The person warding Harry may surprise you
It's safe to say Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have had more than their fair share of criticism over the years, especially after they quit the royal family in 2020.
The couple have been branded as "insignificant" , they have been given cruel nicknames by neighbours, while Harry has reportedly had an ongoing feud with his brother Prince William for many years - even before that Oprah Winfrey interview.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's relationship has been under scrutiny long before they married, and had children Archie and Lilibet together.
According to a royal expert Harry, 37, was warned off of marrying the former Suits actor, by his late mother Princess Diana's siblings - much to his surprise.
Speaking in his recent release Revenge: Meghan, Harry and The War Between the Windsors, author Tom Bower, claimed Diana's brother, Earl of Spencer, and sisters Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Baroness Jane Fellowes, did not approve of Meghan.
He wrote: "In early September 2017, Kate revealed that she was expecting her third child. Prone to sickness in pregnancy, she curtailed her public appearances.
"Since the Vanity Fair article had increased the Cambridges’ suspicion of Meghan, the actress discovered that her neighbour in Kensington Palace had even less time for her.
"By then, Harry had introduced Meghan to Diana’s two sisters, Jane and Sarah, and her best friend Julia Samuel. Harry assumed that Diana’s family and friends would see a similarity between Diana and his fiancée."
Harry's high hopes of his girlfriend were not shared by his relatives like he hoped, as they did not draw the same comparisons between Meghan and Diana that Prince William's brother did.
Tom continued: "Both, he said, shared the same problems. He was disappointed. No one agreed that his vulnerable mother had anything in common with his girlfriend. More discomforting for him, they thought Meghan would not fit in with the Royal Family.
"Their unease was voiced by Charles Spencer, Diana’s brother. At William’s request, Spencer weighed in.
"Three times married, Spencer cautioned his nephew to reconsider his haste towards marriage. His advice provoked a bitter reaction. ‘This was going to be really hard,’ Harry would later reflect on establishing Meghan’s place in the family."
Not only were Harry's relatives concerned about Meghan fitting into the fold, but also money worries were said to have been a factor.
Tom went on: "One of his recurring concerns was insufficient money if they married. Although Harry annually received about £1.5 million from Charles, Meghan had been advised to continue acting to supplement their income.
"By that point, Meghan knew from her agent Nick Collins that her acting prospects were limited. Omid Scobie, her official biographer, would accurately summarise her exit from Hollywood. ‘She wanted a more meaningful career,’ he wrote. ‘She could be doing so much more with her platform.’ Her frustration remained. She was tantalisingly close to sealing her future, but nothing was official."
