Meghan book bombshell

co-operation was given but it dried up after a few months.

Sources have said people began contacting the authors unbidden, anxious to set the record straight. It has been suggested that perhaps Meghan had become frustrated with the strictures of the Palace media operation. Just like Diana more than a quarter of a century earlier, she felt exposed and had decided to take control herself.

If all had gone to plan, the reputation management operation should have culminated in the book’s publication around the time of their son Archie’s birth last May, but it was delayed, quite possibly because of rapid developments in the couple’s life that the publishers wished to see chronicled.

For the authors, the extra time was a godsend. The following months brought a rich seam of new material. Unfolding before them was the high drama of Megxit, which deepened the rift between Harry and his brother and caused the Royal Family,

particularly the Queen and Prince Charles, untold despair.

It is these still-festering wounds that the Palace fears the authors have picked over and have the potential to bring further upset.

Any examination of the painful months leading to the couple’s decision to withdraw from Royal life is likely to focus on the break-up of the ‘Fab Four’ as the Royal brothers and their wives were dubbed.

Rumours of a rift began circulating when Harry and Meghan moved out of Kensington Palace and split their joint charitable venture.

The interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby came a few months later. Pouring forth their woes against a backdrop of some of the most deprived regions on Earth was widely seen as a mistake.

Since then, the couple have made numerous interventions, culminating in last week’s newspaper boycott. In January this year, Bradby said he had gleaned some insight into what a ‘tell-all interview’ might entail and it would ‘not be pretty’.

Harry remains sixth in line to the throne but his decision to pursue his own commercial interests means the Sussexes may no longer use their HRH titles.

At the historic Sandringham summit with the Queen in January, it was announced Harry and Meghan would forsake their Royal lives and seek their fortunes in America. They agreed not to enter into any deals which would bring the monarchy into disrepute.

Guiding the couple now are a team of mainly US professionals – a PR company, an agent, lawyer and business manager – who helped Meghan’s acting career. Already there have been several false steps. Palace

aides had made it clear that due to the lockdown, the Queen would mark her birthday with calls from her family, but the details would remain private. Yet within moments of their video call from LA, Harry and Meghan instructed an aide to brief favoured journalists.

‘The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, along with Archie, have just held a video call with Her Majesty The Queen to wish her a happy birthday,’ tweeted one.

It was the latest in a series of unfortunate decisions taken by the couple while striving to build a new life outside of The Firm. Last month, for instance, Harry was publicly humiliated after being hoaxed by two Russian comics claiming to be teenage eco-warrior Greta Thunberg and her father.

Now believed to be staying in a gated community in Beverly Hills, the couple will be pitching for work – Meghan appeared on a US morning TV show last week to promote her voiceover for a Disney wildlife documentary about elephants.

Last night, Princess Diana’s former private secretary Patrick Jephson was scathing about the couple’s decision to grant an interview to Scobie and Durand.

‘Collaborating with pliable authors and magazine journalists while shunning those deemed awkward is standard Royal practice, but for Harry and Meghan it’s not just about image – for them it’s business: a vital part of the self-branding and marketing process,’ he said, writing in today’s Mail on Sunday.

Neither of the book’s authors was available for comment last night. Friends of the pair confirmed the book is scheduled for publication in August, subject to any last minute legal concerns.

No one from publishers Dey Street or parent company HarperCollins responded to calls.