Meghan Markle reportedly emboldened Prince Harry, but she wasn’t the one that encouraged the duke to quit the royal family.
In the excerpts from Finding Freedom, authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand revealed that Prince Harry was already keen on leaving The Firm even before he met his wife. But after dating Markle, the Duke of Sussex felt stronger and more prepared to make the bold decision.
“He needed someone by his side that is strong enough to weather the same storms, but also someone who wasn't afraid of breaking the rules and going against the norm. What we see now is a couple doing things their own way,” the authors said.
“What has struck me is Harry's commitment to put his royal birthright aside and use his voice to make a difference. In Meghan he found a partner in that,” Durand said.
In Finding Freedom, the authors will also share what really happened before Prince Harry and Markle’s wedding.
There were rumors suggesting that Markle wanted to wear an emerald green tiara for her nuptials, but Queen Elizabeth refused. The unfounded story led to claims that Prince Harry told the palace staff that whatever his wife wants, she gets.
But according to the authors, this isn’t entirely the case. In fact, Markle was grateful and very happy with the tiara that she wore on her wedding day two years ago.
“When it came to the tiara on the day, I was very fortunate to be able to choose this gorgeous art deco style bandeau tiara. Harry and I had gone to Buckingham Palace to meet with Her Majesty The Queen to select one of the options that were there, which was an incredibly surreal day as you can imagine. And that was the one that, I think, as we tried them on, stood out,” Markle said during an exhibition for the tiara.
Other rumors surrounding Prince Harry and Markle are debunked in the book. For instance, the authors confirmed that Markle didn’t make Middleton cry during Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress fitting.
But the Duchess of Sussex admitted that working with youngsters was quite a struggle because not everyone listened and followed the instructions.
The authors also said that Markle and Middleton never fought with each other. The sisters-in-law just didn’t know each other that well. It is their respective husbands that had a falling out.
And it is partly true that the royal siblings’ falling out happened after Prince William urged Prince Harry to rethink his plans to wed Markle. However, it was the future king’s term “this girl” that didn’t sit well with the Duke of Sussex.