The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are arguably the most talked-about celebrities right now, as their sudden decision to step down as senior royals made them the favorite topic of every gossip columnist.
Robert Lacey’s new book Battle of Brothers: William and Harry – The Inside Story of A Family in Tumult continues to bring up controversies about the royal couple from the not-so-distant past. The author suggests that Meghan left a Fiji market in 2018 in an act of revenge.
We’ll tell you everything about this spicy story, and we’ll throw in another old controversy that escaped the scope of eagle-eyed journalists.
Fiji Market Controversy
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were on a royal tour of Australia and Oceania in late 2018. One of their engagements included a visit to a local market in Fiji, which was cut short. At the time, the official reasoning behind it was security measures – there were more people in attendance than expected, so Meghan had to leave for her safety.
Robert Lacey, however, thinks otherwise. The author cites royal aides who claim there was a selfish reason behind this decision. Just to remind you, there’s an ongoing investigation into bullying claims brought up by ex-royal aides against the Duchess. This explains why these stories keep popping up.
The royal aide (informant) was present at the scene and says that Meghan ‘hissed’ at a member of her staff and demanded to leave immediately. This staff member was later seen crying. Although this story first emerged in March 2021, shortly after the bullying investigation was opened, this was the only bit of information (Meghan hissing, aide crying) that came out at the time. Lacey dug deeper and supposedly uncovered why the whole controversy happened.
Why Did Meghan Leave
Meghan was tasked to visit ‘Market for Change’, a UN Women project, aimed to better the working conditions of female vendors in Fiji. She only spent 6 minutes there, which left many female vendors disappointed as they were promised to meet the Duchess. But why would Meghan, a lifelong advocate for women’s rights, do that on purpose?
Lacey claims that the problem wasn’t the lack of appropriate security or the type of event – it was the organization which created the project.
Meghan first advocated for women’s rights back in 1993 when she asked Procter & Gamble to take down a sexist ad about a dish soap. Her plea was successful, and she later recalled the event during a speech about gender equality at a UN Women conference in 2015.
However, despite her powerful speech, Meghan was not made an ambassador, but only a UN advocate – a lesser position. This was likely because of her popularity at the time – she wasn’t as well-known as other ambassadors such as Emma Watson. One of her acquaintances claims Meghan couldn’t deal with this ‘snub’ and rejection in general. This lesser position prompted her to remove all references to UN Women from her blog, and the organization responded by removing all references to her.
Before leaving for the event, the Duchess apparently told her staff that she’d only go if there was no UN Women marketing. Once there, she got mad that there was, so she ‘hissed’ at her staff for leading her on and left. If these accusations are true, it’d mean that Meghan disrespected her royal duties in an act of revenge. Her lawyers denied the claims. It’s unclear, but possible, that these accusations will be brought up in the bullying investigation.
Why Did Meghan Go
In the spirit of old controversies, we wanted to bring you a lesser-known story, which is arguably more controversial than the previous one. The story didn’t attract media attention, which is odd, but it’s very popular with Meghan and Harry’s gossipers.
The story alleges that Harry broke up with Meghan in 2016, after a few months of dating, and that he didn’t think their relationship was serious. Before that happened, Harry and Meghan were invited to Tom Inskip’s wedding (Harry’s best friend). Meghan wasn’t expected to attend the Jamaican wedding, since her relationship status changed following the invitation, but she still went.
The bride and groom were shocked to see her, and so was Harry. Photos from the occasion show Meghan looking frustrated while talking to Harry, who appears to be uninterested. Moreover, it’s said that she was rude to the waiting staff.
Certain media reports allege that Tom, or ‘Skippy’, was mad at Meghan for stealing the spotlight by virtue of attending, but other sources claim she didn’t attend as Harry’s girlfriend, but crashed the wedding as Harry’s ex-girlfriend. Media outlets haven’t reported on their alleged break or the possible wedding crashing.
However, critics of the couple support their arguments by tying their theory to proven facts. Skippy attended Meghan and Harry’s 2018 wedding ceremony, but he wasn’t invited to the private party at Frogmore. This is a fact as the guest list is public knowledge, and while it included celebrities such as Oprah, it mysteriously excluded Harry’s best friend.
At the time, media outlets reported the snub, but they didn’t give a reason behind it. Critics say he wasn’t invited, because he voiced his concerns about Meghan after his infamous Jamaican wedding. Allegedly, Skippy tried to dissuade Harry from rekindling his romance with the American actress. She apparently didn’t take it well, so she was blacklisted from the wedding party.
It’s unclear what happened and this story might be a strawman based on awkward pictures of the couple, but the royal snub of Harry’s best friend is still bizarre.