Prince William feared Prince Harry was blindsided by lust when dating Meghan Markle

It has been more than six years since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle exchanged vows in a dazzling royal ceremony at Windsor Castle. Their 2018 wedding was celebrated around the world — a union that promised to modernize the monarchy. But the fairy tale didn’t last. Two years later, the couple stepped back from royal duties, and the once-tight bond between the Sussexes and the rest of the Royal Family, including Prince William and Kate Middleton, shattered completely.

A Fast-Moving Romance

Harry and Meghan’s whirlwind romance began in 2016 after a mutual friend set them up on a blind date in London. Meghan, then a successful actress best known for her role in Suits, was in town for Wimbledon. They agreed to meet for dinner at Soho House, but Harry was running late — a full 30 minutes behind schedule.

“I couldn’t understand why he would be late,” Meghan recalled in the Netflix series Harry & Meghan. “He kept texting, saying, ‘I’m in traffic. I’m so sorry.’”

“I was panicking,” Harry admitted. “I was sweating.”

When he finally arrived, Meghan said she instantly saw that his tardiness wasn’t arrogance — he was simply nervous. “You were just so sweet,” she said. “You were genuinely embarrassed.”

Their first date lasted barely an hour but left both wanting more. The next day, they met again — this time with Meghan arriving five minutes late, unintentionally evening the score.

Within months, their relationship deepened through endless FaceTime calls and transatlantic visits. “It felt exciting, but not in a crazy way,” Meghan said. “It was just easy.”

Tension Behind the Scenes

While the pair’s chemistry was undeniable, not everyone in Harry’s orbit was convinced it was moving in the right direction. Prince William, protective of his younger brother, reportedly urged caution.

According to Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand’s book Finding Freedom, William advised Harry not to rush. He reportedly told him, “Take as much time as you need to get to know this girl.”

To Harry, that phrase — this girl — stung. He reportedly saw it as condescending, while William insisted it came from genuine concern. Years later, Scobie would clarify that William’s motive wasn’t malice but caution. “He just wanted to make sure Harry wasn’t blindsided by lust,” the author said.

Harry, deeply in love, took it personally. It was one of the early cracks in the brothers’ once-unbreakable bond.

The First Signs of Conflict

In his memoir Spare, Harry revealed that not every moment of his courtship with Meghan was picture-perfect. In one instance in 2016, during a private dinner, he lost his temper over a minor misunderstanding.

“Maybe the wine went to my head,” he wrote. “Maybe the weeks of battling the press had worn me down. For some reason, I became touchy. Then angry — disproportionately, sloppily angry.”

Meghan left the room, returning 15 minutes later, calm but firm. “‘I’ll never stand for being spoken to like that,’ she told me. ‘Where did you ever hear a man speak that way to a woman?’”

Harry admitted that her words struck a nerve. “I realized she was right,” he wrote. “The anger came from somewhere deeper — something that needed to be excavated.”

At Meghan’s urging, Harry sought therapy — something William had suggested years earlier but Harry had never followed through on. “She said softly, ‘Try again,’” he recalled. That moment marked a turning point in his emotional life.

Meghan’s Early Relationship with William and Kate

When Meghan first entered the royal fold, she was determined to make a good impression. According to Finding Freedom, she prepared carefully before meeting William, expecting a tense encounter.

“She was self-aware enough to know the brothers were wary of women interested in their titles more than their wellbeing,” the authors wrote. But their first meeting went better than expected. William greeted her warmly, saying, “I was looking forward to meeting the girl who put that silly grin on my brother’s face.”

Despite the cordial start, doubts lingered. William reportedly worried that Meghan was more focused on her public image than on the monarchy’s collective mission. Still, he kept his thoughts private, recognizing how difficult her transition into royal life must have been.

“He desperately wanted Harry to be happy,” a palace insider told the Daily Mail, “and appreciated the huge adjustment Meghan was making.”

The Wives Who Never Clicked

If the brothers’ relationship was showing strain, the same was true for their wives. Many had hoped Meghan and Kate would become the future of a new, modern monarchy — a united front of intelligence, grace, and compassion. But behind palace walls, their connection never took root.

“Meghan would agree that she and Kate were not the best of friends,” Scobie and Durand wrote. “Their relationship hadn’t progressed much since Harry was just Meghan’s boyfriend.”

Sources claim Meghan had hoped Kate would take her under her wing, guiding her through the rigid protocols of royal life. But according to the book, “Kate didn’t make the effort Meghan expected.”

Meghan reportedly felt isolated — left to navigate the tabloids, palace expectations, and the public glare largely on her own.

“She was disappointed they hadn’t bonded,” the authors said. “But she wasn’t losing sleep over it. She just wished Kate had checked in during the hardest times with the press.”

From Wedding Bells to Fracture

By the time Harry and Meghan’s wedding rolled around in May 2018, tensions within the family were already simmering. The lavish Windsor ceremony looked perfect from the outside, but insiders say the atmosphere behind closed doors was growing uneasy.

Two years later, in 2020, the couple stepped down as working royals, citing relentless media pressure and lack of institutional support. The decision — later dubbed “Megxit” — marked a seismic shift in modern royal history.

Since then, relations between the Sussexes and the rest of the family have only worsened.

No Signs of Reconciliation

Rumors of peace talks surface every few months, but royal insiders suggest the rift remains deep. King Charles reportedly hopes for reconciliation, but Prince William has been far less inclined.

According to royal expert Tom Quinn, Meghan has made it clear she won’t consider a meeting unless two demands are met: that the Royal Family “be sufficiently nice” to her and that they “grovelingly apologize for the past.”

Quinn believes that’s unlikely. “Harry wants reconciliation,” he said, “but he supports Meghan completely. Until she feels the royals have truly apologized, it won’t happen.”

He added that Meghan’s “sense of grievance” continues to block meaningful progress. The couple has also stated that they won’t bring their children, Archie and Lilibet, to the UK unless security concerns are addressed.

A Family Divided

For now, the brothers who once shared everything — loss, laughter, and loyalty — live worlds apart. William is preparing for his future as king, while Harry builds a new life across the Atlantic.

Their story, once one of royal unity, now reads like a cautionary tale about love, duty, and the cost of freedom.

Whether peace will ever return between the Sussexes and the monarchy remains uncertain. But one thing is clear — the scars from those years of tension run deep, and the world is still watching to see if forgiveness ever finds its way back into the royal family.