UPDATED AS WE GET NEW INFORMATION — Raise your hand if you’re now a subscriber to the Times thanks to The Sussexes? Only $9.99 a month for their international plan! My take, so far, is that it sounds self-serving and a little entitled. I love Harry and Meghan, I even debated naming this site after them… but let’s hope this is stage one of a much more elaborate plan to change public perception of Hollywood’s new it couple. Finding Freedom details Harry and Meghan’s disappointing anti-fairytale. From paparazzi flashes to in-law clashes. Here is every explosive details we’ve discovered so far, thanks to excerpts of Finding Freedom.
Meghan was feeling “aggrieved” during Megxit negotiations.
“Harry and Meghan liked being in control of their narrative,” a source said. – Yes, the narrative is called Finding Freedom.
“Harry and Meghan were already propelling the monarchy to new heights around the world.” – You married a movie star, you did not cure cancer. Chill out.
“Increasingly Harry had grown frustrated that he and Meghan often took a back seat to other family members.” – It’s called suc·ces·sion.
Regarding royal life: “They felt under pressure,” a source said. “They felt that they were alone.”
“Barely a week went by without an aspect of their internal affairs or matters of private discussions being twisted and leaked to the press.” – So here’s an entire book.
“Meghan felt she had given up so much to take her life down a path of service to the monarchy.” – Suits?!
“As their Air Canada flight made its early morning touchdown at Heathrow, and still with no appointment to see Her Majesty, Harry and Meghan toyed with the idea of driving straight to see the Queen.” – Was an Air Canada Flight Attendant their “source” though? For two people that did not participate in this book, we sure are getting some VIP TEA.
Regarding the premature announcement of Megxit along with a glossy website and no heads up to the Queen, a friend described the Sussexes: they could be “impatient and impulsive”. “They run hot, in a way,” the source said. “The reactions in individual moments are definitely not the same, a month, a few weeks, down the line.”
Harry and Meghan were hurt that their photo was excluded from the Queen’s Christmas speech: “Palace sources insisted that the photos were chosen to represent the direct line of succession.”
Regarding rumors of a “slimmed-down monarchy”: “The Prince of Wales’s vision always included Harry as part of a slimmed down monarchy,” a source close to the family shared. – “Slimmed-down monarchy” is likely code for, “we’re phasing Andrew out… like yesterday.”
Regarding Meghan’s relationship with Kate: “The two duchesses’ relationship had struggled to move past the distant politeness of when they first met.” – According to friends of William and Kate, this is simply not true. They claim that Meghan enjoyed a vegan cooked meal at Will and Kate’s home that Kate made especially for Meghan. Kate also invited Meghan to attend events with her. Where Kate’s friends do agree is that Kate was cold to Meghan at the Commonwealth service at Westminster Abbey. They said it was Kate’s way of supporting her husband.
Regarding Megxit: “The biggest row was over money, because it always is,” a source familiar with the negotiations said.
“Harry and Meghan would have reached a more beneficial agreement to allow them to live the life they wanted if they had handled things in a private, dignified way,” a senior Buckingham Palace aide explained. – Translation: They might have found a real resolution had they not gone rogue.
Meghan tearfully told a friend in March: “I gave up my entire life for this family. I was willing to do whatever it takes. But here we are. It’s very sad.” – My favorite Meghan Markle Hallmark movie is Dater’s Handbook. No shade. It honestly is. Don’t @ me.
Harry has lost respect for parts of the institution and certain family members. However, the Queen is still one of the most important women in his life.
The book confirms that Harry and Meghan were excluded from the procession of senior royals who entered the church with the Queen at the Commonwealth service at Westminster Abbey. “Harry was more than disappointed,” a friend said. The Cambridges agreed to take their seats at the same time as the Sussexes but the atmosphere was tense.
Finding Freedom claims that Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace schedule events and social media posts on the same day to outdo one another.
Although Prince William has, “always felt he needs to look out for Harry,” Prince Harry took loving advice from William to, “Take as much time as you need to get to know this girl,” as snobbery. “Harry was pissed off,” another source said. “Pissed off that his brother would ask such a thing.” – William knew Kate for 10-YEARS before they were married. It’s called sound advice, not being judgmental.
The palace was immediately suspicious of Markle: One senior royal referred to the American actress as “Harry’s showgirl”. Another told an aide, “She comes with a lot of baggage”.
Reminder: Kate does not get “baby Botox.”
Kate didn’t cry at the bridesmaid fitting and the Sussexes didn’t understand why the palace would’t refute that story. – Maybe because no one believed it in the first place? I never invested in that story because it sounded so ridiculous.
Don’t get me started on Thomas Markle. Meghan FaceTimes from the tub tho!
Prince Harry’s burner Instagram handle was @SpikeyMau5. “A big house music fan, he crafted the pseudonym by using part of the name of one of his favourite DJs, Deadmau5. Spikey came from a Facebook alias that Harry used for an account he had under the name of Spike Wells.”
Meghan’s public Instagram post the night of their first date was a photo of a Love Hearts candy with the inscription “Kiss Me” and the caption “Lovehearts in #London”.
Meghan describing seeing Harry’s Kensington Palace cottage for the first time… I’m melting… “She later commented looked so tiny and perfectly appointed with manicured flower boxes and pots that they hardly looked real. When Harry opened the door, the prince towered in the small hallway with lots of coats hung on hooks and his boots by the door, just like any regular home.”
“There were only a couple of paparazzi in Toronto. (One of them had already texted Meghan to ask if the news was true; she didn’t reply.)” – A girl that wants privacy giving her cellphone number out to a member of the paparazzi? She would never participate in a book about her life.
“While Meghan, before she met Harry, had occasionally set up a paparazzi photo here and there or let info slip out to the press, she did everything in her power to protect the privacy of her relationship with the prince.” – CUZ SHE WAS TRYIN’ TA GET THAT RING, Y’ALL.
Finding Freedom suggests that Prince Charles was disappointed that Prince Harry released a statement condemning the media over Markle at the same time as his trip to meet King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa. “It was a critical moment that had been in the works for months.” As expected, Harry received all of the press coverage. Charles’ visit got little to none.
In December of 2016, Meghan Markle was scolded for wearing a ‘H’ and ‘M’ initial necklace. “While she knew the aide had good intentions, the surreal experience of having someone from her boyfriend’s office tell her what kind of jewelry to wear or not to smile at a photographer was too much.”
Prince Harry uses the ghost emoji instead of a smiley face. Meghan thought this was charming.
According to People, Meghan and Harry’s dog is named Pula. “Pula” being the official currency of Botswana.
Meghan and Harry’s first dance was to “I’m in Love” by Wilson Pickett.
Page Six reports Prince Harry’s childhood best friend, Tom “Skippy” Inskip, was “punished” for raising concerns over Meghan Markle and the pace of their love affair. Finding Freedom alleges that Inskip cautioned that they should live together prior to getting engaged. The thought that Inskip didn’t trust Harry’s judgement “upset” Harry. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle opted to exclude Tom and his wife from the royal wedding party at Frogmore House in May of 2018.
Kinsey Schofield is the Editor-in-Chief of To Di For Daily and you can follow her on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.