In the years since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down from their roles as senior members of the royal family, there’s been a great deal of discussion about which members of the royal family were most responsible for driving them away.
Much has been made of Meghan’s feud with Kate Middleton, but based on comments the Sussexes have made in recent months, it’s clear that they feel they were mistreated by multiple members of Harry’s family.
Tensions between Meghan and her in-laws have been under greater scrutiny than ever during the past year, thanks in large part to the Duchess’ interview with Oprah Winfrey.
And while Meghan might never reveal the identity of the bigot who expressed concerns about Archie’s complexion during her first pregnancy, we’re now aware that some of her most intense conflicts involved Harry’s older relatives.
We know, for example, that Meghan clashed with Prince Charles, and now, there’s reason to believe that her relationship with his wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, is equally tense.
Last week, the world learned that Duchess Camilla will go by the title of Queen Consort when Charles eventually takes the throne.
The news amounts to a promotion of sorts, as under the previous arrangement, Bowles would have been known as Princess Consort.
Harry and Meghan have stunned observers by declining to comment on the news, which many have taken as a sign of hostility.
Now, the perception that the two duchesses are at war has been bolstered by comments from royal expert Tom Bower, who is currently atr work on a biography of Camilla.
Bower says Camilla was “suspicious” of Meghan’s intentions from the very beginning of her relationship with Harry.
He adds that Bowles often made scathing remarks about Meghan when her name would come up in closed-door conversations.
“During those inevitably endless, tortured and inconclusive conversations, Camilla is the sort who would refer to Meghan as ‘that minx’ — the self-seeking trouble- maker whose antics will always end in tears,” Bower tells the Daily Mail.
Bower views the Sussexes’ silence on Camilla’s new title as nothing less than “Meghan’s way of declaring war.”
Meghan has avoided the press since the news was announced, while Harry stunned reporters this week by praising his mother’s work with AIDS patients and avoiding the topic of Camilla altogether.
“I could never fill her shoes,” he said in comments to the media.
When you contrast Harry’s current reticence his previous praise of Camilla, you get a sense of how much his attitude has changed:
“She’s a wonderful woman and she’s made our father very, very happy, which is the most important thing,” Harry said of Camilla in 2005.
“Look at the position she’s come into. Don’t always feel sorry for me and William, feel sorry for her. We are grateful for her . . . we’re very happy to have her around.”
Is Meghan actually responsible for this change in Harry’s thinking?
We may never know for sure, but you can be certain that the British tabloid press will continue to favor that salacious angle.