‘Finding Freedom’, a new tell-all memoir, has revealed some saucy details about the first meeting, first impressions and personal relationship between Prince William and his sister-in-law Meghan Markle, according to the book’s excerpts cited by Elle.
The memoir’s authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand claim in the book that the two first met in November 2016 at Prince William’s Kensington Palace home, Apartment 1A.
Markle, who was accompanied to the meeting by her then-boyfriend Prince Harry, had apparently thought their encounter through in advance and “prepared herself for a grilling” from William’s side, the book suggests, citing the former actress’ comments to a friend.
"Meghan thought that William would no doubt want to know everything about her—and her intentions. She was self-aware enough to understand that the brothers were wary of women who were more interested in their titles than their well-being. And she couldn’t have come from a more different world than that of William, his wife, and most of their friends,” the two wrote.
But according to the authors, it seems that Meghan’s and William’s meet-and-greet session actually went quite well.
"William first said to her, 'I was looking forward to meeting the girl who has put that silly grin on my brother’s face,'" Scobie and Durand suggested.
At the same time, one of the most thought-provoking claims made in the book was the idea that William actually raised some “concerns” to his staffers about the speed at which his brother’s relationship with the American actress, who Harry “hadn’t known for long” were unfolding. This is said to have happened in the early months of the relationship between the two, shortly after July 2016. Meanwhile, in November 2016, William publicly supported his brother, who tried to defend Meghan against the apparent harassment she was facing from the British tabloids.
"The Duke of Cambridge absolutely understands the situation concerning privacy and supports the need for Prince Harry to support those closest to him,” the statement from William read back then.
But at the same time, he was the one who told Prince Harry in April 2017, according to the book, to "'take as much time as you need to get to know this girl [Markle]’”, before actually rushing into anything. And apparently these words really “pissed off” the Duke of Sussex.
The book suggests that this conversation has alienated brothers from each other, with Harry accusing the Duke of Cambridge of “snobbery” and “hardly” speaking to him ever since. It’s not clear how much the two communicate now, as Prince Harry is currently residing in Los Angeles with Meghan and their 15-month-old son Archie, after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex officially stepped down from their senior royal positions in March. However, neither William nor his wife Kate Middleton ever visited their relatives in their Oxfordshire country home while they were still living in the UK. It was still reported earlier by the Daily Mail that Harry’s father, Prince Charles, talks regularly with his son to ensure that “the door is always open” for the Sussexes to return to the royal family.
“Finding Freedom” was released on 11 August and hasn't been corroborated by Prince Harry or Meghan Markle, their spokesperson said back in July. However, the couple felt “relaxed” about their friends and aides being interviewed for the biography, their press office suggested. According to Scobie and Durand, they have interviewed around 100 sources close to the couple, including the palace’s staffers, to produce the bombshell memoir.
