Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visited a local charter school on August 15, 2024, in Bogota, Colombia.
April 16 2025, Published 9:32 a.m. ET
A palace insider has claimed that the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, holds a powerful influence over Prince Harry—so much so that they find it akin to ‘brainwashing’. The explosive remark came amid ongoing tensions within the royal family. The source opined that Harry is a prince who shines bright only once a year—during the Invictus Games. They argued that as soon as the event wraps every year, Harry seems to lose his sense of purpose and shifts his attention towards Markle.
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‘He’s taken on everything that she feels and not what he feels. I don’t think he hates the family as much as Meghan hates it…he just wants to please her.’
Angela Levin tells Dan Wootton that Prince Harry has been ‘brainwashed and left out to dry’ by Meghan Markle. pic.twitter.com/FhMXHqwUu7
— GB News (@GBNEWS) April 17, 2023
As reported by Radar Online, the source said, “When it’s over, it leaves a void, and this year was no exception.” Commenting also on Markle, the insider added, “She seems to have him under her spell. Some might even go so far as to say it’s like he’s been brainwashed.” Royal biographer Tina Brown echoed, “I think he is [Harry] pretty much in the thrall of Meghan. The trouble with Meghan is that she has the worst judgment of anyone in the entire world. She is flawless about getting it all wrong.”
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Prince Harry has allowed Meghan Markle to tarnish his familial relationships and legacy. He put her in the driver’s seat and relinquished all control. You reap what you sow. pic.twitter.com/b8oOfpXWHM
— Link Lauren (@itslinklauren) February 6, 2025
Palace staffers in the past have also revealed that the Duchess makes most of their decisions—whether it’s about their relationship with the royal family, their charities, their work, or even who they spend time with. An insider previously claimed, “Harry doesn’t have a social life apart from her. He used to have a lot of friends in the U.K., but since Meghan came along, he doesn’t talk to them, much less see them. It was subtle at first, but those friends have the impression she doesn’t want him hanging out with people he knew when he was a bachelor.”
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Before Harry’s 40th birthday, British journalist Bryony Gordon—who has known him since 2016—defended the Prince and shared what life is really like for Harry and Markle when the cameras are off. As reported by the Daily Express, she said, “I have heard a lot of fairly negative things said about him, character assassinations that bear no resemblance to the man I have come to count as a friend.”
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She further claimed, “When I left, packed off by the happy couple with a jar of their homemade jam, I was reminded of the fact that they are a pretty ordinary couple existing in an absolutely extraordinary situation.” The journalist said Harry and Markle are down-to-earth and mainly focus on keeping their kids safe from the public scrutiny that haunts them as a couple. She argued that the world we are living in often overlooks a simple truth—that no matter how famous someone is, they are still just trying to figure things out like the rest of us.