Charles worried Meghan would steal his limelight, Harry's tell-all memoir claims
6 January 2023, 21:29
Charles wanted to avoid supporting Meghan financially because he was worried she might become a new Diana, Harry has claimed in his book.
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Copies of Harry's memoir were released five days ahead of the official release date in Spain, uncovering stories around his time in the royal family.
The duke said his father brought the subject of financial support up during a visit to Sandringham, also saying he would need to ask the Queen’s permission to marry Meghan.
The pair were in a Land Rover with Prince William when the King asked whether Meghan intended to keep acting.
Harry said it was likely that she would stop, instead opting to live with him in the UK.
"Well, my dear son, you already know that we don’t have money to spare," Charles allegedly said.
Read more: Army instructor taunted Harry over Diana's death saying she was pregnant with 'Muslim baby'
Harry says the newly-appointed King claimed he was already struggling to support William and Kate.
The agreement with the Cambridges allegedly meant they had to live in a “gilded cage” in return for “food and clothing”.
But the prince claims the reality was that the King had previously experienced being overshadowed by Diana and could not face “a novel and resplendent” royal who could once again steal the limelight and “dominate the monarchy”.
“He had experienced that before and he had no interest in letting it happen to him again,” Harry adds.
Despite claiming to struggle to pay for his family, Charles went on to provide financial support to the Sussexes while they were working royals.
He soon stopped when they moved overseas to the US and stopped royal duties.
In their previous bombshell interview with Oprah, Harry said Charles “literally cut me off financially”.
Among other clashes with his father, Harry claimed that Charles dismissed his concerns over invasive media, telling him to simply not read the papers.
Harry claims Meghan phoned Camilla over the concerns, who suggested Harry take the job of governor-general of Bermuda, coming with the “added bonus” of making the pair disappear from the picture.
Charles also joked "Who is your real father?" amid rumours Harry was Diana and her ex-lover James Hewitt's child, according to the book.
Harry claimed the joke was "in poor taste" due to the speculation.
