Prince Harry Claims That King Charles III 'Couldn't Stomach' Meghan Markle Stealing the Spotlight From Him

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If there’s one thing about King Charles III many people can agree on, it’s that he doesn’t love sharing the spotlight. Royal watchers saw how jealous he became of then-wife Princess Diana, and he’s also done it to Kate Middleton. Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, is also shedding some light on his father’s feelings toward Meghan Markle when her star appeared to be shining too brightly.

The Duke of Sussex dove into the inner workings of the monarchy and how Charles would pay for their lifestyle (this includes Prince William and Kate), and the four of them would be obligated to “serve the monarch”, per an excerpt obtained by Us Weekly. However, Harry started to feel that some of the pushback he was getting from his dad wasn’t about financial issues, it was the positive public response to Meghan’s presence in the royal family.

“Pa might have dreaded the rising cost of maintaining us, but what he really couldn’t stomach was someone new dominating the monarchy, grabbing the limelight, someone shiny and new coming in and overshadowing him,” he wrote. “He’d lived through that before and had no interest in living through it again.” With Kate now the only superstar left in the royal family, the palace is no longer giving daily updates on her wardrobe — because again, the spotlight is supposed to be on Charles. 

Buy: Spare $22.40

It’s no secret that the monarchy underestimated the popularity of the Sussexes, and now it leaves Charles struggling to keep the royal family modern and relevant. Harry’s memoir probably isn’t helping the situation, but the lack of communication is what got everyone into this mess in the first place.

Before you go, click here to see Meghan Markle’s best fashion moments as a royal.