While the royal family is still reeling from the explosive allegations of the upcoming Prince Harry and Meghan Markle biography Finding Freedom, there are a few more tell-alls about the behind-the-scenes battles in the House of Windsor that are sure to add fuel to the fire. Palace insiders are worried that the cumulative effects of these books about Harry and Meghan could do "serious damage" to the royals' reputation at a time when the monarchy is on the brink of seismic change.
"With everything going on in the world right now, this is no time for an airing of the petty grievances within the family," one Palace insider told me. "As we have now seen, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex badly miscalculated by allowing their friends to speak to the authors of Finding Freedom. Their whinging [whining] about being mistreated has not been well-received by the British people. The Queen is in the twilight years of her reign, the Prince of Wales is talking about a slimmed down monarchy, and the Duke of York [Prince Andrew] is embroiled in the [Jeffrey] Epstein scandal—the very last thing that's needed is a very public questioning about the relevancy of the Crown."
But now that Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand has opened the floodgates of royal gossip, a few more page turners are on the way. These books will hardly offer a rosy picture of life behind Palace walls, given the headlines of the past few months. Here's a look at the other books about Harry and Meghan that are sure to be on every royal watcher's nightstand right now. And for more on the royals, check out This British Royal Is Now More Popular Than the Queen, New Poll Shows.
1 | Finding Freedom
HarperCollinsScobie and Durand's Finding Freedom has not even been released yet—it's due out on August 11—but it's already sparked a flurry of headlines after excerpts from the book started appearing in The Times of London at the end of July. Insiders told me earlier this summer that the biography—which Harry and Meghan did not expressly participate in, but those close to them seem to have—had the Palace "bracing for the worst" and they've seemingly gotten it. The book includes allegations that Prince William, Kate Middleton, and Prince Charles were not wholly supportive of the couple. And there are also claims that Harry and Meghan were pushed out because the power of their super-stardom threatened other members of "The Firm."
Now, Palace sources tell me that when Harry and Meghan's exit agreement is reexamined next March, they could lose their HRH titles as a result of these allegations. And for more on the revelations from Finding Freedom, check out Diana and Meghan Markle Made the Same Shocking Claim About the Royals.
2 | Meghan and Harry: The Real Story
Pegasus BooksThe most scathing portrait of the royals at war available now is Meghan and Harry: The Real Story, by Lady Colin Campbell, a reality show star and ubiquitous fixture on British chat shows who has long been a vocal and often outrageous critic of the Windsors. But she does have bragging rights in being one of the first to document Princess Diana and Prince Charles' unhappy marriage. She was also one of the first to publicly claim Diana suffered from an eating disorder in her 1992 book Diana in Private.
In Meghan and Harry: The Real Story, Campbell (who did not speak to Harry or Meghan) paints a damning picture of the couple based on unnamed sources in and around the Palace. The book presents Meghan as a ruthless social climber with relentless ambition who used Harry to reach the top of British society—only to discard it once she got what she came for. Campbell depicts Harry as a passive husband who is helpless in the face of Meghan's demands. Recently, she made some serious accusations against the Duke and Duchess of Sussex when she told The Sun's Dan Wooton on his radio broadcast that she believes "Harry has really rather serious mental issues and Meghan has serious personality problems." And for more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter.
3 | Kensington Palace: An Intimate Memoir from Queen Mary to Meghan Markle
Biteback PublishingKensington Palace: An Intimate Memoir from Queen Mary to Meghan Markle by Tom Quinn, which is also out now, takes a broader view of the tensions within the family. The book explores the contentious relationship between Meghan and Harry and the rest of the royals in a historical context. Quinn compares Meghan's difficulties with Palace veterans to the struggles Princess Margaret faced when she went up against the "Men in Grey" in her ill-fated quest to marry Captain Peter Townsend and was denied a life with her true love.
Quinn, who has written numerous books on the royal family, also offers the flip side to the Sussexes' version of events in Finding Freedom, showing more sympathy to the Cambridges. Palace staffers interviewed for the book offer some of the most damning anecdotes about Meghan, while also admitting that the atmosphere was hardly welcoming to her. "Everyone who lives at the Palace eventually becomes jealous and suspicious,” said one of Quinn's sources.
Among the book's biggest bombshells is the allegation that Queen Elizabeth herself had to make a trip to Kensington Palace to referee the escalating arguments between Harry and Meghan and William and Kate over a number of issues, including the size and design of their apartments. And for more on that struggle, check out Why a Kate Middleton-Meghan Markle Friendship "Was Never Going to Happen."
4 | Battle of Brothers: William and Harry—the Friendship and the Feuds
HarperLater this year, respected British historian and royal biographer Robert Lacey explores the implosion of Harry and William's relationship in Battle of Brothers: William and Harry—the Friendship and the Feuds. Lacey, who has worked as a consultant on The Crown, has encyclopedic knowledge of the Windsors, having written books on Diana, the Queen, and the Queen Mother. Known for his meticulous research and thoughtful insights, Lacy's book promises to offer well-sourced information on the trajectory of one of the most shocking and sad turn of events within the royal family in recent years.
Battle of Brothers' striking cover image of a furious looking Harry and dejected William as they stand with their wives at Westminster Abbey during Commonwealth Services in March 2020—the last official appearance of the Sussexes as working royals—says it all.
Thus far, Lacey hasn't offered any details about the book, but in a press release announcing its upcoming publication in October, he said, “I have been astonished and sometimes moved to tears by the fresh details and insights I have discovered in researching this story of family conflict." The long-time royal chronicler added: “It has been both enthralling and painful to trace this drama through the memories of close witnesses and some of the people most intimately involved.” And for more on William and Harry's relationship, check out Prince Charles' Coronavirus Diagnosis Has William and Harry Reconciling.
Diane Clehane is a New York-based journalist and author of Imagining Diana and Diana: The Secrets of Her Style.
