Five lesser-known facts about Harry and Meghan from a new audiobook by a biographer of the royals

Harry and the Second Son Syndrome: Queen Mother showered William with attention while virtually ignoring him

“In the world into which Harry was born, second sons are second class citizens. The phenomenon is so well known that it even has its own name: Second Son Syndrome.” shares the author. Darren McGrady, the chef at Kensington Palace from 1993 to 1997, recounted how Diana used to tell him, ‘You take care of the heir; I’ll take care of the spare.’ “She openly said that she knew that William would always be all right; Harry was the one she had to look out for. She used to say that ‘Harry was an airhead like me, while William ‘is like his father’. This made her more protective and indulgent of Harry” tells the author. She further adds “He used to complain that the Queen Mother showered William with attention while virtually ignoring him; that she had William sit close by her while he was relegated to a Siberian seat when they went to visit her.”

PS. Just as how the young Meghan felt the issue of her race impacting more acutely upon herself than those around her realised, so too was Harry aware from an early age of the disparity between himself and his elder brother.

Meghan wanted to be Diana 2.0

Nikki (Meghan’s close friend) stated that “The Royal Family was something she (Meghan) found fascinating. She had one of Princess Diana’s books on her bookshelf. She watched Diana’s funeral, was moved to tears as were her friends, and, so obsessed did she become that she and another friend, Suzy Ardakani, got a hold of old videos of Diana’s 1981 wedding to Prince Charles and decided to emulate her humanitarian example by collecting clothes and toys to be distributed amongst less privileged children. She had found her role model and used to love The Princess Diaries – films about a commoner who becomes part of a Royal Family. She was very taken with that idea. She wants to be Princess Diana 2.0.”

“Meghan displays many of Diana’s personality traits.” Nikki further adds “Both women were soft and sweet but both were also tough beneath the ostensibly vulnerable exterior. Both had developed the tactical abilities unique to the children of broken homes. They had learnt at an early age how to palliate, negotiate, and use whatever tools worked well for them, to achieve their goal: whatever that goal might be. “Prince Harry also stated that ‘What Meghan wants, Meghan gets’.

Queen Elizabeth was very surprised by Meghan’s wedding gown choice

We all know how important wedding gowns are for the Royal family. Talking about this, the author says “All bridal gowns make statements. Meghan’s not only conveyed that she loved clothes, was a feminine woman despite her avowed feminism, and something of an impact specialist where presentation is concerned, but also that she was a thoughtful, considerate, deliberate, and aware individual who would use traditions as and when they suited her, but was prepared to jettison them when they did not. She struck the absolutely right note for someone who was making her debut into the world’s leading royal family, letting the public know that her virtues were sterling and her performance would be polished. Beneath the message, however, there was controversy. The Queen was said to be surprised that her soon-to-be granddaughter-in-law, already married and divorced once, had chosen virginal white in defiance of all accepted custom in royal and aristocratic circles,
where a nod in the direction of reality dictated that no color lighter than cream should be worn.”

Meghan’s mother asked her to loosen up

Meghan has formidable allies in her mother and late father. “Her mum, Doria, was very cool. She
was this free spirit who’d dance around the house and have girlie evenings with us. She used to tell
Meg to loosen up. She’d (Doria) say, “You’ve got to have fun. Keep working at it.” Despite her fun-
loving side, Doria had firm boundaries and trained Meghan to be well ordered domestically. Tom
(her father) allowed her more space. He allowed us to get away with things. He provided a less strict
household. But Meghan was the star to both her parents. In a way, she was nurtured on a stage. She
knew no other life. Tom was a great coach in that respect. He’d take photos of her on stage right from
a young age.’ The result was that Meg always wanted to be famous. She just loved to be the center of
attention,” shared Nikki Priddy (Meghan’s close friend).

The controversy surrounding the naming of Master Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor

“Archie’s name showed that Harry and Meghan’s gift for surprise had not deserted them. The baby’s
name broke every rule in the royal book and was as maverick, unexpected, untraditional, and woke
as could be. Royal children have always been named after royal antecedents. Harry and Meghan,
however, proved that they so seriously took their goal of change as a perpetual precept that no area
of their lives would be safe from their innovations. Never before had a royal child been given a
nickname instead of a Christian name,” tells the author. Meghan and Harry would later claim that
their inspiration for the name came from the ancient Greek word Arche whose primary and
secondary meanings are ‘beginning’ and ‘origin’ with the tertiary meaning being ‘source of action.’
It is this third meaning which they have stated led them to call their son Archie, highlighted the
author.

Excerpted with permission from Meghan and Harry: The Real Story, Lady Colin Campbell, Audible.