Just when it looked like the relationship between the Sussexes and the royal family might be thawing, it seems a new crisis may have aggravated the situation, and the battle rages on.
First, Prince Harry joined his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, to lift the lid on royal life to Oprah Winfrey back in 2021, and more recent revelations in Harry’s autobiography Spare caused major upset for the royals.
Now, things have gone from bad to worse, after King Charles and the Princess of Wales were named in the Dutch version of journalist Omid Scobie’s book Endgame, in relation to alleged queries about the colour of Harry and Meghan’s son Archie’s skin.
The book’s author, who was once dubbed “Meghan’s mouthpiece” by the UK press, denied having named the senior royals in relation to the shock allegation, and states that he did not speak to Harry and Meghan for the book.
Now, a royal expert claims Meghan has sent a “secret message” to her father-in-law in an attempt to salvage a relationship, but that the prospect of fixing things with Kate and William, both 41, is “pretty unthinkable”.
In Meghan’s first public outing since the royal racism row was reignited, the 42-year-old duchess wore a 92-diamond tennis bracelet gifted to her by the King before she married Harry, 39.
“Wearing the bracelet wasn’t an oversight,” journalist Duncan Larcombe tells OK!. “If someone gives you a present and you wear it publicly, it’s a little gesture – and in the world of the royals, little gestures often take on real significance.
“It would’ve been carefully thought through, as some sort of secret message,” he claims. Meghan was last seen wearing the dazzling Bentley & Skinner piece in May this year.
Duncan, a former newspaper royal editor, claims it’s no coincidence she decided to step out with it prominently on her wrist now.
He says there have been signs of a “thawing” in the frosty relations between the royal family and the Sussexes, helped by the fact Harry and Meghan have not spoken out since Harry’s bombshell biography Spare was released in January.
“Harry and Meghan have kept their heads down and mouths closed pretty much since Spare came out,” says Duncan. “But the Endgame book has probably set things right back, and there’s little sign of change in the other camp.
“The royal family here have maintained their one approach, which is ‘Keep calm and carry on’, and not risen to any tit-for-tat comments, probably in the hope it will all go away and blow over.”
Among Spare’s most shocking revelations was the claim Harry and William got into a physical scrap after William called Meghan “difficult” and “rude”, and that Kate made Meghan cry before her wedding in a row over a bridesmaid’s dress.
But this latest drama stems from Meghan and Harry’s sit-down with Oprah back in 2021, when the actress said an unnamed member of the royal family had expressed concerns about “how dark [Archie’s] skin might be when he’s born”, prompting the royal palace to issue a statement saying, “Recollections may vary.”
While the King and Kate’s names did not appear in the English version of the Endgame book, they were printed in a Dutch version that briefly hit shelves before being recalled.
“This new book has probably set things right back, and I think that’s why Harry and Meghan are so keen to be distanced from it,” Duncan says. “And the last thing [the Palace] wants to do here is speak out and pour fuel on the barbecue.
“The Palace had to issue the ‘Recollections may vary’ statement after Meghan and Harry first dropped the racist bombshell. If the names had come out a couple of weeks after the Oprah interview, the royals would have been in a lot of real pain, with a great deal written about them, questioning whether or not certain comments were racist.
“But now, so much water has passed under the bridge, and we haven’t seen a backlash against the royals.
“That’s demonstrated by the fact they haven’t felt the need to release a statement [about this incident] – they’re not being put under that sort of pressure.”
Even so, the Palace’s silence doesn’t mean some royals haven’t found their own way to quietly retaliate after being dragged into yet more family drama.
“Kate is hitting back in her own way – she carries herself well and always looks stunning and regal at events – every bit the Princess of Wales,” Duncan says.
He adds that, despite glimmers of hope of a better relationship with the King, with reports of a friendly “olive branch” video call from Harry on the King’s 75th birthday last month, it’s a different story when it comes to the Prince and Princess of Wales.
“I think the Sussexes are aware the Prince and Princess of Wales are still furious, and Kate’s name coming out in that book will have reignited William’s anger,” says Duncan.
“There’s always a way back. Look at Camilla – she was the most hated person in Britain and now she’s the Queen. If that’s possible, anything’s possible. But as things stand at the moment, I’d say it’s pretty unthinkable.
“It’s a question of not only what would it take, but how long would it take? How much more water has to pass under the bridge before all is forgiven and harmony is restored? We haven’t seen any signs of that happening at all.”
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