Royal biographer claims William saw Meghan as a fame-seeker—now an insider backs his suspicions

A fresh storm has erupted within royal circles as Prince William is accused of long suspecting that Meghan Markle married Prince Harry not for love, but as a calculated move toward fame and fortune.

In a damning claim made by veteran royal biographer Phil Dampier, the Prince of Wales allegedly believed from early on that Meghan viewed Harry as a “stepping stone” to greater celebrity status. His remarks, aired in The Sun, gained added weight when Lady Elizabeth Anson, a cousin and one of the closest confidantes to the late Queen Elizabeth II, allegedly shared the monarch’s own doubts about Meghan’s motives.

“I think, unfortunately, that confirms what I’ve been saying or thought for the last few years,” Dampier stated. “Sadly, Meghan never really had any intention of staying in the royal family.”

The quote refers to Anson’s alleged suggestion that the Queen herself had been cautious about the Duchess of Sussex’s long-term intentions. According to Dampier, William shared those reservations, and it became a driving wedge between the brothers.

“She saw getting married to Harry as a stepping stone to new fame and fortune. And I think that’s what initially Prince William was concerned about,” he added.

The fallout between William and Harry, now widely known, reportedly deepened after Harry and Meghan’s dramatic royal exit in 2020, when the couple stepped back from official duties and relocated to North America.

Things escalated further when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex accused the royal family of racism in their 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview and followed up with a six-part Netflix docuseries in 2022. In January 2023, Harry released his explosive memoir Spare, in which he alleged that William had physically attacked him during an argument about Meghan.

A source close to the Sussexes dismissed Dampier’s claims as baseless speculation, telling Page Six: “The opinions of Mr. Dampier are just that—opinions. They are completely without merit and not grounded in fact.”

The source continued, “There is no way Mr. Dampier, nor anyone at The Sun, could possibly know what the Duchess’ intentions were or are, about anything.”

Despite the bitter tensions, Harry, now 40, expressed hope for reconciliation in a BBC News interview this past May. “There have been so many disagreements and differences between me and some of my family,” he said, referencing his legal battle with the UK government over the loss of publicly funded security.

“I don’t know how much longer my father has left,” he added, referring to King Charles III, 76, who is currently battling cancer. “He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff. But it would be nice to reconcile.”

Harry admitted that some family members may “never forgive” him for “lots of things,” including the content of Spare. Nevertheless, he insisted, “There’s no point in continuing to fight.”

As for Prince William, he has kept his distance from the public feud, rarely commenting on the allegations. Yet Dampier believes the division between the brothers stems precisely from William’s early perception that Meghan wasn’t joining the royal family for the right reasons.

With no formal response from Kensington Palace, speculation around the royal rift continues to simmer, fuelled by biographers, insiders and those ever-watching headlines.