Prince Harry split from the Royal Family ‘without thinking it through’ because he and brother William grew up with ‘little understanding of what a happy family looks like’ after Princess Diana was left traumatised by her parents’ ugly divorce which contributed to the breakdown of her own marriage, a royal expert has claimed.
The late princess grew up feeling ‘unloved’ after her mother left when she was six and this was a significant factor in her split from Prince Charles, according to Penny Jumor.
She also suggested that the tensions between brothers William, 38, and Harry, 36, were brewing before Meghan Markle came onto the scene – and that the Duke of Sussex quit The Firm and moved to the US ‘without discussing it’ to make his wife happy.
Writing in the Mirror, the biographer observed that, like her late mother-in-law, Meghan, 39, has no firm family foundations and is ‘more complicated than she looks’.
Princes William and Harry grew up with ‘little understanding of what a happy family looks like’ as a result of their mother Princess Diana being traumatised by her parents’ ugly divorce, a royal expert has claimed
‘I think there is an element of history repeating itself,’ she said, addressing what pushed Harry and Meghan to turn their backs the Royal Family in March and make a new life in the US.
Unlike Kate Middleton, who has a functioning family to support her, Ms Junor told how Meghan came from a broken home. with her mother the only person she appears to remain close to.
But with Doria being thousands of miles away when Meghan became unhappy, Ms Junor claimed ‘impulsive’ Harry did what he thought would make it better ‘without thinking it through or discussing it with the family’.
She suggested Diana growing up without a strong family unit contributed to his decision, because he too came from a broken home.
The late princess (pictured in November 1987) grew up feeling ‘unloved’ after her mother left when she was six and this was a significant factor in the break-up of her marriage to Prince Charles, according to Penny Junor
Ms Junor told how, at the age of 20, Diana had seemed like the perfect wife for the Prince of Wales, thanks to her aristocratic background, her father having worked for the Queen and her being comfortable around royalty.
‘What Charles didn’t know was that Diana had been badly traumatised by her parents’ ugly divorce. Her mother had left home when she was six and, to her mother’s great distress, custody of Diana and her siblings granted to their father,’ Ms Junor said.
‘Diana grew up feeling unloved. Those terrible feelings blighted the rest of her life and were a significant factor in the break-up of the marriage. William and Harry, therefore, grew up with little understanding of what a happy family looks like.’
After years of being unlucky in love, Ms Junor told how Harry had been ‘swept off his feet’ by former actress Meghan, and began talking about marriage within a matter of months – concerning his older brother and close friends.
After years of being unlucky in love, Ms Junor told how Harry had been ‘swept off his feet’ by former actress Meghan, and began talking about marriage within a matter of months – concerning his older brother and close friends. Pictured: Harry and Meghan last week
With the pair already ‘stepping on each other’s toes’ in their charity work, the royal told how William questioning whether it was all happening too quickly led Harry to assume it was because he didn’t like or approve of his new love interest.
‘It was a reasonable question and one that a loving brother was right to ask. Their parents had rushed into their disastrous marriage within a year of meeting and scarcely knew one another when walking up the aisle,’ Ms Junor pointed out.
‘But Harry, head over heels in love, and ever impulsive, wasn’t thinking rationally. He took his brother’s intentions amiss.’
Yesterday it emerged Prince William asked his uncle Earl Spencer to step in and stop his brother rushing into marriage to Meghan Markle. The revelations were made in the explosive new book Battle of Brothers, by royal historian Robert Lacey.
With Doria being thousands of miles away when Meghan became unhappy, Ms Junor claimed ‘impulsive’ Harry did what he thought would make it better ‘without thinking it through or discussing it with the family’. Pictured: the Sussexes during one of their final engagements in London in March
While Harry ‘didn’t blame his uncle’ and understood why Diana’s brother should want to help, he was reportedly ‘furious’ with his elder brother for dragging other family members into the row.
‘The fraternal fissure became established,’ Mr Lacey wrote. ‘There would be patch-ups and reconciliations, especially when a public show of unity was required.
‘But that anger and mistrust – that distance – has lasted to the present day.’