This weekend, The Times shared excerpts from Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family. The unauthorized biography of the couple, written by royal experts Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, has been greatly anticipated. The book alleges to share the Sussexes' side of all the events that made tabloid headlines over the last few years.
The excerpts of the book focus a lot on the tumultuous relationship between Prince Harry and Prince William. The authors also took a look at the storied differences between Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton. The book asserts that the rivalry was never what tabloid media made it out to be. There were no tears shed at dress fittings, no snubs as public events. Still, it notes many "awkward moments" between the two women.
It's pretty understandable when you think about it. Absent of their proximity to royalty, Meghan and Kate don't seem like the kind of women who'd have much in common. The pressure to find it with the world watching and everyone commenting couldn't have made matters easier.
We're just two weeks away from the release of Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family. The unauthorized biography is said to detail Harry and Meghan's story from the very beginning, including all the moments that made headlines. Written by royal reporters Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, many believe this book will serve as a way for Harry and Meghan to put the royal family in their place once and for all.
That said, Harry and Meghan have tried getting ahead of that idea by releasing a statement confirming they were not involved in the making of the book:
"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not interviewed and did not contribute to Finding Freedom. This book is based on the authors' own experiences as members of the royal press corps and their own independent reporting."
Some of the excerpts shared in advance touch on Meghan's relationship with Kate Middleton. The book shuts down the idea that the feud was what tabloids wanted it to be. There wasn't any hate or ill will between the women, no matter how often they were pitted against each other.
That said, Meghan reportedly didn't feel any significant attempts at developing a relationship from William or Kate. Harry and Meghan hosted many friends at their rented home in Oxfordshire, but the Cambridges never made it there.
"Among all the friends and family Harry and Meghan hosted at their house in Oxfordshire between May 2018 and March 2019, the Cambridges failed to visit," the excerpt reads.
"'The invite was there,' a source said."
The excerpt also acknowledges that Kate was keen to follow William's lead. "Though it was not necessarily her responsibility, Kate did little to bridge the divide. She was fiercely loyal to her husband and his family."
When rumors of the supposed feud between Meghan and Kate first appeared, Meghan and Harry believed the palace would help get things under control. They grew irritated when that didn't happen.
"Refusing to address incorrect rumors only reinforced them," the writers explained.
"Traditionally, the palace has had no comment when it comes to rumors, but the Sussexes felt it wasn't afraid to bend the rules if it was to correct a story about higher-ranking family members. (Case in point: a spokesman went on the record in July 2019 to deny claims by a cosmetic clinic that Kate had had 'baby Botox'.) Harry and Meghan were frustrated by this approach."
As time passed, it seemed Kate was more interested in being polite for politeness' sake than forming a real bond with her sister-in-law.
"Meghan would agree with the assessment that the duchesses were not the best of friends. Their relationship hadn't progressed much since she was Harry's girlfriend. Although Meghan might have understood Kate's wariness to strike up a meaningful friendship, they were still no closer by the time she was a fellow senior working member of the royal family and the wife of William's brother. Flowers for her birthday were nice, but Meghan would far rather have had Kate check in on her during the most difficult times with the press."
Meghan was fine with them not having the closest relationship. What she wasn't OK with was how the stories that increasingly leaked to the tabloids, many of which contained strains of truth and quite a few which were outright falsehoods, painted a very particular picture of her.
"Meghan felt as though some of the commentary and tabloid stories were more than a culture clash; they were sexist and prejudiced," the writers note.
The excerpt provides sources who debunk the rumors that led to some of the harshest commentaries on Meghan surrounding the royal wedding. One was the incident where Meghan and Kate reportedly exchanged words over Princess Charlotte's outfit for the royal wedding during a fitting.
"A source, who was at the mid-May wedding fitting and has never discussed before what really happened, said stories about tears have been 'puzzling' to those who were present. 'Some of the children weren't co-operating, and there was a lot going on. Everyone tried to help where they could, but it's never easy with kids at fittings.'"
"'There were no tears from anyone. And in the end, the fitting was fine. Kate and Meghan were both a little stressed but professionals in the room, and there were other people there.'"
It was another moment where Meghan and Harry expected that the PR teams would step in and take care of matters.
"Those close to Meghan questioned whether someone from the palace or a former employee could have been behind the story, and wondered aloud why aides refused to set the record straight there and then."
"'There are people, whether they work with the family or are members of the family, that know that a lot of this stuff isn't true, and aren't allowed to say anything, like that ridiculous story about Meg and Catherine and the bridesmaids' dresses,' a trusted confidant said. 'That story was ridiculous and so false.'"
Another rumor debunked is that Meghan offended the Queen by calling St. George's Chapel "musty" ahead of her wedding day.
"One story had her demanding spray-bottle air fresheners to spritz around 'musty' St George's Chapel (the Queen's regular place of worship, which contains the Royal Vault) for her wedding day, horrifying Buckingham Palace officials. The truth was that the discreet Baies scented air diffusers for the chapel provided by Diptyque — much like the candles that Kate chose to scent Westminster Abbey for her 2011 nuptials — had been approved by all parties involved."
As for William and Kate's side of the story, sources close to them have already come out to slam the ideas presented in these excerpts.
“It’s just completely wrong to suggest they didn’t talk and plain wrong to say the Cambridges weren’t welcoming,” a friend told The Mail on Sunday.
“How can you say they weren’t warm or welcoming when they hosted Meghan for Christmas, invited her into their totally private inner sanctum at Anmer Hall and did everything they could to make her feel at home? They personally cooked her favorite vegan food, they couldn’t have been more welcoming.”
It's an interesting rebuttal for a number of reasons. For one, Meghan isn't vegan (remember the engagement chicken?), so cooking her a vegan meal sounds like a length Kate may have gone to based on some bad intel. Also, while William and Kate do enjoy spending time at their "private inner sanctum" Anmer Hall, it's not so private that they don't entertain there.
It seems that sources close to both couples will spend the next few weeks in their respective corners. As everyone is gearing up to protect their chosen royal couple, chances are things will get vicious in the press yet again. In the next few weeks, we're sure to learn a lot about all parties involved. Only time will tell what is believed to be true.
