In a surprising revelation, royal expert Tom Bower has detailed how Meghan Markle was left "hysterical" after a 2017 Vanity Fair interview, where she disobeyed Prince Harry's strict guidelines. This incident, described in Bower's book Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War between the Windsors, highlights the intense pressures and challenges faced by the couple as they navigated their early relationship under the media spotlight.
The Vanity Fair interview, conducted by journalist Sam Kashner, was supposed to focus on Meghan's role in the hit TV series Suits and her mixed-race heritage. According to Bower, Prince Harry had explicitly instructed Meghan to avoid discussing several sensitive topics, including their relationship, Donald Trump, and issues of race. Harry's concerns were rooted in past experiences where members of the royal family, such as Diana and Sarah Ferguson, had suffered reputational damage due to their interviews.
"Kashner arrived at Meghan's home and was told that his interviewee had been given strict instructions by both Harry and Keleigh Thomas Morgan [a publicist at PR firm Sunshine Sachs]," Bower wrote. "Harry had asked Meghan to keep quiet about sensitive subjects-Donald Trump, race, their relationship, and especially himself."
Despite these precautions, the interview did not go as planned. The magazine cover featured Meghan with the headline "She's Just Wild About Harry," a clear reference to her relationship with the prince. This headline reportedly infuriated Buckingham Palace and left Meghan in a state of distress. Bower described how Meghan, upon seeing the publication, immediately contacted Ken Sunshine, founder of Sunshine Sachs Consultants, and Keleigh Thomas Morgan, expressing her distress over the palace's reaction.
"Hysterically, she described Buckingham Palace's fury at 'Wild About Harry'. Sunshine Sachs said Meghan should have ensured that her comments about Harry were removed. Why wasn't the focus on her philanthropy and activism?" Bower noted.
This incident contrasts sharply with Prince Harry's later openness about his private life, as evidenced in his 2023 memoir, Spare. In this book, Harry divulged intimate details about his life as a royal and his romance with Meghan. At one point, he even suggested that he had enough material for a second memoir, though it appears those plans have since been abandoned.
The focus has shifted significantly in recent years, particularly with the health challenges faced by King Charles and Kate Middleton. Both were diagnosed with cancer within weeks of each other, a development that has drawn significant public and media attention. During an interview with Good Morning America's Will Reeve earlier this year, Harry was notably reserved when discussing his father's health, stating, "That stays between me and him."
Bower's account also sheds light on the internal dynamics and communication strategies within the royal family. Harry's protective stance during the Vanity Fair interview reflects a broader concern about media intrusion and its impact on personal relationships. The couple's later openness about their struggles and the publication of Harry's memoir mark a dramatic shift in their approach to managing public perception.
