Prince Harry gave Meghan Markle strict rules about what she could discuss in a high-profile interview, a Royal biographer claimed.
The couple first met in 2016 and tied the knot two years later. Before their engagement, Meghan was offered the chance to grace the cover of Vanity Fair and give an interview in September 2017.
The main focus was meant to be on her mixed-race heritage and her role in Suits – but it’s been claimed Prince Harry took extra measures to make sure certain boundaries weren’t crossed.
In his book, Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the war between the Windsors, Tom Bower claimed that Meghan was overjoyed when asked to be featured in the magazine.
However, she tried to steer the interview with Sam Kashner, a contributing editor at the magazine, away from her relationship with Harry, the author claims.
Bower wrote in his book: “Kashner arrived at Meghan’s home and was told that his interviewee had been given strict instructions from both Harry and Keleigh Thomas Morgan [publicist at PR firm Sunshine Sachs].”
He continued: “Harry had asked Meghan to keep quiet about sensitive topics – Donald Trump, race, their relationship and especially himself. He was not to be mentioned.”
It didn’t work out entirely to plan. Meghan did appear on the cover – but with the headline, ‘She’s Just Wild About Harry’. The couple were not happy, Bower claims.
He continued: “Within hours, Meghan called Ken Sunshine [founder of Sunshine Sachs Consultants] and Keleigh Thomas Morgan. 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?
“Ken Sunshine feared that Meghan would fire his agency. Puzzled why Buckingham Palace was angry, he called the magazine’s editor to deliver what he imagined to be the ultimate threat. ‘You’re going to have to deal with the Queen on this,’ he said. “The furious monarch, he imagined, like Trump, would pick up the phone and berate the editor. The editor was bemused.”
Harry and Meghan’s reticence to focus on their romance was not altogether unsurprising. Less than a year earlier, the Prince had publicly confirmed their romance by issuing an extraordinary statement through Kensington Palace.
In it, he attacked the “racial undertones” in press coverage and in social media, saying that he also feared for her safety. “The past week has seen a line crossed,” warned the Palace’s statement.
