The real falling out before Harry and Meghan's wedding, according to royal biographers
It was Harry, not Meghan, who had a royal falling out before their wedding, according to a new book which was widely reported to be their side of the story.
Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family reports that Harry had an argument with the Queen’s right-hand woman Angela Kelly, and thought she was ignoring his requests for a final tiara fitting for Meghan.
The book explains Harry tagged along with Meghan when she went to Buckingham Palace to see what options she would be given for a tiara to borrow for her wedding day.
The Queen had offered five different options all of which were carefully handled by Kelly, who is the Queen’s personal assistant, advisor and curator of her jewellery and wardrobe. The decision was made not to bring a hair stylist to that first fitting as it was felt it would have “detracted from the intimacy of the personal moment”.
Instead, a full fitting with the stylist was to be arranged for another day.
However, when it came to arranging that day, the book claims “no matter how many requests were sent by Kensington Palace, the Queen’s personal dresser didn’t respond”.
Read more: Prince Harry's friend 'punished' for 'doubts' about Meghan Markle ahead of wedding
Not knowing when Kelly was free, “Harry was furious” authors Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie say.
Kelly is one of the few people allowed to actually touch the Queen and because of their close relationship, is on call for Her Majesty almost all the time.
However despite knowing about palace protocol and the two women being in Windsor for Easter, Harry “didn’t believe that Angela was truly unavailable”.
The book claims: “What followed between the prince and Angela was a heated exchange that was far from the typical restraint expected.
“According to a source, Harry had no problem confronting the issue head on.
“‘He was fed up,’ said the aide.”
According to Scobie and Durand, the prince had to go straight to his grandmother to arrange a tiara trial for Meghan.
It was later reported that Meghan had demanded a different tiara from the Queen for her wedding day.
But the book claims Meghan was dismayed by those reports, and told a friend “I love my tiara”.
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The book also claims that two of the features of the wedding ceremony were suggestions by Prince Charles.
According to the authors, the Kingdom Choir and the address by Bishop Michael Curry were ideas offered up by Charles, Harry’s father.
Charles revealed on Classic FM earlier this year that he suggested some of the pieces for Prince William and Kate’s wedding back in 2011, too.
It also offers another insight into the reported row between Meghan and Kate, which reportedly meant Kate left a bridesmaid dress fitting in tears.
The Daily Telegraph reported that Kate, not long having given birth to Louis, was left upset at the mid-May fitting, but a new source, who Scobie and Durand say has never spoken out before, said the reports were “puzzling”.
The source added: “There were no tears from anyone.”
A spokesperson for The Duke and Duchess of Sussex has previously said: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not interviewed and did not contribute to ‘Finding Freedom’.
“This book is based on the authors’ own experiences as members of the royal press corps and their own independent reporting.”
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Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family | £13.60 from Amazon
