As palace sources retaliated against Meghan and Harry’s “delusional” sniping at the monarchy and exposed the “toll” it is taking on the Queen, the simmering Transatlantic “cold war” between the Windsors and the Sussexes flared out today.
The Duchess of Sussex and the Duke of Sussex caused a new rift in their feud with the Royal Family this week when Meghan, a former Suits actress, dropped more bombshells in a startling US interview and a new podcast on Spotify.
In the latter, she claimed she had been compared to South African hero Nelson Mandela and that Harry had “lost” his father Charles because of Megxit.
In response, sources in the royal community have called the couple’s outbursts about living the working royal lifestyle “delusional” and “tragic,” and sensationally claimed that they will continue to “rail against the system as much as they still do” even after Megxit to maintain public and, consequently, financial interest in their “brand.”
‘Everyone anticipated they would go off to be financially independent, continue their humanitarian endeavors, and be happy – and that in going their own way, they may not feel the need to rail against the system as much as they currently do,’ an unhappy Palace source told The Sunday Times.
“However, the star power of them necessitates a relationship with the Royal Familial, and the family strife feeds those fires.”
According to sources, Meghan’s assertion that South Africa celebrated her wedding like it was the liberation of Nelson Mandela was false.
She made the remark in an interview with the magazine The Cut. Mandela, Nelson? Who will follow Gandhi? The tragedy and delusion of it all are beyond description.
Additionally, they said that the Queen, who is now 96 years old and has been away from a number of public appearances in recent months due to chronic health concerns, does not ‘want to remain on tenterhooks’ and always on the lookout for the ‘next nuclear weapon’.
Additionally, Charles’s associates told the newspaper that the jokes are still “difficult” for him, even after his relationships with Harry, Meghan, and his grandkids Archie and Lilibet during the Platinum Jubilee in June somewhat improved.
Since two years ago, a guy who is unable to openly justify himself to a couple he undoubtedly loves and misses has been the target of a regular stream of highly hard remarks.
On a personal level, I find it to be really challenging. He is absolutely perplexed as to why his son, whom he loves dearly, believes that this is the best way to handle family matters,’ the source said.
The monarchy has not taken Harry and Meghan’s jabs well, according to palace sources, who noted that many wonder what the pair – notably Meghan – want to accomplish by openly discussing “how dreadful it was to be a royal.”
Before she and Harry stood down as senior working royals, Meghan remarked in a lengthy, more than 6,000 word interview with The Cut that they were “simply by existing” upsetting the hierarchy.
She said that it takes “a lot of work” to forgive and intimated that because she did not sign any secrecy agreements with the royal family, she is free to “say whatever.”
The couple’s activities also seem to be at odds with the public statement they made in January 2020, after their agreement with the Queen to leave the royal family, in which they vowed to “continue to embrace Her Majesty’s ideals in whatever they undertake.”
Their public funding was stopped at the so-called “Sandringham Summit,” and Harry gave up his military appointments.
This allowed them to travel to the United States, where they signed multi-million dollar contracts with companies like Spotify and Netflix.
Despite everything, the Queen has often affirmed that the royal family still loves the Sussexes very much.
It is difficult to see how what they are doing would be consistent with the ideals of the Queen, who has never encouraged individuals to reveal their highly personal family connections in public, a source told the Sunday Times.
When Mail Online enquired about the comments of the palace insiders, her communications team refused to comment. The Sussexes’ spokesman did not react to our inquiry right away.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex may have already returned to the United Kingdom after visiting for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
According to a story last night from Hello! magazine, the couple arrived in the UK on Saturday morning after taking a commercial flight and seemed to be without their kids Archie and Lillibet.
Harry and Meghan will travel to Germany to commemorate the Invictus Games’ one-year anniversary after attending a youth gathering in Manchester tomorrow and the WellChild awards in London on Thursday.
Despite residing just a few hundred feet away from Prince William and his wife, Kate, there are “no preparations” for them to meet with them.
Although their arrival time and date had not been established, they were anticipated to come as early as Saturday and use their Windsor residence, Frogmore Cottage, as a base.
They are unlikely to pay a visit to the Queen at Balmoral, where one source claims that Her Majesty has had “a busy summer with lots of visitors and has been out picnicking,” according to The Sunday Times.
It is believed that there are “no plans” for them to travel the short 380-foot distance to Adelaide Cottage for the brothers to reunite as a result of the breakdown of relationships between the Sussexes and the rest of the royal family.
According to royal sources, there are worries that the couple might travel to the UK with a film crew as part of their rumoured $100 million Netflix deal.
Trust is a major problem right now, according to a reliable source.
The couple’s trip to the UK comes in the wake of Meghan Markle’s shocking interview, in which she claimed a South African cast member of the Lion King movie informed her that after she married Harry, “people cheered in the streets the way we did when Mandela was liberated from jail.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex mingled with A-listers including Beyoncé and Jay-Z at the Disney remake’s star-studded premiere in July 2019.
I recently had Archie. Such a horrible chapter, I tell you. She said in an interview that a cast member from South Africa had taken her aside, saying, “I was terrified to walk out.”
He gazed at me and seemed to glow. “I just need you to know: We cheered in the streets when you married into our family, just as we did when Mandela was released from jail,” he continued.
The cast member was not identified by the Duchess of Sussex. But one actor who claims to be the sole South African in the live-action Lion King movie says he’s never even met Meghan.
The Duchess of Sussex used her interview to suggest that her 2018 royal wedding sparked celebrations in South Africa reminiscent of the release of his friend Madiba, the illustrious anti-apartheid leader. Dr. John Kani told Mail Online earlier this week that he believes the Duchess of Sussex made “a faux pas.”
He added that while Meghan Markle’s marriage to Prince Harry was “no big deal” in South Africa, Mr. Mandela’s walk to freedom after 27 years was a “landmark moment” and that “you can’t really say where you were when Meghan married Harry.” He also said that the two events “cannot be spoken in the same breath.”
However, Dr. Kani, a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company who provided the voice of the mandrill shaman Rafiki in the Disney film, told MailOnline that he was the only South African present and that he had never met Meghan and had not attended the UK premiere.
He said that Lebo M, a composer who worked with Hans Zimmer to create The Lion King’s soundtrack, was the only other South African who was engaged. Lebo M, though, wasn’t part of the cast.
“Meghan Markle is someone I have never met. She appears to have made a mistake here. The Duchess and I have never even spoken. I am the only South African in the cast, and I was unable to make it to the London premiere,’ he said.
I went to Hollywood when we had our premiere there, but I couldn’t stay since I had to leave right after to make a movie sequel in Paris. Me portraying Rafiki was the lone South African. However, I chose not to attend the opening at Leicester Square since I lacked the time to do so. She could have just misremembered something.
It is perplexing to me. The only other member of my race is myself. Seth Rogen portrays Pumbaa, Donald Glover portrays Simba, and Beyonce portrays Nala, while I play Rafiki.
Insisting that the marriage of Harry and Meghan was “no big deal” in his nation, the actor added: “I cannot even tell you now what month she married or what year.”
Dr. Kani disagreed with Meghan’s assertion that South Africans welcomed the release of anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela with the same jubilation as they did for her marriage to Prince Harry.
Nobody would have known when, where, or how she got married, he said. We had no connection to the wedding or to her marrying Harry in South Africa.
“I am genuinely shocked by this. The entire thing is a non-event for me.
Additionally, Harry was quoted in the article as saying that some members of the Royal Family “aren’t able to work and live together,” and Meghan revealed that her husband had claimed to have “lost” his father, Prince Charles.
Harry reportedly said to Meghan, “I lost my dad in this process,” according to The Cut magazine. Although he has the option, it need not be the same for them as it was for me.
However, the duchess’s comments regarding the breakdown of her relationship with her own father were later clarified by the couple’s allies.
I hear that Prince Harry is really alluding to Meghan’s loss of her own father, and Meghan is saying she doesn’t want Harry to lose his, Omid Scobie, Meghan’s unofficial publicist, stated on social media.
The Prince of Wales loves both his sons, according to a source close to Prince Charles, who added last week that he would be saddened if Harry felt their relationship had soured.
When questioned about the misunderstanding surrounding Meghan’s remark, The Cut declined to comment.
This line is a direct quote from Meghan’s interview with Allison, and generally speaking, we don’t comment or make assumptions about sources’ motivations outside of the text of the story, the source added. Meghan said that she and Harry felt compelled to leave Britain as a result of unfavourable press coverage, particularly that of their £2.4 million renovation of Windsor’s Frogmore Cottage.
Meghan said that while they were about to leave, they asked the Royal Family if they may be permitted to work for the monarchy and be paid for it. They also expressed a willingness to reside in a Commonwealth nation to ease the transition. However, she informed the journalist that despite multiple other family members doing the exact same thing, “That, for some reason, is not something that we were permitted to do.”
In actuality, no other working royals are permitted to pursue their personal financial interests while while carrying out their official obligations.
There are worries the Sussexes will make more public appearances, which will lead to the release of Harry’s eagerly awaited biography. Harry’s “truth bombs,” of which there may be more to come, have already been alluded to by sources.
Meghan gave a hint that she has more to say about her life in the Royal Family in the most recent interview, but that she was “still recuperating.”
It’s funny, she continued, since I’ve never been required to sign anything that prevents me from speaking. I have the option to share about my whole experience or not. The Buckingham Palace chose not to respond.
It comes after The Mail on Sunday reported that despite The Queen’s mobility issues, their meeting with the new Prime Minister this week will proceed as usual.
She was represented by Prince Charles yesterday, but she chose not to attend her beloved Braemar Gathering, raising concerns.
However, insiders claim she stayed away to make sure her health was in tip-top shape for Tuesday’s welcome at Balmoral of her 15th Prime Minister.
It will be the first time the Queen has welcomed a new Prime Minister there – but the arrangement is ‘BP [Buckingham Palace] comes to Balmoral’, said an insider.
Despite mobility issues, the Queen is said to be adamant that she will not require Prince Charles to be part of the ceremony. It meant, however, that Her Majesty felt it more prudent to rest yesterday.
Instead, Charles, who is known in Scotland as the Duke of Rothesay, represented his mother at the Highland Games.
Yesterday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex touched down in Britain but it is not thought that they will visit the Queen in Scotland. Meghan is due to speak at the opening ceremony of the One Young World summit in Manchester tomorrow and the couple will fly to Dusseldorf for a countdown to next year’s Invictus Games, Harry’s Paralympics-style tournament for wounded and injured service personnel.
After three years at No. 10, Boris Johnson will depart on Tuesday to meet the Queen in person. The monarch will next have a private meeting with the new Prime Minister in Balmoral’s drawing room. There will be a photo released, but no video.
The Privy Council is also anticipated to hold a “virtual” meeting the following day via video call. The decision to change the location of the hand-kissing ceremony was made to spare the 96-year-old monarch the 1,000-mile round trip to Buckingham Palace.
The Prince of Wales cut a heather rope with a pair of garden shears and unveiled a new £80,000 archway at the Braemar Gathering yesterday to honour the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year.
Robert Lovie, the host, stated, “We miss her presence,” to which Charles and Camilla responded with a wave of applause. At nearby Balmoral, the Queen was taking a nap. The Queen has been a deserving sponsor for nearly 70 years, so we were saddened by her absence, but we understood it, according to Peter Fraser, president of the Braemar Royal Highland Society.
Later, Camilla and Charles, both dressed in jackets and hats and donning kilts, saw competitors throwing cabers. Since 1832, there have been games at Braemar. Other Balmoral customs have continued as usual. The Ghillies Ball will still go place, according to The Mail on Sunday, even if the Queen won’t be there.