Battle of Brothers by respected royal biographer Robert Lacey makes fresh claims about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex quitting the Royal Family in a move dubbed Megxit. Negotiations with ex-Suits star Meghan and Harry were “like dealing with a hard-nosed Hollywood lawyer” with the couple wanting “guarantees on every single point as if it were a contractual negotiation”, the book quotes a senior palace source as saying.
Meghan and Harry revealed bombshell plans to step back as senior royals in January.
The announcement plunged the monarchy into a period of crisis.
The Queen was forced to hold a summit at Sandringham with Prince Charles, Prince William and Harry to discuss the issue.
It was later announced the Sussexes would no longer be working members of the Royal Family.
Battle of Brothers, which is being serialised in the Daily Mail, alleges William was so furious he refused to meet his younger brother for lunch before the summit.
Harry was left to eat on his own with the monarch ahead of the meeting.
The book says: “William maintained his distance for the Sandringham summit.
“The Queen had suggested the family should gather for lunch before their big pow-wow in the library that afternoon, but he refused his grandmother’s invitation.
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The book says: ”The absence of a single Sussex from the 2019 assemblage of significant royal faces in the Queen’s Christmas broadcast appeared to reflect a deliberate decision on her part.”
It comes as Meghan, 39, and Harry, 36, are starting a new life of personal and financial freedom in America.
They are living in a £11 million mansion in California with their one-year-old son Archie.
The former actress and the Queen’s grandson have signed a multi-million pound deal with Netflix to make shows for the streaming service as they launch new careers.
But almost half of Britons believe the Sussexes should be stripped of their royal titles, a recent YouGov poll suggested.
The survey of 3,250 adults found 48 percent of respondents thought they should lose their titles, 27 percent said they should not, and 25 percent did not know.
