Explosive new claims from a forthcoming book suggest the Duchess of Sussex "brainwashed" Prince Harry, according to a friend of Camilla, as relations between the couple and the royal family soured.
The first extracts from Tom Bower’s latest work, Betrayal: Power, Deceit And The Fight For The Future Of The Royal Family, published on The Times website, allege that tensions escalated significantly between the Sussexes and the Prince and Princess of Wales before Harry and Meghan’s departure from royal duties.
William and Kate are said to have considered the duchess "a threat".
Mr Bower’s account claims that Meghan "lamented Harry’s unlikely chances of one day being king, just as she regretted the possibility that she would never be the queen".
He writes: "Meghan had become a divisive agent. To please her, Harry was ignoring his old friends. He even changed his telephone number without telling his family."
The author continues, describing a transformation in the Duke: "The jovial lad about town became possessed by seeking revenge. Increasingly, his character mirrored Meghan’s.
“Emotionally, he veered towards extremes. Simple dislikes became passionate hatred. ‘Meghan’s brainwashed Harry’, Camilla told a friend."
The extract, also set to appear in The Times Magazine, further suggests Harry was "shocked" by the downfall of Andrew-Mountbatten Windsor following revelations about his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr Bower states: "The unpredicted and unimagined humiliation of Andrew shocked Harry. Rightly, Harry fears that the future King William could remove all the Sussexes’ titles and effectively banish him from Britain."
Six years after stepping back as working senior royals, the Sussexes are reportedly facing significant setbacks, including depleted finances following the cancellation of their Netflix deal, criticism over a California wildfire visit last year labelled a "photo op", and ongoing tensions surrounding the Invictus Games.
Meghan and Harry signed a contract reportedly worth more than US$100 million (£74 million) with Netflix in 2020, which included a first-look deal for film and television projects through their Archewell production company.
The first series of With Love, Meghan launched on Netflix in March 2025, coinciding with the unveiling of her lifestyle brand, As Ever, which saw products like raspberry jam promoted throughout the show.
Last week, a spokesperson for Meghan confirmed the duchess’s brand was "ready to stand on its own" after the Netflix deal concluded.
Netflix had partnered with Meghan’s jam-selling venture when it launched last year.
Figures released earlier this year indicated that the Duchess’s Netflix show failed to crack the top 1,000 most-watched programmes on the platform, with its second instalment between July and December 2025 ranking 1,124th with two million views.
The Sussexes also announced last week that they will visit Australia next month for a series of engagements, though their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, are not expected to accompany them.
