Exclusive
'SELFISH PURSUITS'
I saw how ‘exploitative’ Meghan & Harry upset Queen before her death – they’ve lost everyone’s trust, says royal expert
Watch Phil Dampier on our Royal Exclusive show in the video player above
PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle upset the Queen before her death, a royal expert has claimed - as he branded the couple "exploitative".
Phil Dampier told The Sun's Royal Exclusive Show the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have lost everyone's trust after multiple bombshell claims were dropped.
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After throwing out damaging claims against the Royal Family spanning years, Harry and Meg then decided to name their youngest child Lilibet in yet another blow to Queen Elizabeth.
The late Queen went by the nickname Lilibet, which was used only by close family members including her parents and husband Prince Philip.
A palace source soon claimed the pair never sought permission from the Queen to name their daughter after her.
Royal expert Phil Dampier has now said the Queen was upset by the name before her death.
He said: "The big fear that the late Queen had and that the King now has is that when [Harry and Meghan] turn up, they do tend to turn up with a sort of Netflix film crew or a photographer in tow.
"You always get the feeling that whatever happens, whatever the discussions are, that it's going to sooner or later end up on a programme or in some sort of podcast.
"And that's unfortunately where the trust has gone and they just don't trust [Harry].
"Even if the Queen might have been, you know, struggling with her health, I think she was still sharp as a tack and she realised that any photograph that was taken of her with Lilibet could have been exploited.
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"I don't think she was very pleased that it was presented to her as a fate of conflict that the name Lilibet was chosen in the first place, I think she was a little bit upset by that.
"So yes she put her foot down and said no photographs and I must admit, I don't blame her, but it's sad we've never seen one."
Prince Harry is the Prodigal Son - ‘upset’ Charles won’t have him back in case he sells secrets, reveals expert
Claims made against the Royal Family started shortly after the Sussexes quit the UK in 2020.
Just one year later, they appeared on an interview with world-famous Oprah to discuss their experiences as royals - where six shocking claims were made.
Archie 'not a prince' claim
Meghan sent shockwaves through the Royal Family when she told Oprah that Archie wasn't made a prince after "concerns and conversations" about "how dark" his skin would be when he was born.
The Duchess said there had been conversations with Prince Harry and a "family" member about their unborn son and what colour his skin would be - and "what that would mean or look like".
However it later emerged that under Royal rules - laid down by King George V in 1917 - Archie would only have ever been made a prince or receive a HRH title when Prince Charles becomes king.
Under George V's declaration, of the Queen's great-grandchildren only Prince George is actually entitled to be a prince because he is in the direct line of succession to the throne as the eldest son of Prince William, the eldest son of the Prince of Wales.
And it was later claimed the couple had rejected the title as it had the term "dumb" in it.
However, Meghan said of the lack of title: “It was not our decision to make.”
There were conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born
Meghan Markle
Meghan said: "In those months when I was pregnant, all around the same time: we have in tandem he won’t be given security, a title and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born."
Oprah was left stunned and replied: "What? There is a conversation…hold on. Hold up. Hold up. Stop right now."
She went on: "About how dark your baby is going to be?"
Meghan replied: "Potentially, and what that would mean or look like."
Oprah later confirmed the person who made the comment was not the Queen or Prince Philip.
At the time, Meghan said it would be "too damaging" to reveal the culprit.
However, last year Meghan's "mouthpiece" Omid Scobie released a book which named King Charles and Princess Kate as those who asked questions.
It made me cry and it really hurt my feelings
Meghan Markle
Meghan left jaws dropping after addressing her and Kate's bridesmaid dress row after telling Oprah Kate made HER cry in the lead up to her wedding.
Meg told Oprah it had been difficult to see a "narrative that didn't happen" surface after it was reported she left Kate in tears over her demands for Princess Charlotte's bridesmaid dress.
She instead told the chat show Queen: "The reverse happened.
"A few days before the wedding she was upset about something, pertaining to... the flower girl dresses, and it made me cry. And it really hurt my feelings.
"There wasn't a confrontation and I don't think it's fair to her to get into the details of that because she apologised, and I have forgiven her.
"What was hard to get over was being blamed for something that not only I didn't do, but that happened to me."
My family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford security for us
Prince Harry
Prince Harry famously told Oprah his dad stopped taking his calls after quitting royal life and said he was "cut off" financially by the Royal Family.
He told how he "didn't have a plan" after the bombshell move and the idea to collaborate with brands like Spotify and Netflix were only suggested to him later.
He told Oprah: "We didn't have a plan.
"[Signing lucrative deals] was suggested by somebody else by the point of where my family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford security for us."
Prince Charles' annual review, however, revealed Charles had in actual fact given his both his sons a share of £4.5million after Megxit.
Palace sources refused to reveal the exact amount given to Harry at the time — which covered the first four months of their “transition period”.
The report confirmed, however, he would get no more handouts from his father.
Harry's security row
Harry admitted in his chat with Oprah it was when he was told his security would be taken away that he realised he needed to quickly find a source of income for his family.
The duke was stripped of his police protection after quitting life as a senior royal.
Harry said he had been shocked by the decision to remove funding for his security, saying he had "inherited" the risk after being born into the Royal Family.
And Meghan said she wrote to the Firm begging them to continue funding it after seeing death threats.
Bullying probe
In the week leading up to Meghan and Harry's Oprah interview, the Duchess was accused by sources in The Times of bullying two palace staff members, forcing them to quit their jobs.
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Meghan vehemently denied the claims, with a spokesperson for the Sussexes later saying the allegations were part of a "calculated smear" against her.
The Queen launched a probe into the allegations, with a Palace statement saying the Firm was "very concerned" at claims the Duchess bullied staff.
Five bombshell Spare claims
- Harry admitted taking cocaine aged 17 to "make himself feel different" in his bombshell memoir Spare. He said he took "a line" of the Class A drug during a hunting weekend and had since "consumed some more".
- Harry claimed his brother "knocked him to the floor" during an argument about Meghan Markle. He said William "grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and knocked me to the floor".
- Harry claimed his brother and Kate Middleton encouraged him to wear his notorious Nazi uniform to a fancy dress party. The Duke of Sussex, 38, said William and Kate “howled with laughter” when they saw him dressed up in the offensive outfit for the party in 2005.
- Harry boasting about his 25 Taliban kills as an army helicopter pilot in Afghanistan. The former Apache pilot, who served two tours of Afghanistan, claimed he did not see the enemy as people and did not feel pride or shame over his kill tally.
- Harry laid into his father for not hugging him after the death of his mother, Diana, the late Princess of Wales, and claimed the King would often make jokes of “poor taste” about his paternity. He branded Camilla the “villain” and a “wicked stepmother” and accused her of leaking stories to the media about Prince William.