Meghan Markle accused Victoria Beckham of 'indiscretion' and leaking stories to the press - resulting in a tense phone call between Prince Harry and David, a royal author alleges.
In his latest book Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the war between the Windsors, Tom Bower claims the Duke and Duchess of Sussex became "addicted" to their constant negative coverage in media. He says they would spend their evenings scouring through social media and news sites to see what was being written about them, the Mirror reports.
He added that the royal couple become convinced that their friends were leaking stories about them - and became determined to find out who it was. In the new book released today (July 21), he writes: "Harry and Meghan were shackled. Every night they scoured the internet to read the newspaper reports and the trolls’ postings on social media.
"Irrationally, they grouped the two together and fed each other’s frenzy about the media. Convinced that as champions of goodness they were being persecuted by mendacity and racism, they felt victimised by the mildest criticism.
"Harry’s instability fed Meghan’s fears that friends were leaking stories to the media. In particular, she suspected Victoria Beckham of indiscretion.
"Harry called David Beckham to repeat the accusation. Outraged, Beckham’s truthful denials damaged their relationship."
The Beckhams are close to both Princes William and Harry thanks to their work with the FA, and the couple attended both royal weddings. Written without the co-operation of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, Revenge been described as the book Meghan would have been "dreading".
Extracts published ahead of the release include a number of shock claims, including that Meghan threw a cup of tea in the air during a Royal tour, and the Queen was said to be pleased Meghan couldn't attend Prince Philip's funeral. It's since been reported that David and Harry had an "awkward encounter" during the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations last month.
A source told the Sun in 2020: “He quickly put Harry right, and the two men agreed to move on — but it certainly made things awkward for a while". The former footballer still has an immense amount of respect for the Queen, however, as he gave a gushing speech at the jubilee.
He said: "“For 70 years you have worked so incredibly hard, not just for the people of this country but also for the whole Commonwealth.” He went on: "Thank you ma'am for your dedication, your service and for everything that you represent.”
The Beckhams have been contacted for comment.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
