The author of a new book which claims the Queen once told a friend the Duchess of Sussex had “brainwashed” her husband has been criticised for his “fixation” on the royal couple.
In the first extracts of Tom Bower’s forthcoming book, Betrayal: Power, Deceit And The Fight For The Future Of The Royal Family, it is claimed the Prince and Princess of Wales also considered Meghan “a threat” as tensions escalated prior to the Sussexes’ decision to quit Britain for the United States.
But in a statement issued on Saturday, a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan hit back.
“Mr Bower’s commentary has long crossed the line from criticism into fixation,” they said.
“This is someone who has publicly stated, ‘the monarchy in fact depends on actually obliterating the Sussexes from our state of life,’ language that speaks for itself.
“He has made a career out of constructing ever more elaborate theories about people he does not know and has never met.
“Those interested in facts will look elsewhere; those seeking deranged conspiracy and melodrama know exactly where to find him.”
In extracts released on Friday, the book also appears to suggest Harry was “shocked” by the downfall of Andrew-Mountbatten Windsor following revelations about his association with the American financier Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender.
“The unpredicted and unimagined humiliation of Andrew shocked Harry,” Mr Bower wrote.
“Rightly, Harry fears that the future King William could remove all the Sussexes’ titles and effectively banish him from Britain.”
Mr Bower’s book, Betrayal: Power, Deceit And The Fight For The Future Of The Royal Family, is currently being serialised ahead of its publication.
The author previously wrote the 2022 biography Revenge, which was highly critical of Meghan.
Prince Harry and Meghan stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and moved to California, where they now live with their two children, Archie and Lilibet.
Since leaving the UK, the couple have spoken openly about their experiences within the Royal Family, including in a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry’s 2023 memoir Spare.
The relationship between the Sussexes and other senior royals has been widely reported to be strained in recent years.
