Meghan Markle demanded that Prince Harry put out a statement comparing her to his late mother Princess Diana — way back when they had just started dating?! Yet another shocking claim from the bombshell book everyone is talking about.
According to Tom Bower in his scathing new book, Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors, back in 2016 when news of the couple was first made public, the Suits alum asked her future husband to address the harsh media coverage about her — by making a direct connection to what his mother experienced before her death!
Related: Meghan Markle’s Name Was ‘CLEARED’ In Bullying Investigation!
In the book, the author states that the 37-year-old prince agreed to do this because he feared his relationship with the actress, whom he’d been dating for five months, would be in jeopardy if not. Not the first time we’ve heard claims like that…
According to an excerpt obtained by Page Six on Thursday, the biographer explained that Harry went to his then-press secretary Jason Knauf who agreed to write a statement on his behalf “damning the media for their description of Meghan,” which often had racist undertones. This was supposedly only done to calm Meghan down! The writer claims:
“Harry dictated the sentiments for Knauf to fashion into a statement. Committing Knauf to a conundrum, Meghan demanded that the statement should reflect the parallel between her potential fate and Diana’s.”
According to the author, Knauf tried to warn the couple against this, but they wouldn’t change their minds. Harry was supposedly panicked about the situation, afraid he’d “lose” Meghan if he didn’t do what she wanted! The book continues:
“Knauf suggested that over-dramatizing Meghan’s distress would backfire, but Harry was adamant. If Meghan’s wish to be equated with Diana was not satisfied, insisted Harry, he would probably lose her. Knauf acquiesced.”
The future father of two even went to his brother, Prince William, for help. Bower claims that William also “hesitated,” adding:
“To William’s regret, Harry was obeying Meghan’s orders. That was unwise.”
And thus their feud would begin…
Related: Lady GaGa’s Choreographer Accused Of Creating ‘Unsafe’ Workplace
Eventually, a statement was published in November 2016. It notably did not call out Princess Diana by name, but it did allude to her struggle with the media (including being chased by paparazzi before the 1997 car crash that took her life). The statement began:
“My girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment.”
It continued:
“Prince Harry is worried about Ms. Markle’s safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her … This is not a game — it is her life and his.”
Interestingly, though, in 2019, Harry put out another statement in support of the actress — and this time he did compare the two more directly! At the time, he was upset by Markle’s personal letters getting published by the British press (for which she won a case in court last year). He argued at that time:
“My deepest fear is history repeating itself. I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditized to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”
Last year, Harry got even more candid about the unfortunate similarities between his wife and mom in AppleTV+‘s The Me You Can’t See, saying in part:
“Do I have any regrets? Yeah. My biggest regret is not making more of a stance earlier on in my relationship with my wife and calling out the racism when I did. History was repeating itself. My mother was chased to her death while she was in a relationship with someone that wasn’t white and now look what’s happened. You want to talk about history repeating itself, they’re not going to stop until [Meghan] dies.”
Like we said, he didn’t hold back! He also expressed:
“It’s incredibly triggering to potentially lose another woman in my life, but the list is growing. And it all comes back to the same people, the same business model, the same industry.”
Whoa!
It’s definitely interesting to read those remarks knowing that Meghan had allegedly been campaigning for that comparison all those years ago! Thoughts, Perezcious readers? Are you buying all of Tom’s reports about Meghan — or is this just sounding like a massive smear campaign to you? Sound OFF (below)!
[Image via Anwar Hussein/MEGA/WENN]