Prince William prohibited Meghan Markle from donning the late Princess Diana’s jewelry at her wedding, according to a royal insider in a revealing new biography.
The Prince of Wales, now 42, who proposed to Kate Middleton with his late mother’s engagement ring, reportedly had reservations about Prince Harry’s decision to marry the Suits actress from the beginning. He allegedly advised his younger brother, now 39, to “cool the relationship” to allow Meghan time to adapt to royal life before making a full commitment.
These claims are detailed by royal author Rob Jobson in his biography of the Princess of Wales, highlighting the strained relations between the Sussexes and the Waleses even before Meghan officially joined the royal family in 2018.
Jobson wrote, “William, still concerned about the match, sought assurances from the Queen that his brother’s bride-to-be would not wear any jewelry from the collection once worn by Diana, Princess of Wales. This was despite his wife Catherine being permitted to wear some pieces due to her rank.”
The future king, who had a long-term relationship with Kate before their marriage, was reportedly uneasy about the rapid pace of Harry and Meghan’s relationship. Their engagement was announced in November 2017, a year after they went public with their romance, having met for the first time in June 2016.
Jobson explained, “Harry claimed that the goodwill from William and Catherine vanished long before the lead-up to his wedding.”
“William had confided in his brother that he believed it would be better to give Meghan more time to adjust to royal life and suggested he cool the relationship. Harry felt affronted and took it as an insult,” Jobson added.
“As a direct result, his relationship with his brother deteriorated rapidly. According to Harry’s book, Spare, William physically attacked him.”
Other revelations in the book include claims that Meghan’s initial interactions with William and Kate were rocky due to her disregard for royal protocol.
Jobson claimed, “She hadn’t just stepped on royal toes; she had stamped on them.”
“When Meghan, who had forgotten her lip gloss, asked to borrow Catherine’s, the duchess was ‘taken aback’ but reluctantly handed it over. According to Harry, she ‘grimaced’ after Meghan squeezed some onto her finger and applied it to her lips.”
The relationship between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Prince and Princess of Wales is now almost non-existent following the Sussexes’ decision to step down as working royals in 2020. Their rift with the family was deepened by a series of tell-all interviews and Harry’s 2023 memoir, Spare, where they alleged various forms of mistreatment within the royal family.
One of the most shocking allegations was made during an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, where the couple claimed unnamed members of the royal family had “concerns and conversations about how dark [her baby’s] skin might be.”
In December of last year, Omid Scobie alleged in his book Endgame that the royals in question were King Charles and the Princess of Wales. Jobson further elaborated, writing that Kate played a key role in the Palace’s decision to release a statement saying “recollections may vary” regarding the incident.
