Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Accused David and Victoria Beckham of Leaking Stories to Press, New Book Claims: Revelations

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Accused David and Victoria Beckham of Leaking Stories to Press, New Book Claims: Revelations

Spilling the royal tea. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's life in the royal spotlight is dissected in Tom Bower's new book, Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors. The couple, who went public with their romance one year before getting engaged in 2017, experienced plenty of highs and lows ahead of their 2020 royal exit. According to Bower, the pair were "addicted" to reading about themselves in the press — but were worried their secrets were getting out through their famous friends. "Harry and Meghan were shackled," Bower claims. "Every night they scoured the internet to read the newspaper reports and the trolls' postings on social media. Irrationally, they grouped the two together and fed each other's frenzy about the media. Convinced that as champions of goodness they were being persecuted by mendacity and racism, they felt victimized by the mildest criticism." [jwplayer DwtFgAiC-zhNYySv2] The Suits alum, 40, "suspected Victoria Beckham of indiscretion," Bower writes. "Harry called David Beckham to repeat the accusation. Outraged, Beckham's truthful denials damaged their relationship." Us Weekly reached out to reps for both couples for comment. While it's unclear where the couples stand today, the 47-year-old soccer legend and the 48-year-old Spice Girls singer attended the Sussexes' May 2018 wedding in London. Bower's book further details tension between Harry, 38, Meghan and other members of the royal family — including Duchess Kate and Prince William. The brothers' frosty relationship has been a hot topic for years, and the distance between them grew after Harry and the Tig blogger announced their step down from their senior duties in January 2020. The couple later moved to California, where they live with son Archie, 3, and daughter Lilibet, 13 months. The Archewell cofounders made their exit permanent in February 2021, one month before the couple sat down for a tell-all interview with CBS. During the broadcast, the pair opened up about their decision to leave the palace and discussed where they stand with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, both 40, and Queen Elizabeth II. While a source exclusively told Us after the interview that "tensions have eased" between the sisters-in-law, Harry and William's relationship has continued to be rocky. "They'll never recover from the damage that has been done," an insider exclusively told Us earlier this year, noting that William "doesn't know who [Harry] is anymore and the trust between them is strained." Scroll down for more royal revelations from Bower's book: [podcast_block]

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Asking Thomas for Meghan's Hand

Meghan "could hardly wait" to accept Harry's 2017 proposal, and Thomas was quick to give his approval, according to Bower. Their conversation lasted "less than five minutes," and Thomas allegedly told his now-son-in-law, "'Yes, so long as you don't raise your hand against her.'"

Some of the duke's friends, however, were supposedly worried the couple were "rushing too fast towards marriage" and felt "uneasy" about the union at first, Bower claims. William even allegedly told his younger brother, "Take as much time as you need to get to know this girl." 

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'Suits' Feud With Sarah Rafferty

The former actress' relationship with some of her Suits costars was allegedly "troubled" by the time she left the series in 2018. "An argument had erupted over Sarah Rafferty," Bower's book claims. "Meghan had asked Lori Sale, her merchandising agent, to consider representing Rafferty ... for commercial endorsement contracts. The two met and Sale was enthusiastic. Hearing the news, Meghan called and accused Sale of a conflict of interest." 

The alleged drama led to more accusations of Meghan "being manipulative — a criticism which several Suits actors shared but did not disclose to outsiders," according to Bower. 

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Clashing With the Beckhams

Before leaving their senior royal duties, Harry and Meghan began to grow concerned that someone within their inner circle was leaking stories about them to the British press. According to Bower, the California native accused Victoria of "indiscretion" — and Harry doubled down on the assertion during a phone call with David. "Outraged, Beckham's truthful denials damaged their relationship," the book claims.

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Meghan's Alleged Bullying

Ahead of their 2018 wedding, Meghan apparently sparked "several disputes" with "the team of handpicked professional women" helping her prepare for the big day. Whether about the reception's menu or the ceremony's guest list, the staff allegedly felt like Meghan's requests "were delivered as commands rather than inquiries." As fans of the royal family recall, a particular pre-wedding disagreement with Kate made headlines at the time, with Meghan accused of making her sister-in-law "burst into tears."

Meghan addressed the situation during her March 2021 CBS tell-all with Harry. "The narrative with Kate, it didn't happen," she asserted at the time. "A few days before the wedding she was upset about flower girl dresses and it made me cry. It really hurt my feelings. ... What was hard to get over was being blamed for something that not only I didn't do but that happened to me. Everyone in the institution knew it wasn't true."

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Comparing Meghan to Kate

The Bench author "hated" being compared to "uncomplaining Kate" as tension with her estranged relatives continued to grow. "Effortlessly, the Cambridges appeared to be perfect," the book alleges. "[Meghan] appeared to be influenced by envy of Kate. In turn, the future queen regarded her neighbor as dismissive of other people." Particularly toward her staff, Kate noticed Meghan "become self-centered, manipulative and demanding," Bower claims.

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Erasing the Sussexes

Shortly before announcing their plans to step down from their senior duties in January 2020, the queen gave her televised Christmas address. "Four silver-framed family photographs had been carefully placed behind her. They showed the Queen's father George VI, Prince Philip, Charles and Camilla, and finally William and his family," Bower writes. "To Harry’s fury, there was no photograph of himself, Meghan and Archie." The move appeared as though "the Windsors were airbrushing the Sussexes from history," the book claims.

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CBS Aftermath

Meghan and Harry addressed their departure from the royal family in a lengthy sit-down interview on CBS in March 2021. As the tell-all aired, "Meghan was crying in bed" because of a well-timed report about her alleged bullying of palace staffers. The Sussexes believed what they shared in the interview was "true and not controversial," per Bower, "and now Buckingham Palace was stoking hatred about fictitious bullying."

In June, Buckingham Palace announced that the investigation into Meghan's alleged behavior had concluded, but the findings would not be made public. "She's happy that her name has been cleared from the defamatory claims," a source exclusively told Us. 

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Naming Lilibet

Bower alleges that after Lilibet's June 2021 birth, the BBC was informed by the palace that Harry and Meghan "never asked" for permission to use the queen's nickname as their daughter's moniker. The allegations "activated" the couple's "truth machine" as the palace allegedly attempted "an extreme tactic" of "pitching Harry against the queen." 

In June 2021, a source told Us, "It was important for them that the queen signed off though and that didn't happen until right before the birth. They both agreed it would only be right if Her Majesty gave her approval, especially with something so personal." 

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The Funeral & Jubilee

Elizabeth was allegedly pleased by "disruptive" Meghan's absence from Prince Philip's April 2021 funeral, but Bower's book claims "Harry's presence remained a problem." Similar tension boiled over ahead of the queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June, the author alleges. 

"Charles preferred that the Sussexes, as private citizens, were not invited on to the balcony or to ride in a royal carriage. Instead, they would be confined to the VIP enclosures," Bower claims, adding that Meghan viewed the "optics" of the move as "unsatisfactory." 

Harry allegedly "badgered the Queen's resistant advisors" about the arrangement before the jubilee. "When this failed he asked the Queen if he could visit her in Windsor on his way to the Netherlands [for the Invictus Games]," Bower claims. "To secure her agreement, Harry appeared to give the impression that the meeting would offer an 'olive branch' to 'clear the air.'"

The prince spoke several times about his visit to his grandmother, telling Today in April it was "great" to see the monarch. "She's always got a great sense of humor with me," he said at the time.