over Meghan, according to the book.
The Duke of Sussex claims his sibling knocked him to the floor after grabbing his collar during the alleged brawl, which took place at Harry's London home back in 2019 and apparently left him covered in cuts and scratches. William is said to have stopped by to talk about their strained relationship when things got physical.
William was at Harry's Nottingham Cottage Home when the pair began a heated argument - during which William allegedly called Meghan "difficult, rude and abrasive".
In an interview to promote Spare, Harry accused William and Kate of “stereotyping” Meghan - something he admits he was also guilty of.
Asked why the relationship got off on a bad note, Harry told ITV's Tom Bradby there were "lots of different reasons".
He goes on: "I don’t think they were ever expecting me to get into a relationship with someone like Meghan, who had, you know, a very successful career.
"There was a lot of stereotyping that was happening, that I was guilty of as well, at the beginning."
Pushed on what he meant by that, Harry continues: "American actress, and that was playing out in the British press in the media at the time as well.
"I had that in the back of my mind, and some of the things that my brother and sister-in-law – some of the way that they were acting or behaving definitely felt to me as though unfortunately that stereotyping was causing a bit of a barrier to them really sort of, you know, introducing or welcoming her in."
Asked specifically what he means. Harry adds: "Well, American actress, divorced, biracial - there's all different parts to that and what that can mean but if you are, like a lot of my family do, if you are reading the press, the British tabloids, [Yeah] at the same time as living the life, then there is a tendency where you could actually end up living in the tabloid bubble rather than the actual reality."
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