Prince Harry confession: Duke ‘wanted celebrity wife’ before meeting Meghan Markle
PRINCE HARRY told friends he wanted a "celebrity wife" shortly before meeting Meghan Markle, unearthed reports reveal.
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Tensions are said to be high among the Royal Family following the publication of the highly anticipated book, ‘Finding Freedom’ by royal commentators Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand. The unofficial biography carves out a narrative that suggests Harry and Meghan were slowly pushed out of the family. Particularly targeted are Kate Middleton and Prince William, who are painted as unwelcoming “snobs” sceptical of Meghan and her Hollywood background.
The book’s revelations have reportedly wedged a wider gap between the brothers - a relationship that was already said to be on the rocks.
Despite Kate and William’s apparent misgivings about Meghan, unearthed reports suggest Harry always had his sights set on someone of the former Suits star’s stature.
In 2017, Harry admitted to a friend that he wanted a relationship with "only somebody who was already in the public eye would be able to understand and handle everything that goes with being with [a prince]".
But the source, speaking to the Daily Mail, conceded: "I don’t think he went out and deliberately looked for a famous actress."
The admission came shortly before Harry and Meghan met on a blind date in 2016.
He had previously dated Chelsy Davy and Cressida Bonas.
Both later said they had struggled with the scrutiny of being with the royal.
Ms Davy went as far as to say the attention during their seven-year on-off romance was “so full-on: Crazy and scary and uncomfortable”.
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On Harry’s alleged wish to partner up with a celebrity, a source told The Sunday Times at the time: “It makes sense that he has ended up with a celebrity… he feels comfortable being with someone who has already come to terms with the price of fame in the way that his other girlfriends never could.”
During their first ever joint interview in 2017, Harry said: "I'd never even heard of her until this friend said 'Meghan Markle' - I was like 'right OK give me a bit of background.'
"I'd never watched any of Suits. I was beautifully surprised when I walked into that room and saw her.
"I thought 'I'm really gonna have to up my game, sit down and make sure I have good chat.'"
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Harry and Meghan have not visited the UK since March.
Their distancing from the Royal Family began in January, when the pair announced they would step down from senior royal duties via an Instagram post.
The coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown has made the lack of their presence all the more salient.
Recent reports suggest Harry is struggling to adjust to life in LA and the distance between himself and his family.
At the peak of the pandemic, it transpired Harry was finding life in Malibu “a bit challenging”.
According to The Daily Telegraph’s Celia Walden, the royal “cannot believe how his life has been turned upside down”.
She added that he “misses the camaraderie of life in the British forces,” and that he would have been “better protected from recent turmoil in the Army”.
Harry and Meghan’s last royal outing, in March, marked the annual Commonwealth Day celebration at Westminster Abbey with the Queen.
They have since resided in Meghan’s native LA.