Meghan Markle ‘crushed’ King Charles with 20-minute warning before statement

Meghan Markle ‘crushed’ King Charles with 20-minute warning before statement
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry gave King Charles just 20 minutes notice of their intention to publicly confirm their relationship, a new book claims.

The then Prince of Wales had been due to meet the King of Bahrain when he was informed
A new royal book has claimed that King Charles was left “crushed” following Prince Harry’s announcement that he was dating Meghan Markle.

At the time, the then Prince of Wales was preparing to meet the King of Bahrain during an important tour of the Gulf states when he was given 20 minutes notice of Harry’s intention to release a statement confirming his relationship with Meghan, an actor at the time.

According to Finding Freedom authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, who are thought to be close with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Charles was left “crushed” fearing that the news would overshadow his tour which it had been hoped would be “covered significantly” by the media.

In confirming their relationship, Harry and Meghan launched an attack on the media coverage directed towards the pair since rumours of their romance had first started.

The book says: “It was a critical moment that had been in the works for months. A statement from Kensington Palace condemning the Press and, in the same breath, confirming Harry’s new girlfriend would all but eliminate coverage of Prince Charles’s tour of the Gulf.

Authors Scobie and Durand claim: “The team at Clarence House, which had spent months putting together Prince Charles’ tour in the hopes that it would be covered significantly, was crushed.”

The book further describes how Harry became defensive of the relationship, regularly challenging people who questioned it. It is believed Harry even cut ties with a friend due to his belief that he was “gossiping about Meghan”.

Despite being disappointed by Harry and Meghan’s timing, Charles is described as being understanding of their reasons for doing so.

The relationship between the King and Prince Harry is believed to have deteriorated

Relations between Harry and the royal family have deteriorated significantly since then, with Harry opting to no longer be a working member of the family.

The pair have since settled in the US and had children although it is rumoured that the prince has struggled to adapt to his new life and misses elements of living in Britain.

Prince Harry is returning to the UK next week to attend the Wellchild Awards in London on September 30.

On Monday – September 23 – Harry appeared at New York’s Concordia Summit. During his appearance, he spoke movingly about the Diana Award alongside CEO Dr Tessy Ojo.