Meghan Markle ‘gifted Kate Middleton a Smythson notebook to break the ice when they met’

Harry and William fell out, when Duke of Sussex branded older brother a ‘snob’

Prince Harry took offence when his ‘snobby’ brother cautioned him not to rush into marrying Meghan Markle. 

Harry took offence when William told him: ‘Take as much time as you need to get to know this girl.’

Harry is said to have considered the choice of the words ‘this girl’ to be condescending.

‘In those last two words, ‘this girl’, Harry heard the tone of snobbishness that was anathema to his approach to the world,’ claims the book. ‘During his ten-year career in the military, outside the Royal bubble, he had learnt not to make snap judgments about people based on their accent, education, ethnicity, class or profession.’

Meghan was disappointed Kate never reached out

 Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle never became friends – while the Duchess of Sussex was ‘disappointed’ she never reached out to her or visited.

 The Duchesses ‘struggled to move past distance politeness’ and had ‘nothing in common other than the fact that they lived at Kensington Palace’, according to the authors of Finding Freedom.

In one particularly awkward encounter when Meghan was dating Harry, Kate went alone in her Range Rover on a shopping trip – despite the fact Meghan was also going to the same street.

The lack of any friendship between the pair was confirmed in 2018 when the Sussexes announced they wanted to base their family at Windsor.

Despite this frostiness, Meghan felt hurt at newspaper stories of the ‘duelling duchesses’ and was angry at the failure of the palace press office to correct them.

Courtiers branded Meghan Markle a ‘showgirl with lots of baggage’ and said ‘there’s something about her I don’t trust’ 

A courtier in the Royal Household has said ‘there is something I don’t trust’ about Meghan Markle, the book claims.

The book, Finding Freedom, claims as soon as Meghan was introduced to members of the Royal Household, tensions emerged.

One source claimed: ‘She comes with a lot of baggage.’ Another suggested: There’s just something about her I don’t trust.’

Another described Meghan as ‘Harry’s showgirl

Harry was convinced he was going to marry Meghan after the second date

The biography describes in detail the couple’s first date in Soho, London, which went so well that Meghan later confided in a friend: ‘Do I sound crazy when I say this could have legs?’.

Before arriving in the capital she had also told a confidant that she’d be happy for ‘a nice English gentleman to flirt with’ while promoting Suits in Britain.

During that first date at London’s Dean Street Townhouse the couple spent three hours in conversation, Harry drinking beer and Meghan sipping martinis. Harry was said to be ‘in a trance’ and had told himself: ‘I’ve got to up my game here’ when trying to impress the LA-born actress.

The book says: ‘Meghan had enough dating experience to know a charmer when she saw one, and Harry was obviously not at all that’ – adding the couple were ‘immediately obsessed’ with each other and bonded over their joint ‘passions for wanting to make change for good’.

According to one friend quoted in the book, Harry and Meghan ‘chatted a lot’ but the evening, like the night before, ended chastely, with Harry returning to Kensington Palace despite their ‘electric chemistry’.

Describing how they flirted throughout, the authors said: ‘A touch of an arm here, direct eye contact there.’

The pair had now met just twice but Harry already knew ‘they would be together at that point’, a friend said, adding of Meghan: ‘She was ticking every box fast.’ Meghan, who was in London visiting, documented much of her trip on social media.

The night out was so successful the second date the following night at the same venue where they are said to have sneaked in via a side door, hidden from view by a delivery truck bringing in produce and fresh fish from Billingsgate Market.

One trusted waiter was asked to serve them the entire evening to keep it private.

According to one friend quoted in the book, Harry and Meghan ‘chatted a lot’ but the evening, like the night before, ended chastely, with Harry returning to Kensington Palace despite their ‘electric chemistry’.

Describing how they flirted throughout, the authors said: ‘A touch of an arm here, direct eye contact there.’

The pair had now met just twice but Harry already knew ‘they would be together at that point’, a friend said, adding of Meghan: ‘She was ticking every box fast.’ Meghan, who was in London visiting, documented much of her trip on social media.

Harry was the first to say ‘I love you’   

Prince Harry was the first to say ‘I love you’ in his relationship with Meghan Markle, with friends revealing the couple were ‘immediately obsessed’ with each other.

Meghan’s necklace controversy

Meghan Markle was left ‘frustrated and emotional’ after a palace aide ‘scolded’ her for wearing a necklace with the initials H and M before she and Prince Harry were engaged, according to Finding Freedom. 

The former Suits star, 38, was spotted wearing the personalised £184 14 karat gold chain by Los Angeles-based designer Maya Brenner – believed to have been a gift from the prince – while out shopping in Toronto in December 2016.

The bold move was seen as an early indication of the seriousness of their relationship – a month after the news of their love affair emerged. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex later announced their engagement in November 2017. 

According to a source close to the couple, following the publication of the images Meghan received a dressing down from a palace aide.

‘She was advised that wearing such a necklace only served to encourage the photographers to keep pursuing such images — and new headlines,’ they said.

Prince Harry was REFUSED Queen’s offer of a trial period’ that would have allowed him and Meghan Markle to return to the fold 12 months after Megxit 

Prince Harry was so keen on quitting the royal family that he initially refused the offer of a trial period which could have seen him and Meghan return to the UK after Megxit, 

The review was insisted upon by courtiers and other royals, with the Queen keen to let Harry know he could return to the fold if he changed his mind. 

However, the Duke of Sussex was keen to make a ‘clean break’ and had to be persuaded to agree to the trial period.  A source said: ‘He was adamantly opposed to the review process.’

 Harry is thought to have been against the idea because it came from ‘the institution’ and he feared that a review would lessen the impact of their departure, allowing the media to write they could return.

Harry believed the ‘old guard’ at Buckingham Palace disliked Meghan and wanted to make her life difficult. 

That belief is thought to have fuelled his desire to not include a review option in Megxit.   

Harry ‘ditched an old friend for criticising Meghan’ 

The Duke of Sussex was so ‘incandescent’ with rage at the racist abuse Meghan Markle received after their relationship went public that he ditched an old friend for gossiping about her.

Harry was shocked at the reception given to his new girlfriend by his social circle and the wider public, according to Finding Freedom.

He was especially concerned about ‘the ugliness of racism…both unconscious and intentional’.

Charles didn’t know about Harry’s press statement 

Before they were engaged, Harry gave a bombshell statement from Kensington Palace condemning the press while confirming Harry’s new girlfriend.

But it’s release coincided with Prince Charles’ tour in the Middle East, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall having arrived in Bahrain to meet the country’s King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa.

The palace decided to go ahead with the statement, much of it drafted by Harry himself.

His father only learnt of the statement 20 minutes before it was released and, unsurprisingly, it soon dominated the news cycle.

Prince Charles and his team were left crushed and disappointed, though Charles also understood the intervention was a necessary one.

However, the episode only served to prove that Harry felt the need to prioritise the woman he loved over duty to the royal family. 

Harry had a  secret Instagram account

Harry used the username SpikeyMau5, inspired by Canadian DJ Deadmau5, before freezing the account after his relationship with the former Suits star emerged in October 2016.

The private Instagram profile had a mouse-shaped helmet for a picture – but piqued attention from Meghan’s legions of fans when she became just one of two people following it four years ago just after the couple had a blind date at Dean Street Townhouse in Soho.

 The ‘Spikey’ element of its name came from the code word used by Scotland Yard officers guarding the Duke of Sussex 24/7.

Harry and Meghan’s £1500 a night camping trip 

Six weeks after their first date, Harry took Meghan to Botswana where the pair stayed in £1,500-a-night tents.

A friend is quoted as saying: ‘She came back smiling and just completely spellbound.’ Meghan’s phone was also said to be full of photos, including selfies of her and Harry.

‘I’ve never felt that safe that close to someone in such a short amount of time,’ she reportedly told a friend.

They continued their relationship in secret with Harry flying out to Canada to spend time with her.

But the authors said that ever since the couple’s trip to Africa, ‘their romance had been on a fast track’.

‘Technically the getaway was just their third date but by then, they were each already dancing around the idea that this just may be a for ever thing,’ a friend said. 

The biography also claims: – 

• Meghan used to tip off the paparazzi when working as an actress in Canada, despite her later going on to claim she didn’t understand the ‘tabloid culture’.
• Meghan’s friends claimed she endured prejudice from the royal household, with a senior staff member overheard telling a colleague: ‘There’s just something about her I just don’t trust.’   
• Harry felt ‘unprotected’ by his family and disparaged within palace walls for being ‘too sensitive and outspoken’.
• Senior courtiers in other households felt that the global popularity of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex ‘needed to be reined in’,
• A tearful Meghan told friends about their decision to quit royal duties: ‘I gave up my entire life for this family.’