HARRY & MEGHAN’S BIG-DAY BLUES
The fairytale occasion she hoped for is slipping away
As the clock ticks down to their Windsor Castle wedding in May, it should be the happiest time of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s lives.
After years of longing to settle down, the prince – last week voted Britain’s most popular royal – is finally getting the fairytale ending he’s always dreamed of, while the former Suits actress, 36, appears to have successfully made the transition from Hollywood star to princess-in-waiting, winning over most of her fiancé’s family and their supporters.
However, as we count down to the big day, the highly anticipated regal nuptials have thrown both of their families into a spin, with the Windsors battling it out over tradition and protocol, and the Markles bickering amongst each other, leaving the bride and groom angry and embarrassed.
And to make matters worse, a new made-for-TV movie about their romance is in the works, threatening to expose humiliating details from Meghan’s past and intimate secrets from their courtship.
Harry was furious when it was reported last week that the Duchess of York had been omitted from the wedding guest list and fought furiously with palace planners to have Sarah Ferguson’s name added to the invitees, despite the embarrassment she has caused his family in the past. “Harry has nailed his colours to the mast on this,” a royal aide reveals. “He wants his aunt there and she will be.”
But the prince’s demands didn’t stop there, with Harry cutting some of his more distant relations and many foreign royals from the list, despite all of them attending Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding in 2011.
Princess Margaret’s only granddaughter Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones, her halfbrothers Arthur and Samuel Chatto, and Prince Michael of Kent’s daughter Lady Gabriella Windsor have all allegedly been axed, along with Queen Margrethe of Denmark and Princess Margarita of Baden, both of them descendants of Queen Victoria.
In their place, Harry, 33, wants to invite some common folk, including injured war veterans he’s worked with on the Invictus Games and children from his HIV/Aids orphanage in Lesotho, leaving Her Majesty livid.
“It’s caused a right royal storm,” a palace insider tells Woman’s Day. “The Queen has called an emergency summit to demand
explanations. She says if the couple go ahead with their chosen list, they could create a deep wedge in the royal family that will never be repaired – and Prince Charles has taken her side too.
“Meghan and Harry are feeling the strain from every angle right now. They’re struggling to put their own stamp on their big day due to the pressures being placed on them from the royal family and all the protocols they have to adhere to.
“Meghan very much wants to be able to have a wedding she and Harry have created themselves, but every time they suggest an idea to the palace, it gets shot down. They are feeling like their wedding has become more about what the Queen and Charles want, rather than what she and Harry want.”
As well as amending their guest list, the couple have reportedly suggested performances from several popular singers and asked to alter the traditional royal wedding menu, but every time, the 91-year-old monarch has come up with an excuse as to why it wouldn’t be appropriate.
Our insider says, “Harry feels stuck in the middle as he wants to please his fiancée and give her the wedding of
her dreams, but he also feels torn as he wants to adhere to his grandmother’s wishes, especially when she’s been so loving and supportive through everything.”
In the meantime, Meghan is dealing with a family crisis of her own as the unruly Markle clan ignores royal requests to maintain a dignified silence by publicly airing their dirty laundry and attacking her in the media.
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Her half-sister Samantha recently gave an awkward interview declaring that the ex-actress isn’t doing enough to help their father Thomas, 73, who lives in Mexico with only a few hundred dollars to his name.
“Honestly, what she could spend in a weekend would greatly help my dad,” snipes Samantha, 52. “If you can afford $75,000 for a dress, you can afford $75,000 to help your dad.”
Meanwhile, Meghan’s halfbrother Tom, 51 – who was arrested for holding a gun to his girlfriend’s head during a drunken fight in 2017 – last week publicly claimed that she was trying to wash her hands of her relatives.
He revealed, “My lawyer had a phone meeting with her lawyer and he emailed me some of Meghan’s direct words. She said, ‘That’s distant family and I don’t know those people.’ That’s pretty harsh.”
While Meghan is putting on a brave face in public, those close to the brunette beauty say she’s devastated by the embarrassment her relatives are causing the royals and that it’s only adding to the anxiety she’s feeling ahead of her big day.
“It’s hard enough fitting into the royal family without all this madness going on,” reports a friend. “Meghan should be excited about her wedding, but every day she dreads another of her family members crawling out of the woodwork. Harry hates seeing her so sad about it, but he’s determined to protect her.”
Sadly for the couple, amid the nasty family feuds comes the news a telemovie called Meghan and Harry:
A Royal Romance– which stars Jessica Jones actress Parisa Fitz-Henley and little-known actor Murray Fraser in the title roles – has begun filming in Vancouver.
In the same vein as The Crown, the film promises to expose secrets from the Californian-born star’s early life, as well as bust some myths about her fairytale relationship with the prince.
“Meghan has been an anxious mess since family members and friends told her how the production team has been reaching out to everyone she’s ever known to offer large cash sums for details about her life that haven’t yet surfaced,” her friend tells.
“There’s still a huge amount about Meghan’s childhood and love life that haven’t come out into the public domain, and she knows there are many disloyal people she no longer speaks to who will jump at the chance to spill the beans for a financial reward.”
Meghan is said to be “absolutely petrified” that an ex-boyfriend or a jealous former co-star will come out of the woodwork to spin a story that could damage her reputation. Her pal adds, “She knows people in Hollywood will sell you down the river for the right price, so she’s sure there’s someone who will seek revenge on her out of pure envy of her status and how far she’s got.
“Meghan’s panicking it could come between her and Harry, causing tension in their relationship at a time when they’re already so stressed with the wedding planning. Harry’s trying to comfort her and assure her no-one will believe the spin, but Meghan’s confessed that Harry has no idea what could really come out. It’s giving her panic attacks and sleepless nights.”