Sussexes hit back at claim Camilla ‘told friend Harry was brainwashed by Meghan'

Royal biographer Tom Bower makes the extraordinary claim in his upcoming book, Betrayal: Power, Deceit and the Fight for the Future of the Royal Family.

In the book, he claims the Queen told a friend that Meghan had manipulated Harry.

It allegedly came as tensions escalated between the Sussexes and the Prince and Princess of Wales before Harry and Meghan left for the US and stepped back from their duties as senior royals.

William and Kate reportedly thought Meghan "lamented Harry's unlikely chances of one day being king, just as she regretted the possibility that she would never be the queen", Bower claims.

"Meghan had become a divisive agent… To please her, Harry was ignoring his old friends. He even changed his telephone number without telling his family.

Read more: Meghan surprises patients during children’s hospital visit

Read more:Meghan and Harry-backed documentary acquired by independent production firm

"The jovial lad about town became possessed by seeking revenge. "Increasingly, his character mirrored Meghan's. Emotionally, he veered towards extremes. Simple dislikes became passionate hatred,” extracts from the book published in Times Magazine read.

"'Meghan's brainwashed Harry', Camilla told a friend," he adds.

The book also claims that "jovial" Harry became "possessed by seeking revenge" after meeting Meghan.

Slamming the claims made by Bower, a spokesperson for the Sussexes said: "Mr Bower’s commentary has long crossed the line from criticism into fixation.

"This is someone who has publicly stated, ‘the monarchy in fact depends on actually obliterating the Sussexes from our state of life,’ language that speaks for itself.

"He has made a career out of constructing ever more elaborate theories about people he does not know and has never met.

“Those interested in facts will look elsewhere; those seeking deranged conspiracy and melodrama know exactly where to find him.”