Is Meghan Markle Standing In Between Prince Harry's Royal Reconciliation With Prince William?
Prince Harry is ready to mend his rift with the royals, according to royal biographer Robert Lacey, but Prince William and Meghan Markle aren't willing to wave the white flag just yet.
Harry is gearing up for his second reunion with his older brother at the July 1 unveiling of the late Princess Diana's statue at Kensington Palace. Harry previously returned over the pond from California in April for grandfather Prince Philip's funeral.
The trip marked his first time back to his homeland since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back from their royal duties last year and repeatedly bashed the family on national TV. And while Harry and William's first face-to-face encounter didn't repair the damage done to the brothers' relationship, the royals will have another chance to hash things out in a few days.
Tension between Harry and William is also credited to the bullying claims lodged against Meghan by royal staffers, according to Lacey. While Harry defended his wife over the shocking claims, William backed his staff and insisted the brothers split their joint household they shared together at Kensington Palace (Meghan and Harry then moved to Buckingham Palace).
Following all the family chaos and accusations made over the past year, it is apparently Harry who is ready to own up to his mistakes, while William and Meghan refuse to cave in, the author of Battle of Brothers: William and Harry — The Inside Story of a Family Tumult claimed.
"What's interesting is that on one side we've got William who doesn't seem prepared to concede anything and on the other side friends have told me that Harry wouldn't mind reconciling," the biographer told Newsweek, "and then it's Meghan who is sticking to her guns on this issue."
Lacey felt both sides should figure out a way to mend their relationship. "It should surely be possible for both sides to say the past is in the past," he continued, pointing out that Meghan should admit her faults rather than refute all blame for her alleged treatment towards her royal aides.
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"It's very regrettable that Meghan doesn't withdraw just a little. Why can't she say it was the pressure?" he questioned.
According to Lacey, any excuse Meghan made for her alleged past behavior would be better than remaining defiant on the bullying matter. "I was getting used to this incredibly complicated system, I was just pregnant, I couldn't sleep," Lacey said of what the Duchess of Sussex could blame her alleged actions on.
Meghan was accused in March of bullying her royal staffers while at Kensington Palace via an explosive report published by U.K. newspaper The Times, days before the couple's bombshell sit down with Oprah Winfrey.
The report cited accusations made by Harry and Meghan's former communications secretary, Jason Knauf, who claimed the Suits alum "drove two personal assistants out of the household and was undermining the confidence of a third staff member." Knauf filed the complaint in October 2018, emailing William's private secretary about Meghan's apparent cruel behavior towards her aides.
In Lacey's book, he quoted an apparent pal of the Duke of Cambridge who said the bullying allegations led to William throwing Harry and Meghan out of Kensington Palace. The decision to split the household was announced in March 2019, with the new parents-of-two — who welcomed daughter Lilibet Diana on Friday, June 4 — creating a new private office at Buckingham Palace.
William "certainly wanted Meghan removed" from the household "he and his brother had operated together for the best part of a decade," Lacey claimed in his biography. He added that the father-of-three "simply did not want her or Harry around any more" following the bullying accusations.
Meanwhile, Meghan doesn't appear to be willing to forgive the royal family for their alleged mistreatment towards her. During the couple's sit-down with Oprah, the brunette beauty claimed The Firm denied her access to help for her mental health struggles while she was experiencing “very clear and very scary” suicidal thoughts.
