Last month, it seemed the tide was turning.
For the first time in several years, there was hope that King Charles and Prince Harry may finally be forging a path towards family reconciliation, especially following a warm phone call between father and son on the monarch’s 75th birthday.
WATCH NOW: Sarah Ferguson throws support behind Meghan and Harry. Article continues after video.
Enter Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’s long-time acquaintance, author Omid Scobie, who has just published his new book Endgame.
RELATED || Is Meghan Markle releasing a memoir?
The tome promised to “examine the monarchy’s fight for survival”, but instead reads like a burn book on the royal family’s key players.
It even savages Harry’s once beloved sister-in-law, Catherine, Princess
of Wales.
At the time of press, Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, had failed to comment on whether they were involved in Omid’s latest offering, though it has been noted by UK royal experts that the Duchess was forced to admit in court that she did collaborate on his first book, Finding Freedom.
Some claim Endgame has left Harry between a rock and a hard place.
“The tragedy is that Endgame looks bound to snuff out those slim chances of royal reconciliation,” reports Daily Mail royal writer Richard Kay.
The book claims Meghan never wishes to return to the UK and the embrace of her in-laws – and New Idea’s exclusive sources worry that the maelstrom of controversy may turn the Sussexes against each other.
“Harry was never into collaborating with authors and most journalists throughout his entire life,” says a source.
“It was only the arrival of Meghan which convinced him to collaborate with Omid on Finding Freedom. It now appears Harry’s realising that you can’t put toothpaste back in the tube.”
WATCH NOW: Heart of Invictus Trailer. Article continues after video.
One insider speculates Harry would “prefer” if they distanced themselves from Omid’s book.
“Meghan is fully against that,” says the source.
“Harry suspects that the real reason is Omid knows all Meghan’s secrets, including things Harry doesn’t know about.”
The source adds, “Harry feels betrayed that so much lick-and-spit detail is coming out and even Harry knows some of it could only have come from him.
“He’s furious right now and doesn’t know where to turn or who to trust. He’s completely isolated and the only friends he has are all Meghan’s friends.”
A separate source adds, “Given Harry’s recent tentative steps towards a reunion with his family, he can’t have seen this book coming, in terms of how heavy it is. You can’t deny it’s made life very difficult for him once again.”
It seems that the media games of the past few years, between the Sussexes and the Windsors, are starting to weigh very heavily on Harry’s mind.
“It’s dawning on him that this book – and everything else – will be all over the internet for posterity, for his kids to read when they’re older. Those sorts of thoughts are all-consuming,” reveals the insider.
