BOMBHSELL allegations swirling around Meghan Markle are “dynamite” and “prove she saw Harry as a stepping stone”, an expert claimed.
Esteemed royal biographer Phil Dampier shared his opinions on the latest claims made by Sally Bedell Smith, the late Queen, and her closest confidants.
The couple wed in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in May 2018[/caption]
Sally Bedell Smith claimed Meghan was welcomed in with open arms[/caption]
Harry, Meghan and the late Queen standing together in 2018[/caption]
He sat down on the Royal Exclusive show with The Sun’s royal editor Matt Wilkinson, alongside co-guest Esther Okraku.
According to “very well respected royal biographer” Bedell Smith, Queen Elizabeth II had shared her alleged doubts over the new Duchess, and feared Harry was “weak”.
Mr Dampier said the author was extremely close to Lady Elizabeth Anson, who was a confidante and a cousin of the Queen.
“And Liza Shockley, as Sally Smith likes to call her, she was speaking to the Queen on a regular basis right up until her death, spoke to her every day, even in lockdown,” he continued.
Mr Dampier claimed, therefore, this meant information had come “right from the horse’s mouth”.
He also alleged “we can trust this information”, which is “very, very telling”.
In harsh comments, he the expert shared his thoughts: “And to be honest, it confirms what we’d already suspected that you know, that at first the Queen was very keen on Meghan.”
Mr Dampier further alleged the Queen’s reported “doubts” about Meghan “ruined her close relationship with Harry”.
Bedell Smith also claimed Meghan was rude to the late Queen for 10 minutes over wedding details.
“She remarked that Harry was perhaps a little bit too much in love, was possibly besotted and a bit weak and being manipulated by Meghan,” he continued.
Sharing his own opinions, Mr Dampier added: “I think, unfortunately, that confirms what I’ve been saying or thought for the last few years that, sadly, Meghan never really had any intention of staying in the royal family.
“She saw as a stepping stone getting married to to Harry to to to new fame and fortune.
“And I think that’s what initially Prince William was concerned about. And that’s why they fell out. And now we are where we are. But to have this confirmed by somebody so close to the Queen is, is is really dynamite.”
The Royal Family on Buckingham Palace balcony celebrating Trooping The Colour in 2018[/caption]
Experts accused Meghan of trying to steal the limelight at Harry’s Invictus Games[/caption]
Prince William, Princess Kate and the Sussexes met the public after tributes were left to the Queen[/caption]
Fellow expert, Esther Okraku, echoed these strong opinions and added how there’s a “thread of commonality” regarding allegations clouding Meghan.
She touched on previous comments made by King Charles that Harry was “whipped”.
“I think she was welcomed, like much of the country, with open arms,” Ms Okraku continued.
“I think where things went wrong was clearly the cultural clash.
“And I think in some ways Meghan thought she was marrying a billionaire, but was marrying a millionaire, with like sort of a reduced status. So that might have been, not appealing eventually.”
This comes as for the first time, the Queen’s private concerns have been made public in heartbreaking detail — showing just how perceptive she proved to be.
This week Sally published “explosive” revelations made to her by one of Her Majesty’s closest confidantes, her first cousin once removed, Lady Elizabeth Anson, in several conversations in 2018 and 2019.
Lady Elizabeth claimed there were serious concerns in the upper echelons of the Palace, long before Harry and Meghan made themselves royal pariahs.
Just days before the wedding, she had told Sally: “We hope but don’t quite think [Meghan] is in love.
“We think she engineered it all.”
She added: “It’s worrying that so many people are questioning whether Meghan is right for Harry.
“The problem, bless his heart, is that Harry is neither bright nor strong, and she is both.”
In another exchange, Lady Elizabeth said: “I don’t trust Meghan an inch.
“Meghan could turn into nothing but trouble.”
The shock revelations were released this week in Sally’s Royals Extra feature on publishing platform Substack.
The observations by Lady Elizabeth, who died from lung cancer in November 2020 aged 79, show the warning signs were there from the start — and proved well-founded.
She said Meghan had initially appeared “natural, intelligent and thoughtful” after getting engaged to Harry in 2017.
But as their wedding approached, they both caused a stir with their poor behaviour — and blatant disrespect for the Queen.
Harry was reportedly “rude to her for ten minutes” in one meeting and upset her by asking the Archbishop of Canterbury to perform the wedding service in May 2018, without first seeking permission from the Dean of Windsor.
As a high-society event planner herself, Lady Elizabeth — who was born at Windsor Castle in 1941 and was also King George VI’s goddaughter — understood all too well just what an embarrassing situation this put the Queen in.
She said at the time: “Harry seems to think the Queen can do what she wants, but she can’t.
“On the religious side, it is the Dean of Windsor’s jurisdiction.”
She added that as a result, “Harry has blown his relationship with his grandmother.”
They did later “patch things up” — but the hurt remained.
As for Meghan, allegations of her “diva-like” behaviour in the run-up to her big day are nothing new.
Indeed, at the time, it was rumoured that she had been nicknamed “Me-gain” by Palace courtiers, thanks to her extensive demands, and among her many complaints, had moaned about the “musty” smell in the chapel.
In 2018 she told Sally that Meghan had rattled the Queen days before the wedding, revealing: “They had tea with her the day before yesterday.
“She was trying to find out about the wedding dress, and Meghan wouldn’t tell her.”
This was enough to spark concern in the Palace, with hushed fears brewing that Meghan could “turn into nothing but trouble” and that — despite royal protocol — “she sees things in a different way”.
As Sally revealed this week: “I asked her if Meghan was being bossy. ‘So I gather,’ Lady Elizabeth replied. ‘Very much so.’”
The biographer continued: “By late February 2019 when Liza [Lady Elizabeth’s nickname] and I spoke on the phone, she said, ‘I don’t trust Meghan an inch. To begin with, she was not bad — a straightforward starlet, used to public speaking and charity work.
“The wedge between the brothers is really too bad.’”
Sadly, the wedge only widened the gap.
In January 2020, Harry and Meghan announced they had chosen to “transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution”.
At first, it seemed they wanted to keep one foot in the royal fold, while pursuing financial opportunities on the outside.
But after months of negotiations, the Queen and the then Prince Charles laid down the law — they were either fully in or fully out.
There was no in-between.
The couple opted for the latter and moved to the US later that year, infamously launching a crusade of Palace-bashing and com- plaints against the royals in the aftermath.
Meghan, Prince Harry, and Queen Elizabeth II pose for a picture during the Queen’s Young Leaders Awards Ceremony on June 26, 2018 at Buckingham Palace[/caption]
The couple continue to flaunt their relationship online[/caption]
They live in a £2million Montecito mansion in California[/caption]
