Meghan Markle became
“hysterical” after her Vanity Fair cover story focused mainly on her
relationship with Prince Harry, a new book claims.
The Duchess of Sussex called
her PR team in a panic because the piece – headlined Wild About Harry –
angered Buckingham Palace and failed to focus enough on her activism
and philanthropy, according to Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the war between the
Windsors.
The book, by investigative
author Tom Bower, says that Meghan and her LA publicists Sunshine Sachs were
“ecstatic” when, after “years of struggle to get Meghan
noticed”, they landed the interview for the magazine’s September 2017
edition.
But the ecstasy turned to
disappointment after Buckingham Palace received pre-publication copies of the
magazine in early September, Bower claims. Its front cover featured a
photograph of the duchess alongside the headline “She’s Just Wild About
Harry”.
Bower writes that Harry, wary
after interviews given in the past by his mum Princess Diana and
Sarah Ferguson had caused controversy, was keen for Meghan to avoid sensitive
topics like Donald Trump, race, their relationship and particularly
himself.
The book claims that Vanity
Fair’s long-serving contributing editor Sam Kashner asked Meghan about Harry
during the interview but hadn’t expected an answer. It states he was
“quietly elated” when Meghan, who at this point was secretly engaged
to the prince, responded: “We’re a couple. We’re in love.
“I’m sure there will be a
time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories
to tell, but I hope what people will understand is that this is our time. This
is for us. It’s part of what makes it so special, that it’s just ours. But
we’re happy. Personally, I love a great love story.”
The interview sparked
sensational reactions across the world. In his book, which has been serialized
in The Sun and The Times, Bower says that Buckingham Palace was
taken by surprise by “Meghan’s unprecedented brazenness”.
Bower’s book says that
“within hours”, Meghan had called her PR firm’s bosses demanding
answers. He writes: “Hysterically, she described Buckingham Palace’s fury
at ‘Wild About Harry’. Sunshine Sachs, said Meghan, should have ensured that
her comments about Harry were removed. Why wasn’t the focus on her philanthropy
and activism?
