Meghan Markle is set to feature heavily in Prince Harry’s controversial memoir, with an insider claiming the former Suits star will be heralded as the woman who “liberated” him from royal life.
A source close to the Duke of Sussex reportedly told The Sunday Times: “In his new Californian guise, I think he’ll tell it honestly, framed in the context of his ‘journey’ towards ‘healing’.
“I think there will be a lot of ‘the old broken me versus the new fixed me who dealt with the pain’, and a lot about Meghan as the woman who liberated me to deal with it all.”
Harry has previously said Meghan “saved” him “without question” during the couple’s now-infamous interview with Oprah Winfrey.
“There was a bigger purpose, there were other forces at play, I think, throughout this whole process,” he said at the time.
“It’s undeniable, when these things have happened, where the overlap is. So, yeah, without question she saved me.”
Harry announced his upcoming biography last week, declaring he would be writing: “Not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become”.
“I’ve worn many hats over the years, both literally and figuratively, and my hope is that in telling my story – the highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learned -I can help show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think,” he said in a statement.
“I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to share what I’ve learned over the course of my life so far and excited for people to read a first-hand account of my life that’s accurate and wholly truthful.”
The news has reportedly been the cause of much consternation within the Royal Family, with some UK media outlets suggesting senior members of the institution were “blindsided” by the announcement.
The Daily Mail reports Harry has been secretly working on the book for nearly a year in collaboration with author JR Moehringer, with one source claiming it is a book “by Harry, as written by Meghan”.
The book will coincide with the Queen’s platinum jubilee and there are worries from inside the family that it will overshadow celebrations of her 70 years on the throne.
Harry’s deal is reportedly worth £18 million (NZ$35.4 million) and he is set to donate all proceeds to charity.
A recent survey of Brits found that a large number of respondents thought it was “very inappropriate” for Harry to publish the memoir, while the vast majority were “not interested” in reading his account of royal life.
