Many stories have surfaced about events which allegedly took place in the run-up to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding in 2018. Whether it is claims of blazing family rows, reports that the late Queen summoned Prince Harry for a dressing down or Meghan's dissatisfaction at many of the proposed plans, it was certainly a challenging period for royal staff behind palace walls.
But it would appear that members of staff were not the only ones struggling as it was claimed a number of Harry's close schoolfriends felt he had "changed too much" since he and Meghan got together. So much so that when they expressed concern they were met with the Prince's anger and were ultimately banned from the evening wedding reception.
In the book Finding Freedom, the authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand said that Prince Harry's friend Tom Inskip - known as 'Skippy' - felt like he'd "lost a friend" following Harry and Meghan's wedding in 2018.
The authors claimed Tom had expressed concern over the speed in which Harry's new relationship was moving and suggested the couple live together before tying the knot.
Although they said Tom's comments "came from a good place", Prince Harry was reportedly "very hurt" and banned his old schoolfriend from the evening wedding reception.
They wrote: "Notable [absence from the reception was] Skippy, Harry's old friend, who had questioned the prince's relationship with Meghan, and his wife, Lara.
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"They were invited to the wedding ceremony and lunchtime reception [hosted by The Queen] but didn't make the cut for the evening bash."
In their biography, the authors also write that Tom expressed his disappointment at brunch with friends the next day. He is alleged to have told friends "Meghan has changed Harry too much" and concluded that "we've lost him".
Meanwhile, another former Eton friend claimed that Prince Harry was "awed by the likes of the Clooneys and Oprah."
The authors added: "Many of Harry's old friends said that the evening guest list was the prince and his bride's way of saying 'these are the people we want in our lives moving forward'."
Another claim about escalating tension between Prince Harry and his old schoolmates was explained in Tom Bower's explosive book 'Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War between the Windsors'.
According to Bower, Harry invited 16 of his old friends from Eton to join him at Sandringham for dinner on Friday, shooting on Saturday and then lunch on Sunday.
The author wrote that Harry was "looking forward" to "endless banter" with his best friends but everyone left exhausted after meeting Meghan for the first time as she "challenged every guest who contravened her woke values".
He went on to claim that Meghan "lacked any sense of humour" and was a "dampener on the party".
Bower writes: "He had not anticipated Meghan's reaction. Their jokes, involving sexism, feminism and transgender people, ricocheted around the living-rooms and dining-rooms. Without hesitation, Meghan challenged every guest whose conversation contravened her values.
"She lacked any sense of humour. Driving home after Sunday lunch, the texts pinged between the cars: 'OMG, what about HER?' said one. 'Harry must be f***ing nuts'.'
