An insider has revealed that Meghan Markle was never subjected to the same intense level of vetting as Princess Catherine before joining the Royal Family because no one wanted to “upset Harry”.
The well-placed source told Rob Shuter for his Naughty But Nice Substack blog that Queen Elizabeth II was delighted – and relieved – that her grandson had found someone he wanted to marry after the years of partying and bachelor behaviour that earned him the nickname “party prince”.
“The Queen was thrilled Harry had found someone he loved. She saw it as a fresh start, and nobody wanted to jeopardise that happiness,” the royal insider said.
The Duke, 42, and Duchess of Sussex, 45, met on a blind date in London arranged by their friends in 2016 and were engaged just over a year later.
However, in stark contrast, Princess Catherine, 44, met Prince William, 44, in 2001 and dated the heir to the throne for nearly a decade before marrying him.
During that time, she was met with intense scrutiny and underwent several security screenings before being accepted into the fold.
“There is a process. People are checked before they are given access to the Palace, and that isn’t unusual. Catherine went through the process. Meghan never had that same background check,” the source tells Naughty But Nice.
There was a “real fear” amongst the Royal Family that asking too many questions or putting too much pressure on the screening process would “upset Harry”, the insider claims.
But while “people were walking on eggshells” to protect the Duke of Sussex’s feelings, the source says there were big repercussions for not properly vetting the former Suits actress before joining the family.
“They confused making Harry happy with making sure Meghan was prepared for royal life. Those are two very different things.”
Shuter noted an argument recounted in Prince Harry’s 2023 memoir Spare, in which his brother warned him that his relationship with Meghan was moving “too fast” and “too soon” in the lead up to their engagement.
“In fact, he’d actually been pretty discouraging about my even dating Meg,” Harry penned.
The argument not only deepened the rift between the princes but also foreshadowed the Sussexes’ struggles to make their senior roles in the Firm work.
Just a few years later, the Sussexes walked away from their royal duties to embark on a life in the United States, where they lived for six years before returning back to the UK in August this year.
The couple have now settled in the Cotswolds with their children Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five.
Since relocating back to Britain, King Charles III has clarified the couple’s royal status, noting that their position is “akin to private citizens” and that their HRH titles remain in abeyance.