Harry and Meghan’s allegations to the British royal family have deepened the rifts. The mutual accusations weigh heavily. Now a book chapter gives new insights into the state of a complicated relationship.
London / Santa Barbara – Many had hoped for the beginning of a reconciliation at this scene: Prince Harry with his family, united in memory of their beloved grandfather.
The funeral of Prince Philip, who died in April, marked the first time that Harry traveled back to Great Britain after retiring from royalty and met his family in person. Around five months and one more visit later, however, a real reconciliation still seems a long way off. A new epilogue in the biography “Finding Freedom” about Meghan and Harry now provides further fuel.
One of the most explosive claims in the chapter, which was given a new epilogue by the authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand for the paperback edition on August 31, is: The Royals were “secretly delighted” that Meghan was with the Prince Philip’s memorial service in April could not have been there because they feared the Duchess could cause “a spectacle”. “Finding Freedom”, the new version of which was available to the German Press Agency in advance, relies on unspecified sources that are close to either the royal family or Meghan and Harry. According to the couple’s lawyers, the Harper Collins book is not authorized by the couple themselves.
There were repeated discussions about the role of the author Omid Scobie: He was often referred to as a close friend or “unofficial mouthpiece” of the couple – which he himself rejects. “I’m just a journalist doing my job,” said the native Brit in a June briefing with foreign correspondents in London. However, the tenor of large parts of the British press towards Meghan and Harry was so ugly and partly racist that he found himself one of the few who tried to take the couple’s perspective.
In its earlier version, “Finding Freedom”, which traces the story of “Megxit” and the couple’s new beginning, was released last year. When it appeared, it had been a few months since they had withdrawn from the royal family, but the sensational television interview with US presenter Oprah Winfrey, in which the couple accused the Royal Family of racism and lack of support in the spring, was still in the future. The supplemented epilogue of the biography tries to describe in great detail what happened before and after this interview.
Another explosive point in it: According to the authors, Meghan and Harry are said to have toyed with the idea of delivering the “racist royal” to the knife by name – that is, to name who was worried about the color of his skin before the birth of their son Archie (2) should have. In the interview themselves, both emphasized that they never wanted to mention the name, as that would be “very damaging” for the person concerned. The allegation itself had sent shock waves across the Atlantic and damaged the reputation of the royal family to some extent.
It could soon become clear what is really true about the rifts that the “Finding Freedom” authors describe as still very deep. According to several reports, Prince Harry could travel to Great Britain as early as September for another event in memory of his mother Diana – this time possibly with the entire family. dpa
