Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have issued a new statement (Image: Getty)
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have issued a furious new statement after parts of a new royal book, which includes bombshell claims about both of them, have been serialised online. In his forthcoming book, Betrayal: Power, Deceit and the Fight for the Future of the Royal Family, extracts of which have been serialised by The Times Magazine, Tom Bower delves into the ongoing, strained relationship between the Houses of Sussex and Windsor.
The magazine also cites alleged internal concerns, including from former Invictus Foundation head Dominic Reid, that sport and competitors were being overshadowed and that the Games had become “the Harry and Meghan show”. It cites the poor attendance of events and claims crowd “padding” took place for the cameras, as well as alleging that competitors and families were being overshadowed by tightly managed photo opportunities.
In response to The Times’ serialisation of Bower’s new book, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said: “Mr Bower’s commentary has long crossed the line from criticism into fixation.
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The Sussexes and Waleses were once close (Image: Getty)
“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.”
In his new book, Mr Bower alleges that Meghan issued a furious 11-word remark to Prince William during a reconciliation meeting between the two and their partners after the Sussexes’ honeymoon in 2018.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Prince and Princess of Wales were once close and dubbed the “Fab Four” soon after Meghan married into the Royal Family, however, things quickly took a turn for the worse.
Mr Bower delves into the reconciliation meeting between the two couples during which Meghan allegedly “snapped” at William, telling him: “If you don’t mind, get your finger out of my face.”
The Invictus Games are Prince Harry’s passion project (Image: Getty)
He wrote that the reconciliation meeting between the brothers and their wives in 2018 had “spun out of control.”
He wrote: “William’s dislike of Meghan had been obvious after his warning to Harry before their engagement. ‘It’s gone too quickly,’ William had said about the speed of Harry’s relationship with ‘the American actress’.”
The book also delves into Queen Camilla’s dislike of Meghan. It alleges that the Queen allegedly told a friend that the Duchess had brainwashed Harry”.
Elsewhere in the book, Mr Bower makes some explosive claims about how Meghan allegedly wanted to use Prince Harry’s Invictus Games platform as a “global stage for genuine admiration and cheering fans”.
He writes: “Meghan needed a global stage for genuine admiration and cheering fans. To her good fortune, Harry agreed that she could star at the Invictus Games, which he was about to open in Canada.
“Just before flying up to Vancouver in a private jet, she alerted her Instagram followers.”
He recounts how Harry and Meghan “insisted” on being addressed as “Ma’am and Sir” and claimed the organisers thought of them as being “pushy.”
He claimed Nick Booth, the Chief Executive of the Games, had been “parachuted into the post” after the dismissal of two Canadian executives who “resented” Harry and Meghan.
He alleges the departed executives found Meghan to be “a distraction from the injured veterans,” with one of them saying: “She’s bling, not rehabilitation. Harry can’t decide whether Invictus should be styled on the Olympics or a more intimate warrior games embracing the military family.”