‘Shouting’ Prince Harry blamed for explosive Meghan Markle ‘tiara-gate’ row with Queen
Royal expert Robert Hardman claims Prince Harry “was doing the shouting” amid “pre-wedding nerves”.
Prince Harry was allegedly ‘shouting’ for the tiara to be delivered (Image: Getty)
The blame for the “tiara-gate” row between Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and the late Queen has been pinned on the Duke of Sussex. Royal expert Robert Hardman discussed whether Queen Elizabeth II could have foreseen Harry and Meghan’s decision to step down as senior working royals during a guest appearance on The Royalist podcast.
Author, Mr Hardman, whose latest book is Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside Story, said the late Queen did not have a crystal ball. He said Her Late Majesty did, however, have a tendency to see the best in people. The royal expert said it was clear from the start that Harry and Meghan would do things differently. Reflecting on the lead-up to royal weddings in general, he said the late Queen would share a ritual of choosing a tiara with the bride-to-be in order to bond with her.
Prince Harry joined Meghan Markle and the late Queen to pick out the wedding tiara (Image: Getty)
Mr Hardman said the late Queen loved picking a selection of tiaras before sharing a “happy” morning or afternoon when they would be tried on.
He added: “Where this one was different from the start is Meghan turned up with Harry so immediately that sort of intimacy wasn’t there.”
The expert suggested the Duke “half acknowledges” this in his autobiography, Spare.
A few weeks after a tiara was chosen, there was a “sudden demand” when a hairdresser flew in for a trial run and needed the headpiece.
Mr Hardman explained that the court was in Windsor for Easter, and that selecting and dispatching a tiara was not as simple as it might sound, including the need to arrange insurance.
He said: “It was also a lesser-known tiara, and they were still doing their due diligence, and what was particularly worrying… was the provenance.
Elizabeth II would choose a tiara with a royal bride to be in an effort to bond with them (Image: Getty)
“Could some of [the diamonds] have come from somewhere that turns into a scandal? Are there going to be any accusations of colonial loot?”
He said eventually the tiara was ready, but added: “By then, there’d been a lot of shouting. And it was always Harry doing the shouting, interestingly, never Meghan. She obviously got him to do this.”
Mr Hardman, appearing to paraphrase remarks he suggested might have been made by the prince, said: “‘Where is this tiara? I must have it. We need it. We’re having this hair rehearsal.”
In Spare, Harry writes that it was “obvious” the Palace was “putting up obstacles”. The Queen’s dresser, Angela Kelly, was dispatched to Kensington Palace with the tiara, and a stand-off allegedly ensured between the courtier and Harry.
The tiara was reportedly sent under police escort, which Harry said in Spare felt “a little exaggerated”, but he agreed as “time was running out”.
Mr Hardman summed up the saga, telling The Royalist: “There was a lot of pre-wedding nerves, pre-wedding tensions. But it was just an unfortunate episode that hadn’t happened with any other royal wedding.
“What should have been a happy, bonding moment turned into a stress point.”
