As he watched Meghan Markle walk slowly down the aisle in St George’s Chapel, Windsor, Prince Andrew may well have reflected on his own love life.
Years before he became embroiled in the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal, the Prince was secretly dating the American actress Koo Stark, who had starred in a tepidly erotic movie directed by the arty aristocrat, the Earl of Pembroke.
Once their romance became public, pictures were circulated of Koo in various stages of undress, provoking hysteria among MPs.
Though she had met the Queen and was considered the perfect match for Andrew, the stigma of that film – one of her first – poisoned any future prospects.
Ironically, Meghan, a divorcee, had taken acting roles far raunchier than anything shot by Koo Stark
A stressed Meghan, humiliated over her father’s recent behaviour in taking money from a paparazzo for a series of photographs, was accused of leaving Kate, herself emotional following the birth of Louis, in tears. Pictured, Meghan Markle and her father Tom
Their love affair was doomed. But for a fifth-rate movie, Koo Stark, not Meghan Markle, might have been the first American to marry a member of the Royal Family since Wallis Simpson.
Ironically, Meghan, a divorcee, had taken acting roles far raunchier than anything shot by Koo Stark.
During her screen career, she was filmed snorting cocaine, teaching housewives the art of striptease and having sex in a file room.
She appeared semi-naked in so many scenes of the TV series Suits that she complained that scriptwriters were deliberately crafting scenarios to show off her body.
In an earlier TV show, aged 27, she played a schoolgirl performing oral sex in another student’s car.
But, thankfully, times have changed and three days after her wedding, the new Duchess of Sussex found her hand being held by the Duchess of Cornwall, the future Queen consort, during a garden party at Buckingham Palace.
This rare Royal gesture was a sign of how quickly Meghan had been accepted by the Royal Family – signalling to the watching world that she was now ‘one of us’.
Prince Charles dubbed his new daughter-in-law ‘Tungsten’ because he felt she was ‘tough and unbending’.
It was meant as a compliment, for Charles, who likes strong, independent women, was thrilled by the newest member of the family. She had made his second son, at times wayward and lost, complete.
The Queen clearly had confidence in the Royal ingenue and invited Meghan to join her on the overnight Royal Train ahead of a day of engagements in Cheshire.
It had been ten months before the previous commoner, Kate Middleton, was asked to join Her Majesty on a joint engagement.
Unlike Diana and Fergie, Kate and Meghan were not friends before they joined the Royal Family.
What is more, during the build-up to Meghan’s wedding, Kate was experiencing her third difficult pregnancy and was focused on her own welfare.
She did not have much energy to bond with the newcomer.
Harry was desperate for Meghan and his sister-in-law to bond – a tall order given their contrasting careers and social backgrounds
But like the Queen, Kate offered friendliness but not friendship. Her cool and somewhat reserved nature would have profound consequences
The two women had first met in January 2017 at the Cambridges’ Kensington Palace apartment.
During their brief encounter, Meghan presented Kate, who had celebrated her 35th birthday the day before, with a small but thoughtful gift – a soft leather Smythson notebook.
Meghan was assured by Kate that she was always ready to help and advise in this bizarre new world in which Meghan found herself.
Harry was desperate for Meghan and his sister-in-law to bond – a tall order given their contrasting careers and social backgrounds.
But like the Queen, Kate offered friendliness but not friendship. Her cool and somewhat reserved nature would have profound consequences.
In an infamous incident, Kate and Meghan clashed even before the wedding, at the final rehearsal.
A stressed Meghan, humiliated over her father’s recent behaviour in taking money from a paparazzo for a series of photographs, was accused of leaving Kate, herself emotional following the birth of Louis, in tears.
The spat apparently concerned Princess Charlotte’s dress and whether the flower girls should wear tights or go bare-legged.
Words were said, tears were shed, and the two women, who enjoyed a brittle relationship at the best of times, parted in high dudgeon.
Meghan later told Oprah Winfrey that it was Kate who had made her cry over the issue of the flower girls’ dresses. To further emphasise the point, Meghan described how Kate personally brought a bouquet of flowers and conciliatory note to her by way of apology.
Meghan’s story, however, was diametrically opposite to the whispers inside the Palace. And whoever was at fault, it was clear there was little love lost between the two.
Not only did Kate and Meghan not know each other well, but even after the wedding there was little opportunity to develop a firm friendship away from public events. Harry’s dream of two united, happy families seemed a long way off.
And soon, the honeymoon between the Duchess of Sussex and the media was over, too.
Within a matter of months, Meghan went from Duchess Dazzling to Duchess Difficult – a Hollywood diva who tried to bend the thousand-year-old monarchy to her whim, offending everyone from the Queen downwards.
In November 2018, just days after the couple returned from their successful tour Down Under, The Times reported that Meghan had thrown a ‘tiara tantrum’ shortly before her wedding because the tiara she wanted to wear was not available.
Her prima-donna behaviour apparently earned a rebuke from the Queen herself, who told Harry: ‘She gets what tiara she’s given by me.’
Subsequent accounts of exactly which tiara had been offered, withdrawn or rejected were varied and often conflicting. Regardless, where reports overlapped was with respect to Harry’s behaviour.
The Prince, who needed acupuncture to stay calm in the run-up to the wedding, was overwrought when the chosen tiara could not be made instantly available for Meghan’s hairdresser, who had flown from New York to work on the hair fitting.
The Queen’s formidable dresser Angela Kelly, who is the guardian of Her Majesty’s jewellery, is said to have informed the irate Prince that certain security protocols had to be adhered to in order to access the priceless piece.
Harry would have none of it, telling anyone who would listen: ‘What Meghan wants, Meghan gets.’ His ringing phrase did her no favours.
Harry suspected, rightly or wrongly, that the old guard at the Palace did not like Meghan and were deliberately trying to make life difficult for them.
Though Harry was the prime mover in this episode, it was Meghan who took the hit.
Almost overnight, the narrative about her turned full circle, from Duchess Difficult to Duchess Dictatorial. Once that narrative was fixed in the popular imagination, it was almost impossible to change.
In short order, she was publicly accused of making Kate cry and blamed for the premature departure of Royal staff, including her personal assistant, whom she also reduced to tears, along with her temporary private secretary and Scotland Yard bodyguard.
She was also deemed to be at the centre of the growing rift between the previously inseparable brothers.
What cut deepest with Meghan and Harry was that there was never any formal rebuttal of the accusations made about Meghan by the Palace press office.
They were allowed to stand, she suggested, further contributing to the construction of her negative image.
Almost overnight, the narrative about her turned full circle, from Duchess Difficult to Duchess Dictatorial
Kensington Palace spent hundreds of hours monitoring social media posts
In truth, the Palace did not sit on its hands.
From time to time it did formally dispute stories, such as one suggesting that Kate had ‘slapped down’ Meghan for being rude to one of her staff. ‘This never happened,’ said the Palace.
Moreover, Kensington Palace spent hundreds of hours monitoring social media posts.
It unveiled a code of conduct for internet interactions on the Royal Family’s platforms. Violent threats were reported to the police, and sexist and racist comments deleted.
However, Meghan and Harry sensed a change towards them inside the Royal Family. They were too current, too fresh, too challenging for what they saw as the old guard.
Harry had always been prickly at any suggestion of criticism of his wife, and from now on he seemed more sensitive and quick to take offence.
As far as he and Meghan were concerned, they were united against the world – and that was beginning to include the Royal Family.
During the pivotal month of November 2018, when the day-to-day reality of Royal life had started to sink in, Meghan and Harry began to discuss their options.
First item on the agenda was setting up their own Royal Household, which was essentially their own ‘company’ inside the family Firm.
It was at this time that Harry informed a pregnant Meghan about an extraordinary conversation he’d had with a member of his family.
His relation, whom he has refused to name publicly, had asked about how dark the new baby’s skin might be.
It was that issue, Meghan later implied, which was connected to decisions about her child’s title and future security.
One official was reported as saying: ‘People had bent over backwards for them. They were given the wedding they wanted, the house they wanted, the office they wanted, the money they wanted, the staff they wanted, the tours they wanted and had the backing of their family. What more did they want?’
Meghan argued that the Palace had allowed a ‘monster machine’ to grow up, turning them into tabloid fodder, and it was its responsibility to protect the baby
In short, the darker the skin, the more minor the title and protection. It was a curious assertion, especially as the couple didn’t want a title for them and had even lobbied Prince Charles to ensure this was achieved.
Meghan argued that the Palace had allowed a ‘monster machine’ to grow up, turning them into tabloid fodder, and it was its responsibility to protect the baby.
When Meghan’s child was born, if he were a boy, he could take the courtesy title of the Earl of Dumbarton.
However, according to Royal protocol, it was only the children and grandchildren of the Sovereign who could be made a Prince or Princess and thus be eligible for round-the-clock protection.
The truth was, Harry was concerned that Meghan was ‘on the brink’ of just walking out and he realised he had to take swift action to ensure her happiness
Meghan and Harry are in lockstep. When they went into self-imposed exile, they did so together, their isolation reminiscent of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor
What was lost in such internal discussions was the fact that both Harry and Meghan had full-time bodyguards who, according to custom and practice, would also keep an eye on the child.
For the moment, this debate took place only among the family. Not for much longer.
Unbeknown to anyone – even her husband – Meghan was suffering badly during her pregnancy. Her anguish was such that in early January 2019 she harboured clear thoughts of suicide.
Meghan finally confessed her distress to Harry one morning in mid-January, the Prince cradling her in his arms, reassuring her that they would pull through.
Shortly afterwards, according to Meghan’s narrative, she spoke to senior officials at the Palace.
She felt she needed to be hospitalised so that she could get professional help in order to cope with her suicidal feelings.
She says she was met with sympathy but inaction. According to her account, one official said: ‘My heart goes out to you because I see how bad it is, but there’s nothing we can do to protect you because you’re not a paid employee of the institution.’
There was a sense, as the couple saw it, that as Meghan was not being protected by the Palace they would have to do something about it themselves.
She had her own shadow court of American advisers who came up with suggestions and projects for her to consider.
The first immediate result was a February 2019 issue of the American magazine People, where five unnamed friends paid tribute to her empathetic and giving nature, and castigated the media for savagely attacking a pregnant woman.
While Meghan was in private contact with Oprah Winfrey over a possible TV interview, others decided that they wanted to have their say about the Duchess – and it wasn’t pretty
They stated that their aim was to ‘stand up against the global bullying we are seeing and speak the truth about our friend’.
Shortly after, Meghan flew to New York for a glamorous and expensive baby shower in the penthouse of the ritzy Mark Hotel on the Upper East Side.
It was all very Hollywood, with guests including fashion designer Misha Nonoo, Amal Clooney, broadcaster Gayle King and
