On Nov. 27, 2017, the engagement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was announced at 5 a.m. A few hours later, Prince Charles sat down for breakfast and mused to his wife, Camilla, “I wonder what the children will look like?”
Camilla was “somewhat taken aback” by the question and replied, “Well, absolutely gorgeous, I’m certain.”
Lowering his voice, Charles asked: “I mean, what do you think their children’s complexion might be?”
This is according to a well-placed source who contributed to Christopher Andersen’s book “Brothers And Wives: Inside The Private Lives of William, Kate, Harry and Meghan” (Gallery), out Nov. 30.
But Andersen stops short of claiming that Charles is the unnamed “senior royal” whom Harry and Meghan — whose mother is black and father is white — sensationally accused during their shocking interview with Oprah Winfrey
In the March broadcast, Meghan said there were “concerns and conversations about how dark [her and Harry’s son, Archie’s] skin might be when he was born … Those were conversations that family had with Harry.”
The author presents it as if the curiosity of Charles was seized upon and twisted by scheming courtiers to give it a racist spin. By the time the repackaged account reached the ears of Harry and Meghan, it had reached peak toxicity.
Andersen points the finger at a group of high-level palace advisors known as the “Men in Gray.”
“The question posed by Charles was being echoed in a less innocent way throughout the halls of Buckingham Palace,” Anderson writes, describing the whispers of an elitist clique whom the Brits term “the old boys’ network.” Their gossip focused on how the royals would “look to the rest of the world” once African-American blood became part of the mix.
The book also reveals Harry’s frustration after he complained to Charles, who, according to another insider, told the prince he was being “overly sensitive about the matter.”
This unsympathetic view was shared by William, who allegedly called the skin tone comment “tactless” but “not a sign of racism within the family.”
A spokesperson for Prince Charles told The Post: “This is fiction and not worth further comment.” A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan did not respond to requests for comment.
According to Andersen, it’s not the only recent scandal in the House of Windsor. The journalist examines how Harry’s relatives worried about his rush to the altar and the alleged rift between the prince, his older brother, William, and their respective spouses, Meghan and Kate.
He explains how the quartet, once nicknamed “The Fab Four” for their joint charity work, is now “barely speaking.”
Andersen writes that the serious racism charge is the main cause of the schism between William and Harry. But the author also claims the situation was made worse by their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, who poured oil on the fire by making Harry feel “erased” by the royals.
According to the book, in December 2019, the monarch allegedly asked a film crew to remove a portrait of Harry, Meghan and Archie before she recorded her traditional Christmas message to the people of Britain and its Commonwealth countries.
“[She] looked over the table where the photographs she had so lovingly selected were arranged,” Andersen writes, noting that a dazzling image of William, Kate and their children was featured in the collection. “All were fine but one, [the queen] told the director.”
Per the author’s source, the nonagenarian pointed to the photo of Harry, Meghan and baby Archie and said: “That one. I suppose we don’t need that one.”
A spokesperson for the queen told The Post: “We don’t comment on books of this kind as to do so risks giving it some form of authority or credibility.” A representative for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had no comment.
William, who watched the address with the rest of the family at Sandringham, the queen’s country estate, was aghast when he realized the photo was gone. He knew that Harry — who had snubbed his relatives by spending the holidays in Canada with Meghan, Archie and his mother-in-law — would be hurt.
He confided in Kate, explaining that his brother was likely to be “terribly upset,” and she told him to keep his concerns to himself, at least for the moment.
But the slight caused Harry to tell one of his closest friends that he “felt as if he, Meghan and Archie were being erased from the family” according to Andersen. ”
Although the queen is known to have a “soft spot” for Harry, the book alleges that her frosty gesture triggered his departure from royal life. In January 2020, Harry and Meghan quit the institution for good.
News of the break-up was leaked to the UK tabloids. In an attempt to get ahead of the news cycle, the Sussexes published a statement on their Instagram page on Jan. 8, 2020, confirming the stories and their decision to leave.
The message — which said they would “work to become financially independent” while continuing to “collaborate” with the queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and “all relevant parties”— blindsided the royals.
According to household staff employed by William at the time, the second in line to the throne was incensed.
“What the f–k do Harry and Meghan think they’re doing?” William said. “My father will be furious.”
He was correct. Andersen writes that Camilla told a neighbor about Charles’s reaction to Megxit: “I have never seen him that angry before.”
The royal family was first introduced to Meghan after she started dating Harry in July 2016. The actress, one of the stars of the TV legal drama “Suits,” was on an extended trip to London when a friend set her up on a “blind date” with the prince.
Love quickly blossomed, with Harry extolling her virtues to his brother at every opportunity. Nevertheless, Harry had previously worried what William — who can be, Andersen writes, “very stiff” — would make of divorcée Meghan, fearing he’d think she was “an opportunist.”
According to Andersen, William and Kate “wanted a proper English rose” for Harry. They became increasingly bothered by the stream of headlines coming out about Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle, an outspoken retired TV lighting director who lived in Mexico
Unlike the older royals who seemed content to ignore anything awkward or uncomfortable, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the book claims, were also “alarmed” by the grim public warnings of Meghan’s estranged half-siblings, Samantha and Thomas Jr. —who predicted that Meghan would be a poisonous addition to the family.
Thomas Jr. was particularly adept at bashing his half-sister, telling reporters: “She is giving the best performance of her life.” In a snarky remark that must have stung William, the Oregonian said: “She thinks she’s another Princess Diana.”
“I don’t know what to believe,” the book claims William confessed to a member of his circle.
He allegedly also raised red flags to his father, telling Charles that Harry’s obsession with Meghan was “like something I’d never seen.” William went on to explain that “it feels like I have lost my best friend.”
Meanwhile, a smitten Harry, Andersen writes, became “angry” with anyone he perceived to be “against Meghan” — a reaction that came to a head when William suggested the newly-minted couple shouldn’t rush headlong into marriage.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” was Harry’s raging response, according to the book. He was particularly insulted that William had drafted their uncle — Earl Spencer, the younger brother of Princess Diana — to appeal to him to slow down the courtship.
Harry tied the knot with Meghan on May 19, 2018, at St George’s Chapel, Windsor. Since that sunny day, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have gone on to have Archie, now two, and Lilibet, who was born this June. The foursome lives in a $14.6 million mansion in Montecito, Calif., just a stone’s throw away from Oprah Winfrey.
William and Harry, who had last seen each other before the beginning of the pandemic — at the tense showdown that finally brokered Megxit — were reunited under sad circumstances in April. All eyes were on the princes when they attended the funeral of their 99-year-old grandfather, The Duke of Edinburgh.
While the brothers appeared friendly toward each other in front of the cameras, Andersen describes that dynamic as a front.
“Unfortunately, the world had read too much into what was only a fleeting, cordial chat,” writes the author. After a meeting with William and Charles that “went nowhere,” Harry flew back to the US to be with his pregnant wife. He returned to the United States one day before the 95th birthday of the newly-bereaved queen.
Then, on July 1, 2021, what would have been Princess Diana’s 60th birthday, the feuding brothers met once again at the dedication of a statue of their mother in the gardens of her former home, Kensington Palace.
This time, they kept more of a distance, gingerly pulling on two separate cords to unveil the memorial. As Andersen observes in his book: “When the moment came, it became quickly and painfully obvious that nothing has changed.”
Perhaps it will be left to the women in their lives to kick-start the healing process. Kate — who allegedly once rebuffed Meghan’s well-meaning invitations to come and visit when they both lived in London — sent notes and gifts to her sister-in-law after she gave birth to Lilibet, Andersen writes.
This summer, when an admiring fan asked the future queen if she had any greetings for Meghan and Harry’s new daughter, Kate’s response was warm and gushing. “I wish her all the very best,” she said. “I can’t wait to meet her.”
Andersen reveals in his book how Diana, the adored mother of William and Harry, was able to finally found peace and truly let go of any bitterness toward the royal family before her death.
No doubt, Diana would be heartbroken over what has happened. As she once said of her boys: “I don’t want them suffering the way I did.”
