Prince Harry ‘exchanged strong words with the Queen about one of her key aides’

Prince Harry exchanged strong words with the Queen about one of her key aides, according to the author of Finding Freedom.

Omid Scobie claims that the Duke of Sussex, 35, called his grandmother, 94, and said: ‘I don’t know what the hell is going on, but this woman needs to make this work for my future wife.’

The exasperated call was made following an alleged tussle with Her Majesty’s long-time dresser Angela Kelly about whether Meghan, 39, would be given time to try on her wedding tiara during a trial with her hairdresser ahead of the big day, Mr Scobie will say in an interview with True Royalty TV, broadcast today. 

Prince Harry was reportedly furious with Ms Kelly, a close confidante of the Queen, after she ‘deliberately dragged her feet’ when Meghan asked for access to the tiara before the couple’s nuptials in May 2018.

There were also reportedly issues surrounding Meghan’s choice of tiara. Her first choice is said to have been the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara, which was worn by Princess Eugenie at her wedding six months after the Sussexes’ nuptials.  

Harry and the Queen at Lady Gabriella Windsor’s wedding at Windsor Castle on May 18, 2019

Queen Mary’s Diamond Bandeau, which was worn by Meghan for her wedding to Prince Harry

Although the issue surrounding the tiara has been documented in Mr Scobie’s biography, co-written with Carolyn Durand, it is the first time his heated phone conversation with the Queen has been reported. 

Mr Scobie will say in the interview today: ‘Harry had to intervene. He called his grandmother and said, “I don’t know what the hell is going on. This woman needs to make this work for my future wife”. And of course, we can kind of see now where this “what Meghan wants, Meghan gets” narrative came from.

‘Harry felt that there were those within the institution that would stop at nothing at the very least to make Meghan’s life difficult.’ 

It is unclear why this phone conversation was not retold in similar fashion in the biography – which states that Harry didn’t believe that Ms Kelly was ‘truly unavailable’ to assist with the hair trial and thought she was ‘purposefully ignoring Meghan’.

It states: ‘What followed between the prince and Angela was a heated exchange that was far from the typical restraint expected. According to a source, Harry had no problem confronting the issue had on. “He was fed up,” said the aide… In the end, Harry had to speak to his grandmother about the situation. And she got her trial.’

The exasperated call was made following a tussle with a key aide to Her Majesty, Angela Kelly

According to the authors, a senior Buckingham Palace aide insisted the Duke of Sussex was being ‘oversensitive’ when he accused Ms Kelly of trying to make things difficult for Meghan, however a source close to the prince said ‘nothing could convince Harry that some of the old guard at the Palace simply didn’t like Meghan and would stop at nothing to make her life difficult’. 

The ‘tiara row’ symbolised the frustration of the Sussexes with the so-called ‘vipers’ at the Palace. Harry saw it as a ‘huge snub’ that Ms Kelly did not organise for Meghan and her American hairdresser Serge Normant to get access to the glittering Queen Mary bandeau headpiece when they wished.  

Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand was released last week

A friend said: ‘Meg had flown her hairdresser over from Paris for a hair practice and they needed the tiara.

‘Angela Kelly said she couldn’t come to London [from Windsor] and Harry went ballistic. He was furious at the treatment of his then fiancee. Such a snub.’ But others insist the couple misinterpreted Ms Kelly’s reply.

A source said: ‘Meghan demanded access to the tiara. She didn’t make an appointment with Angela, but said, “We’re at Buckingham Palace, we want the tiara. Can we have it now please?”

‘Angela essentially said, “I’m very sorry, that’s not how it works.” There’s protocol in place over these jewels. They’re kept under very tight lock and key. You can’t turn up and demand to have the tiara just because your hairdresser happens to be in town.’

Scobie also claims that Prince William has not spoken to his brother properly since he revealed his plan to quit the UK for North America. 

In the TV interview to promote the book, Mr Scobie says: ‘The brothers had not spoken since around the time of the Sandringham summit. 

‘They hadn’t seen each other. That’s really going to take some time to heal. I think the distance between the brothers grew wider and wider. And that’s partly because of things that take place – and we discuss them in the book.’

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s plan to step back from their royal duties made the brother’s relationship difficult, says Mr Scobie.

In the TV interview to promote the book, Mr Scobie says: ‘The brothers had not spoken since around the time of the Sandringham summit’

He says: ‘I think really where it went wrong for Harry and Meghan and the Cambridges was that decision to go public with the road map to their new working model.

‘The statements weren’t discussed internally. That’s really what caused the most amount of hurt to William, because he wears two hats.

‘He’s not just the brother, he’s also future king and he felt that damaged the reputation of the family.’

‘That it put family business out into the public domain when it should’ve been discussed privately and there was a lot of hurt there that continues to this day.’

The Queen appointed Ms Kelly, nicknamed AK47 because of her uncompromising manner, a member of the Royal Victorian Order in 2006 and promoted her to Lieutenant of the same Order in 2012 for ‘distinguished personal service’.

She is also Her Majesty’s Personal Adviser and Curator (The Queen’s Jewellery, Insignias and Wardrobe), a role not previously granted to a Royal servant.