9 Times Buckingham Palace Was Unhappy With Harry & Meghan
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's relationship started as a fairytale for the modern age. It wasn't the first time that a royal chose to wed an actress (shout out to Prince Rainier of Monaco and Grace Kelly) but there was something about this coupling that seemed to work — at least, at first. As their relationship progressed, the tide began to change, leading to a historic battle with the press and the House of Windsor that will be remembered for generations. Harry and Meghan have been vocal about their tumultuous experiences over the last few years, but if they thought they were the only ones with a bone to pick, they're wrong.
The British royal family has always prided itself on keeping private affairs private. It was a standard that Queen Elizabeth II upheld throughout her reign. When Princess Diana rocked the boat in the '90s with her willingness to give interviews about her marriage to King Charles III, it went down like a lead balloon.
Equally, Harry and Meghan's very public battle with the palace over what they deem unfair treatment hasn't been kindly received. From the moment the pair struck up a romance, tempers began to flare behind the palace gates. It wasn't always the senior royals that took umbrage (though that happens often enough) but staff and courtiers, too. While something tells us this battle of wills is far from over, let's take a look back at some times Harry and Meghan ruffled royal feathers.
Meghan Markle's pre-marriage interview left Buckingham Palace red-faced
Though there was plenty of interest in who Prince William would marry as the future king, the gaze shifted to Prince Harry when William was taken off the market in 2011. Harry's romantic life was always put under the microscope, with many royalists believing that he would eventually tie the knot with his long-term girlfriend, Chelsy Davy. However, it wasn't meant to be, and Meghan Markle stole the heart of the renegade prince for good. As you might expect, interest in the couple was widespread when they first started dating, but the former "Suits" actress didn't exactly keep her cards close to her chest.
One of Meghan's first run-ins with the palace was when she gave an interview to Vanity Fair in 2017 that blew the lid on their romance before Meghan even had a ring on her finger. While some may interpret this as a woman simply getting swept up in the moment and being proud to talk about her man, the palace didn't have the same feeling — especially because the cover story ran with the headline "Wild About Harry." The Hollywood starlet didn't hold back when asked about her entanglement with the prince, stating, "We're a couple. We're in love."
Writer Tom Bower claimed that the interview sparked rage at Buckingham Palace. "Like a thunderclap, the interview triggered sensational reactions: Meghan had used her relationship with Harry to promote herself," Bower wrote in his book "Revenge" (via the Mirror).
There was uproar when Harry and Meghan left the royal family
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle only became unhappier as the years ticked by. While being a senior member of the royal family isn't an easy job for anyone, Harry and Meghan had a particularly rough go of it because of the constant media scrutiny and disagreements behind closed doors. Nevertheless, fans never expected them to give it up altogether, so when the pair announced they would be stepping down as senior royals in 2020, the shock resonated around the world. Of course, no one felt it more than Harry's own family and grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
At the time of the couple's statement, BBC correspondent Jonny Dymond tweeted, "BBC Understands that no other member of the royal family was consulted before Harry and Meghan issued their personal statement tonight, the Palace is understood to be 'disappointed.'" The late monarch's office later issued a release explaining that the couple's decision to leave their duties behind would be "complicated," according to the Mirror.
Multiple headlines ran at the time suggested that the palace's main bone of contention was that they were not given prior warning about the couple's statement before they released it, meaning the royal family had no time to prepare for one of the biggest royal upsets of all time. After all, this is an institution that prides itself on being measured and cool, no matter the situation — and that's only viable when there are no big surprises.
Tempers rose when Harry and Meghan confided in Gayle King — and she told the world
Just when the palace thought things couldn't get any worse, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle gave a televised interview to Oprah Winfrey. The 2021 sit-down sparked outrage among royalists, with many believing Harry and Meghan were attention-seeking and creating issues for the royal institution unnecessarily. The media storm around them only intensified after they shared their side of the story, but if that wasn't enough, the palace was reportedly furious when presenter Gayle King let slip some private information while on the news program "CBS This Morning" after the interview had aired.
When asked by her co-presenters if she had spoken to the couple following the interview, King confessed, "I did actually call them to see how they are feeling and it's true, Harry has talked to his brother and he has talked to his father, too. The word I was given was, that those conversations were not productive" (via The Sun).
Experts were quick to condemn Harry and Meghan for sharing this with King, with royal biographer Penny Junor stating it was a "shocking breach of trust" that would make the palace worry that anything they say would become public news. Another royal author, Tom Quinn, echoed that sentiment, saying the palace would have been upset at the leak, per The Sun.
Queen Elizabeth II was angry they named their daughter Lilibet
Considering just how much Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have had to say about the monarchy, it's surprising that they never targeted Queen Elizabeth II. Even in their infamous interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan was quick to say that Elizabeth had always been "wonderful" to her. Perhaps it's this connection that caused the couple to call their youngest child Lilibet. This sweet moniker was actually a nickname given to the queen when she was a youngster, so there was no doubt it paid homage to the late monarch.
At the time, the BBC reported their palace insider told them the couple failed to ask Elizabeth for permission to use the name. Of course, Harry and Meghan's spokesperson denied this, with a spokesperson stating Harry had indeed told his grandmother. While that was enough to make tensions clear, the issue resurfaced again in early 2024 when the Daily Mail began to serialize a book by royal author Robert Hardman.
The book, titled "Charles III: New King, New Court. The Inside Story," detailed how a palace aide claimed Elizabeth was "as angry as I'd ever seen her" over the news. Daily Mail writer Rebecca English also claimed she was told by aides that Elizabeth said, "I don't own the palaces, I don't own the paintings, the only thing I own is my name. And now they've taken that."
A war of words erupted after the release of Harry & Meghan on Netflix
It's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's right to tell their story on their terms, but if the palace thought things would settle down after the Oprah Winfrey interview, they were sadly mistaken. After their split from the royal family, the couple signed an incredibly lucrative deal with streaming giant Netflix. Worth $100 million, the couple was under contract to produce several shows for the company. One of these was a docuseries based on their relationship and separation from The Firm, titled "Harry & Meghan." The show dropped in 2022 and it caused quite the stir.
As you might expect, the palace wasn't exactly thrilled at having to defend itself over the couple's claims yet again. This time, it was over the title card in the documentary which claimed that producers had given the royal family the opportunity to comment, but they declined. The morning after the show debuted, palace sources reportedly reached out to royal reporters to set the record straight, according to Variety.
Daily Mail journalist Rebecca English tweeted, "Contrary to claims by the makers of the Netflix documentary, I understand neither Buckingham or Kensington Palace or any members of the Royal Family were approached for comment on the content of the series." The disagreement continued as a Netflix source doubled down on the initial claim, saying both Prince William and King Charles III were notified but never responded.
The palace wasn't pleased Harry revealed private texts between Meghan and Princess Catherine in his book
Ever since her relationship with Prince William turned serious, Princess Catherine has been one of the best-loved members of the royal family. When rumors of a feud between Meghan Markle and Princess Catherine emerged, it was sensational, to say the least. At the beginning of her introduction into the royal family, it seemed as though Meghan and Catherine were forming a bond, but the cracks soon started to show. Rumblings of a disagreement over Princess Charlotte's bridesmaid dress for Meghan and Prince Harry's 2018 wedding surfaced, which were later confirmed by Meghan in her interview with Oprah Winfrey.
While newspapers reported that Meghan was at fault, Meghan said it was actually Catherine who upset her, and ended up sending her flowers to apologize. It was Prince Harry's account of the fallout that ruffled royal feathers, though. The prince talked about the incident in his memoir, "Spare," and even went so far as to reveal private text messages between Catherine and his wife. It's this move that caused insiders to tell Us Weekly, that the palace "does not love" that the private exchange was made public.
A different source also told the outlet that the palace felt strongly about "Spare" in general, saying, "There's an acute awareness that Harry and Meghan seem to be looking for a reaction" and that the institution didn't plan on dignifying the couple's behavior.
Palace insiders felt Harry's podcast interview usurped his brother
Just because Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the royal family, it doesn't mean their publicity train stopped. The couple have been more active in the media than ever, not only with their own projects but also to support good causes. Harry surprised fans when he appeared on actor Dax Shepard's popular podcast, "Armchair Expert" in 2021. The candid talk focused on Harry's advocacy for mental health and his own therapy journey which he admitted was spurred on by Meghan recognizing a need for him to talk to someone.
It's certainly an honorable cause, so why exactly would the palace get irate over this, of all things? As it turns out, Harry's appearance on the podcast coincided with Prince William and Princess Catherine's efforts for Mental Health Week. The future king was reportedly out and about in Wolverhampton in the U.K. at the time, but his brother's discussions stole the spotlight.
A source told The Times (via the Independent) that the palace was left agitated and disappointed, explaining, "It was such a lovely day for the Cambridges. It is a shame that it got usurped by what Harry had to say. Nobody is shocked anymore. It is more: 'Here we go again.' But he should be told that these grievances should be aired in the privacy of your own home."
Palace insiders were left seething after names were supposedly leaked regarding racism claims
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have let their feelings about the royal family be known over the past few years, airing many grievances in the public domain. While the Oprah Winfrey interview raised eyebrows for multiple reasons, one of the biggest revelations was Harry and Meghan's claim that certain members of the institution expressed concern over the skin color of their firstborn, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. At the time, Meghan explained that there were "concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born," as recounted in Sky News.
When questioned by Winfrey whether her husband's family was worried their son would be "too brown," Meghan said, "If that is the assumption you are making, that is a pretty safe one." The pair wouldn't reveal which members of the family discussed it, leaving many to speculate. It wasn't until late 2023 that the question appeared to be answered. In a Dutch version of the book, "Endgame," written by Harry and Meghan's biographer, Omid Scobie, the royals were named as Princess Catherine and King Charles III. Scobie claimed it was a genuine mistake, but the palace reportedly thinks otherwise.
Two royal sources told LBC that they believed the leak must have come from Meghan herself, calling it a "nasty and deliberate attack," and claiming the information was "vanishingly unlikely the names came from [the palace]."
Harry and Meghan's biographer ruffled feathers with the queen's deathbed claims
The death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 marked the end of an era that had seen the British public through some turbulent times. Though it was a sad day, her death wasn't entirely unexpected. The events of the monarch's final hours have been widely discussed since then, with her immediate family members rushing to be by her side during her final hours. Some made it to the queen's Scottish residence, Balmoral, sooner than others. While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle happened to be in the U.K. at the time, Harry didn't make it to Balmoral until after his grandmother's death.
Journalist and royal biographer Omid Scobie alleged that Harry had tried to contact his brother several times on Elizabeth's last day, but that his brother ignored him. Scobie's claims didn't sit well with the palace, with a source telling the Mirror, "It appears no matter what happens behind closed doors, even in a time of such pain and grief, that where the Royal Family are concerned it will one day emerge ... It only takes a few months for the knives to come out again and the wounds to be opened up."
It could be argued that Harry and Meghan can't be held responsible for Scobie's claims, however, Meghan has provided Scobie with information for one of his books in the past, so the links between them aren't exactly fictitious.