Meghan Markle, Prince Harry's book's explosive first excerpt in a nutshell

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s explosive biography, while not directly having the two involved, has still managed to send tremours.

And with an explosive and juicy first excerpt released by the Times of London ahead of its release, royal fans are getting a glimpse at their side of the story in the midst of the mess that rolled out with the royals post their exit.

Titled Finding Freedom: Harry, Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, the book has been penned by royal reporter Omid Scobie and Elle’s royal correspondent Carolyn Durrand.

The first scoop comprises jaw-dropping revelations about the couple and how their suffocating lives within the Palace pushed them towards Megxit.

In a nutshell, the first passage reveals how the Duke of Sussex was belittled by the royals for being “too sensitive and outspoken” which made him feel unprotected by the family.

It also lifts the veil off how Harry tried to shield Meghan from the palace and some members of the family as well as staff, who “simply didn’t like Meghan and would stop at nothing to make her life difficult.”

Another aspect exposed was how the Sussex pair had to be ‘reined in’ after their popularity soared past everyone else’s including Prince William and Kate Middleton’s who were said to be “hurt” about the two disclosing private matters into the public.

The book also reveals that Meghan told some of her friends how her scrutiny at the hands of the UK tabloids was equivalent to “death by a thousand cuts.”

Read some of the excerpts as published by the Times of London:

Since getting married, Harry and Meghan had enjoyed calling their own shots. “Harry and Meghan liked being in control of their narrative,” a source said, which is why originally agreeing to fold their household into Buckingham Palace, instead of creating their own independent court, had proved a big disappointment to them.

Harry and Meghan had wanted to create their own individual household in Windsor, meaning their own office staffed with their own team, who would be separate from all others. But senior officials quickly ruled out that option.

The senior courtiers whom Diana used to refer to as “men in grey suits” were concerned that the global interest in and popularity of the Sussexes needed to be reined in.

In the short time since their fairytale wedding, Harry and Meghan were already propelling the monarchy to new heights around the world.
As their popularity had grown, so did Harry and Meghan’s difficulty in understanding why so few inside the palace were looking out for their interests.

They were a major draw for the royal family. According to a press report that compared the online popularity of the Sussexes with the Cambridges from November 2017 to January 2020, “Harry-and-Meghan-related searches accounted for 83 percent of the world’s curiosity in the two couples.”

The Sussexes had made the monarchy more relatable to those who had never before felt a connection. However, there were concerns that the couple should be brought into the fold; otherwise, the establishment feared their popularity might eclipse that of the royal family.
Increasingly Harry had grown frustrated that he and Meghan often took a back seat to other family members.
While they both respected the hierarchy of the institution, it was difficult when they wanted to focus on a project and were told that a more senior ranking family member, be it Prince William or Prince Charles, had an initiative or tour being announced at the same time — so they would just have to wait.

For months the couple tried to air these frustrations, but the conversations didn’t lead anywhere.
Worse, there were just a handful of people working at the palace they could trust. Outside this core team, no information was safe.
A friend of the couple referred to the old guard as “the vipers”. Meanwhile, an equally frustrated palace staffer described the Sussexes’ team as “the squeaky third wheel” of the palace.
Highly emotional and fiercely protective of his wife and son, Harry was drained by the unique circumstances of his family, which, as a source described, “doesn’t have the opportunity to operate as an actual family.”

While politics are part of every family dynamic, they are at a whole other level for William, Harry, and the rest of the royals.
“Every conversation, every issue, every personal disagreement, whatever it may be, involves staff,” the source said of the aides who invariably send and receive messages between the royal households.