Prince Harry, Meghan Markle declined queen’s invite to Balmoral twice, author claims: 'A source of regret’
Katie Nicholl, author of 'The New Royals,' spoke to Fox News Digital about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's departure from the royal family and how it continues to impact all sides.
Prince Harry has an established history of being "very much the subordinate" in his relationships, according to royal expert Duncan Larcombe.
Larcombe told Fox News Digital that 38-year-old was never the confident "Prince Charming" that he appeared to be.
"That's never been Harry at all, quite the reverse," Larcombe said.
Prince Harry has an established history of being "very much the subordinate" in his relationships, according to royal expert Duncan Larcombe. (Victoria Jones)
Larcombe, who authored the 2017 biography "Prince Harry: The Inside Story," said that over the years, he has observed a pattern in the Duke of Sussex's romantic relationships.
"Harry has changed and morphed depending on who he’s been dating," the royal expert noted.
He said that the royal was "the boyfriend who's willing to go along and meet all the friends of the new girlfriend and just tag along."
Larcombe explained that this tendency was evident in Harry's relationship with his first love Chelsy Davy, 36, whom he dated on and off for seven years from 2004 to 2011.
Harry first met the Zimbabwean student in South Africa during his gap year when he was 19. The pair reportedly spent the entire summer together and continued dating after Harry returned to the U.K.
Larcombe said, "Harry befriended a whole group of her chums, basically he morphed into Chelsy's friends."
The couple's relationship was heavily scrutinized in the media and often became the subject of tabloid fodder. The pair's camping trips in Africa made headlines as photographers captured images of the prince sunbathing, paddling in a canoe and sleeping in a tent.
"He got a girlfriend who was from Africa, and before you knew it, Harry was walking around in his bare feet, sitting by campfire, paddling by in the outbacks of Africa," Larcombe said.
Larcombe explained that this tendency was evident in Harry's relationship with his first love Chelsy Davy, 36, whom he dated from 2004 to 2011. (Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images)
The royal expert said that Harry repeated the same pattern in his next serious relationship with British model and actress Cressida Bonas, 33. Larcombe described Bonas as a "Bohemian society girl who dragged Harry along to the Glastonbury Rock Festival."
"With Cressida, he was the Bohemian, going to music festivals dressed in brand new, expensive clothes."
Larcombe added, "And he sort of turned up almost like he'd been dressed by her. It's really awkward looking. He looked ridiculous."
He said, "The point is he really just morphed depending on who he's with, and that's a worrying sign."
Larcombe went on to describe how Harry's malleable nature is once again on display in his relationship with his wife Meghan Markle, 41, whom he married in 2018.
Harry and the former "Suits" actress announced that they were stepping down from their roles as senior officials and moving to the U.S., Markle's home country, in January 2020.
The royal expert said that Harry repeated the same pattern in his next serious relationship with British model and actress Cressida Bonas, 33. (Karwai Tang/WireImage)
"Now he lives in Hollywood," Larcombe noted.
The couple released two photos this week in which they were pictured at a charity event in the U.K shortly before the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The timing of the release raised some eyebrows as it came a day after King Charles, Queen Consort Camilla, Prince William and Kate Middleton posed for an official royal portrait unveiled by Buckingham Palace.
Many royal watchers speculated that Harry and Meghan's new photos were intended as a snub to the royal family
"These pictures they released this week show Harry is not in charge," Larcombe said.
He continued, "Meghan is the driving force in their relationship, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's a modern thing. But Harry has had to give up just about everything he ever had in order to make that possible for Meghan."
Larcombe pointed out that Harry's overall susceptibility to the influence of others has often resulted negative consequences.
Larcombe went on to describe how Harry's malleable nature is once again display in his relationship with his wife Meghan Markle, (Photo by Joshua Sammer/Getty Images for Invictus Games Dusseldorf 2023)
"I think Harry's a very lost soul and has been potentially before his mother died," he said.
"Harry's a great guy, but has been very vulnerable to influences. Look how influences have affected Prince Harry's life."
He continued,"I'll go through a quick list. When he was in the last year at his high school, he gets in with a crowd of people that are taking drugs and Harry gets caught. When he goes with his friends to a fancy dress party, he wears a Nazi outfit and gets called out."
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"When he goes to celebrate the end of Sandhurst, he gets dragged along to a strip club, he gets found out and then when he goes to Las Vegas, he turns stripper himself and Harry gets found out."
"These are all as a result of influences, bad influences, in his life because he is someone who is susceptible to being very influenced and easily led by the people around him. And I don't see how anyone could argue against that.
"That would be the opinion of King Charles about his own son," Larcombe added.
Larcombe expressed his doubts that Harry had reached a point where he makes his own decisions about his life. He indicated that signs point to Markle having sway over the prince's choices.
"Maybe we can believe Harry's his own man. Now he calls the shots. It doesn’t look like it," he said. "This looks like another example of how Harry has tried to morph himself into what he believes is the vision of normal as the person he's dating."
He continued, "It's normal, to Harry not to have his father in his life because Meghan doesn't. It's normal for Harry to go touring around for business and trying to secure the next book deal or TV deal because Meghan does. Harry's living his life as normal because it's Meghan’s normal."
"I can't see any longevity in that. Something's gotta give," Larcombe concluded.
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