Prince William tore into Meghan Markle after he insulted his wife during a meeting meant to ‘relax the atmosphere’ between them after the Sussexes’ returned from their African honeymoon, it was revealed today.
The Prince and Princess of Wales invited Harry and Meghan to their flat at Kensington Palace after a series of rows including one where Kate Middleton was reportedly reduced to tears during a bridesmaid dress fitting for Charlotte.
But the chat over tea and biscuits in June 2018 – weeks after the Sussexes’ Windsor wedding – descended into another conflict because the Duchess of Sussex told Kate that she must have ‘baby brain because of her hormones’, according to Harry’s new bombshell memoirs.
William then called Meghan ‘rude’ to her face and ‘pointed a finger at her’ and explained: ‘These things are not done here’. In an excerpt, which lays bare the rift between the Sussexes and the Wales, Meghan then told William: ‘If you don’t mind, keep your finger out of my face’.
Defending his wife, Harry writes in his new book: ‘Meg said that she had never intentionally done anything to offend Kate and that if she had, she begged her to let her know so she could avoid a reoccurrence’.
Harry writes that Meghan made the comment during the run up to the Sussexes’ wedding in May 2018. Meghan is pictured with Kate here in 2018 at an event in London
During the run up to Harry and Meghan’s wedding in May 2018, Harry writes that Meghan told Kate that she must have ‘baby brain because of her hormones’
Meghan, Harry, William and Kate watching a fly-past to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force in 2018
Details of the alleged row have appeared in Harry’s bombshell memoir Spare, which has been published in Spain.
Undated handout photo issued by Penguin Random House of the cover of the Duke of Sussex’s memoir
Harry lays out in extraordinary detail the meeting with William and Kate in June 2018 when an attempt to mend the growing rift between the Sussexes and the Wales’.
But both couples would end up sharing more gripes rather than patch things up.
He describes arriving at their Kensington Palace flat and said that Meghan’s mouth was open because of the décor, priceless art on the walls, books and furniture, saying ‘Wow’ repeatedly.
Harry said that they had been thinking to themselves that their neighbouring flat had Ikea lamps and furniture ‘we’d recently bought on sale with Meg’s credit card on sofa.com’.
They then sat down for a cup of tea and some biscuits where they asked after the Wales’ children, and they in turn they had asked about the Sussexes’ honeymoon.
But after that Meghan decided to raise the question of their relationship and tensions going back to when she started dating Harry, suggesting there had been crossed wires when Kate thought Meghan wanted to use her connections in the fashion industry, when in fact she already had her own.
Meghan suggested that these problems had been magnified by the wedding preparations and the discussions over bridesmaids dresses.
Harry then claims that Kate became upset and demanded an apology from Meghan for offending her when she mentioned her hormones after giving birth and suggesting it had affected her memory. Meghan initially said she couldn’t remember but then added: “I remember: you had forgotten something and I said that it didn’t matter, that it was because of pregnancy. Because you just had a child. Because of the hormones’.
Harry said Kate then said back: ‘We are not close enough for you to talk about my hormones’.
Meghan then said she spoke to all her friends that way and then William weighed in, pointing at Meghan and saying it was rude and she was wrong to say it. Meghan then told him to stop pointing in her face.
The Duchess of Sussex is then said to have declared that she had not wanted to offend Kate. They all hugged and left, Harry said, because they thought it best to head home rather than row further.
Kate Middleton is said to have ‘burst into tears’ during a bridesmaid fitting for Charlotte ahead of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding after a series of disagreements with the Duchess of Sussex, it has been claimed.
The Duchess of Cambridge with Princess Charlotte and other bridesmaids arriving at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan in May 2018
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex after their wedding in The Green Drawing Room, Windsor Castle, with (left-to-right): Back row: Jasper Dyer, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles, Doria Ragland, Prince William ; middle row: Brian Mulroney, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte, Prince George, Rylan Litt, John Mulroney; Front row: Ivy Mulroney, Florence van Cutsem, Zalie Warren, Remi Litt
One unnamed friend claims Kate wanted to follow ‘protocol’, with the bridesmaids, including Charlotte, then three, wearing tights – but Meghan disagreed.
In his book Revenge, Tom Bower claimed unnamed sources told him the Duchess of Cambridge, and Duchess of Sussex disagreed over the length of Princess Charlotte’s hemline and the fit of her dress.
He also claimed Meghan’s ‘insistence’ was ‘supported’ by bridesmaid Jessica Mulroney, adding: ‘Some would say that Meghan compared Ivy [Mulroney’s daughter] favourably against Charlotte’.
Early reports in 2018 claimed Meghan who had made Kate cry during a row over bridesmaids’ dresses.
The Duchess of Sussex later disagreed in her bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview, claiming it was the other way around and adding: ‘She (Kate) was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologised. And she brought me flowers’.
Meghan also said: ‘It wasn’t a confrontation, and I actually think it’s… I don’t think it’s fair to her to get into the details of that, because she apologised.
‘What was hard to get over was being blamed for something that not only I didn’t do but that happened to me.
‘And the people who were part of our wedding were going to our comms team and saying: ‘I know this didn’t happen. I don’t have to tell them what actually happened’.’
In an extraordinary development, Harry – who reveals that the brothers called each other ‘Harold and Willy’ – details the extent of the rift between the brothers. Using language in the book that appears designed to shock, Harry describes his brother as ‘my Archnemesis’.
The detail about the fight between the women, however, gives the fullest account yet about how the bitter rift extended to their wives.
Meghan first discussed the row with Kate during her interview with Oprah Winfrey two years ago.
When Oprah asked if reports were true that she had made Kate cry, Meghan replied saying ‘the reverse happened’, adding: ‘It made me cry and it really hurt my feelings. It was a really hard week of the wedding and she was upset about something but she owned it and she apologised.’
Harry will reveal that the brothers had countless physical fights from childhood upwards.
One of the worst in recent years was over the way in which William shared his views on Meghan.
Harry, Meghan, William and Kate at Westminster Abbey in March 2018
Meghan being interviewed during her and Harry’s recent Netflix documentary
A source said: ‘Harry doesn’t hold back on William, He writes that William told him: “Meg is difficult, she’s rude, she’s abrasive. She’s been rude to the staff.”
‘Harry says that William called him names, that he wanted Harry to agree with him but that he became enraged when Harry “had the audacity not to follow the script”. William grabbed him by the collar, ripping his necklace and pushed him to the floor.’
More allegations look set to emerge not only from the book but during a third television interview, the Mail has learned.
As well as television appearances with Anderson Cooper in the US and Tom Bradby for Britain’s ITV, Harry has granted another interview to broadcaster and former American football player Michael Strahan.
The 90-minute interview with Strahan is expected to be broadcast on US television early next week to coincide with Tuesday’s official book launch.
A source said: ‘There will be many more revelations and discussion about the book so the Royal Family will want to brace themselves.’