Prince Harry has compared his wife Meghan Markle to his late mother on a number of occasions – but he was left upset when the late Princess’s family reportedly disagreed
Prince Harry revealed his ongoing heartbreak as he compared his wife Meghan Markle to his late mother in the couple’s Netflix series.
Harry and Meghan released their six-part show in December 2022, and in the first episode he spoke about Princess Diana – and the similarities he sees in Meghan. “So much of what Meghan is and how she is, is so similar to my mum,” Harry said. “She has the same compassion. She has the same empathy. She has the same confidence. She has this warmth about her.”
Footage of a young Prince William and Prince Harry was also shown, with the boys playing at a piano. It was accompanied by interview footage of Diana talking about her two sons. William appears to tell Harry not to stand on his toe, and Diana says: “William. He’s a typical three-year-old. Very enthusiastic. Whereas perhaps Harry is more quieter and just watches. He’s certainly a different character altogether.”
Harry has compared Meghan to his late mother Diana on a number of occasions. But he was left ‘disappointed’ when his own family failed to see any similarities between the pair, according to a royal author. Harry and Meghan started dating in 2016 – and the following year, she famously appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair, along with the headline ‘Wild About Harry’. It raised eyebrows amongst Harry’s inner circle, including Prince William and Princess Kate.
Writing in his book, ‘Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors’, Tom Bower explained: “Since the Vanity Fair article had increased the Cambridges’ suspicion of Meghan, the actress discovered that her neighbours in Kensington Palace had even less time for her. “By then, Harry had introduced Meghan to Diana’s two sisters, Jane and Sarah, and her best friend Julia Samuel. Harry assumed that Diana’s family and friends would see a similarity between Diana and his fiancee. Both, he said, shared the same problems. He was disappointed. No one agreed that his vulnerable mother had anything in common with his girlfriend. More discomforting for him, they thought Meghan would not fit in with the Royal Family .”
The author continued: “Their unease was voiced by Charles Spencer , Diana’s brother. At William’s request, Spencer weighed in. Three times married, Spencer cautioned his nephew to reconsider his haste towards marriage. His advice provoked a bitter reaction. “‘This was going to be really hard,’ Harry would later reflect on establishing Meghan’s place in the family.”
While he is all but estranged from the royal family, Harry does seem to have resolved any issues with his uncle. Charles and his sister Lady Jane turned up to support Harry when he returned to the UK to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games. All members of the Royal Family decided to stay away.
