Howard Spooner, a former top London nightclub owner who once counted Prince Harry among his clientele, has launched a blistering attack on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, claiming Meghan Markle has turned Harry into a 'whinging puppet' and that their public persona is entirely manufactured.
From Nightclub Host to Hotelier: Spooner's Royal Connections
Spooner, 41, ran exclusive venues including Public in Chelsea, Embargo, and the Leopard Lounge in west London, where he regularly welcomed celebrities and royals. He has since left the nightlife scene and now operates The George Hotel on the Isle of Wight and the Sexy Lobster restaurant in Bournemouth. Reflecting on his encounters with Prince Harry, Spooner described the young royal as 'a polite, nice chap' who changed after a few drinks.
'He had a very tight group of peers, and I think they were just too entitled and they just saw everybody else as slightly beneath them,' Spooner told Express.co.uk. 'He was just a sort of loveable buffoon really, just naughty, naughty.'
Harry's Transformation: 'It's All Just an Act'
Spooner dismissed any notion that Harry had genuinely changed since meeting Meghan Markle, insisting the transformation is a calculated performance. 'I don't believe he has changed in the slightest,' he said. 'I think that he and his wife manufacture everything, then he's dropped everybody, reinvented himself. It's all just an act.'
Turning his attention to the Duchess of Sussex, Spooner described Meghan as 'this narcissistic, crazy, power-hungry woman' and claimed she has become the driving force behind the couple's public image. 'He's managed by his wife,' Spooner said. 'He's just a puppet playing a role that she has written for him.'
Security Row and Abandoned Friends
The former club owner also criticised Harry's long-running campaign for publicly funded security when visiting Britain, arguing the prince should pay for his own protection. 'He's got plenty of money for your own security,' Spooner said. 'Get your own security, stop whinging, be a man about stuff, stop whinging like a little baby.' He added: 'He just doesn't do anything for the country anymore apart from complaining about it.'
Spooner also hit out at Harry for 'abandoning many people from his former life', in a similar way to Meghan, as he said his new 'woke' public persona bears little resemblance to the man he once knew. 'I just think it's really sad. I bet he doesn't contact any of his old friends because he dumped them. They've continued being the same people, and while they were sometimes entitled private school boys, at least they're themselves.'
