Prince Harry's old friends in the UK allegedly thought he was "nuts" for dating Meghan Markle when they began their relationship, according to a book. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex started dating sometime in 2016. A year later, the couple got engaged and they tied the knot in 2018.
Book explores tensions with friends
Tom Bower's book, Revenge: Meghan, Harry, and the War between the Windsors, released in 2022, explored the alleged tensions between Harry's old school friends and his now-wife. In a segment first serialised by The Sunday Times, the duchess once joined her future husband for a long weekend at Sandringham with 16 of his close friends before their relationship became public in 2017.
Harry's friends, who, according to the author, were mostly from his days at Eton College, went shooting. Mr Bower wrote: "Like other shooting weekends, Harry was looking forward to endless banter, jokes, and a lot of drinking. Their jokes involving sexism, feminism and transgender people ricocheted around the living rooms and dining rooms."
Meghan challenged guests
The author then said: "Without hesitation, Meghan challenged every guest whose conversation contravened her values. According to some of Harry's friends, again and again she reprimanded them about the slightest inappropriate nuance. Nobody was exempt."
Mr Bower claimed Meghan's stance did not impress Harry's friends. He wrote: "Meghan was a dampener on the party, they concluded. She lacked any sense of humour. Driving home after Sunday lunch, the texts pinged between the cars: 'OMG what about HER?' said one; 'Harry must be f****** nuts,'"
Wedding guests also unimpressed
In another excerpt from the book, Mr Bower alleged that guests at Thomas Inskip's wedding in Jamaica in November 2017 were also not impressed with the duchess. He said: "Their suspicion of Meghan increased; the sentiment was mutual. Meghan disliked Inskip and his crowd. Their jokes and their attitude towards the world seemed unacceptable to her."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have not commented on these claims.
