It's no secret that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's departure from royal life has caused more than its fair share of drama over the last two and a half years.
And while on the surface, the Royal Family was "entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan's desire to create a new life as a young family," it sounds like there was already some bad blood at the time of their departure, long before the Sussexes' watershed Oprah interview.
That's at least when Tom Bower claims in his new biography Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the war between the Windsors. In it, he describes what the Sussexes' last few days of royal life were like back in 2020, and it doesn't sound pretty.
"Reality hit two days later, on 9th March," Bower writes.
"A monumental argument blew up after Harry was told that he and Meghan could not join the family’s procession through Westminster Abbey for the annual Commonwealth Day Service.
"Although the order of service listed Harry and Meghan walking behind the Queen, Palace officials had revised their decision. Suspicious about the Sussexes they decided to publicly humiliate them.
"Harry was told that having stepped down from royal duties, he and Meghan would sit and wait with the congregation. The prospect of the televised image of their isolation in the Abbey appalled them."
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While the Cambridges were reportedly not feeling very warmly towards the Sussexes, they decided to sit with them to avoid any further conflict.
"Eventually, to end the dispute, William and Kate agreed they too would wait with Harry and Meghan," Bower continues.
"As the members of the Royal Family filed into the Abbey, the frayed relationships could not be concealed. Kate had blanked the Sussexes and William’s greeting was cold. Harry looked strained. Meghan’s face showed bemusement."
Sadly, things have only gone downhill from there, with tensions between Princes William and Harry seemingly at an all-time high.
Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.
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