10 Controversial Claims About Meghan Markle in New Bombshell Book, REVENGE

Former BBC journalist and television producer, Tom Bower, released an unauthorized biography of The Duchess of Sussex, on July 21, 2022, with controversial details on her life before and after marrying Prince Harry.

Bower detailed the most deeply-held secrets of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in "Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors". However, he faced criticism from Meghan's circle of friends and other people mentioned in the book for some inaccurate claims.

Meghan Markle in 2016 before meeting Prince Harry

Tom Bower, who is noted for his investigative journalism and for his unauthorized biographies. revealed the Duchess of Sussex did everything in her power to prevent people in her circle from talking to him while he was gathering materials for his book.

Bower told Good Morning Britain during his guesting to promote the book: "She (Meghan) made it pretty clear to all her friends and people who work for her not to talk to me, so it was quite an uphill struggle but I got enough people to speak to me, more than enough, I got about 80 people".

Meghan Markle and her Suits co-star, Rick Hoffman. Getty Images

Here are 10 controversial claims about the Duchess of Sussex in Bower's book:

1. She is explosive, manipulative, unpredictable, prone to outbursts, and often "reduced people to tears" with her passive and aggressive tone.

2. She often demanded first-class flights and luxury accommodation for business trips even before she met Prince Harry. 

The author who admitted his sources were people who were not close to Meghan, quotes one business associate who described the former Meghan Markle as "one of the most unpleasant people he had ever dealt with".

3. During a visit to London in 2016 where she first met Prince Harry, Meghan allegedly 'went ballistic' after being booked into a five-star hotel with a caged parrot on display. 

It was claimed her talent agency had arranged 'with difficulty' free accommodation for Meghan in a five-star hotel, in exchange for an appearance in the hotel's magazine and social media posts. 

Meghan had a gig as a brief case girl on a television show, Deal or No Deal, 

in 2006 before she landed a role in Suits

En route to her room, the book claims Meghan passed a parrot in a cage and refused to stay.  She then checked out of the hotel and her talent agency made a new reservation at the Soho Hotel. 

4. Bower writes: 'Over the previous months, many at the agency had become wary of their client. They thought Meghan's mood was unpredictable. "Regularly she called the agency to demand they make reservations at restaurants or events in anticipation of her arrival in London. Inevitably, she would cancel or change her requirements".

5. "She seemed to delight in humiliating people, according to Bower's book. The literary agent reportedly described Meghan as "one of the most unpleasant people we've ever dealt with".

6. She often demanded first-class flights and luxury accommodation after being booked on a film shoot in London in 2015. One of her co-stars in the film described Meghan as 'high-maintenance'. 

7. She wanted to marry Prince Harry for fame. In contrast to Meghan's claim that she did not know Harry was a prince when they were first introduced in 2016, It seemed she was all too aware of Harry's background even before seeing him in person.

8. She reduced the Duchess of Cambridge to tears. According to the book, Kate "burst into tears" after Meghan Markle compared Princess Charlotte unfavorably to her best friend, Jessica Mulroney's daughter during a bridesmaid fitting ahead of the royal wedding.

Duchess of Cambridge and Princess Charlotte

Tom Bower claims unnamed sources told him the Duchess of Cambridge and Duchess of Sussex disagreed over the length of Princess Charlotte's hemline and the fit of her dress, as well as whether the bridesmaids 'should wear tights' at the wedding.

This rumor of reducing Kate to tears in 2018, has been around for quite some time, but Meghan disagreed with this rumor.

Meghan and Kate's joint appearance at the Royal Forum foundation - February 2018. The Duchess of Cambridge was six months pregnant with Prince Louis

During their explosive Oprah Winfrey interview, the Duchess of Sussex claimed it was the other way around. "She (Kate) was upset about something but she owned it and she apologized and brought me flowers".

She added: "It wasn't a confrontation, and I actually think it's… I don't think it's fair to her to get into the details of that, because she apologized. What was hard to get over was being blamed for something that not only I didn't do but that happened to me".

Duchess of Sussex and Duchess of Cambridge both attended the National Service of Thanksgiving, June 4, 2022, but were not seen interacting in public

9. Second disagreement with Kate in 2018. In his book, Tom Bower goes on to write unnamed sources told him that Meghan and the Duchess of Cambridge continued to disagree. 

The disagreement was then followed by a second argument "about the length of Charlotte's hem - Kate felt it was too short and anyway did not fit."

Bower claims the Duchess of Sussex 'wouldn't compromise' - and Kate became upset, feeling as though complaints by staff about Meghan's behavior had been confirmed. 

9. A third-rate actress. Not a popular personality before becoming the Duchess of Sussex. "Until she met Harry people hadn’t heard of her", according to Tom Bower.

The author said: "It's wrong to say she was a famous actress, she wasn't, she was a third-rate actress, Suits was only watched by a million people".

Meghan and Prince Harry made their relationship public in September 2017 during Invictus Games in Toronto, Canada

Good Morning of Britain's host, Ben Shephard, said to Tom: "She was a very famous actress. She had a high profile in Hollywood and Suits is a series that was streamed all over the world, so people knew who she was".

Tom disagreed with the host, referring to Meghan's cover story with Vanity Fair while she was dating Prince Harry. 

"Well we won't argue but I disagree with you", he said. "The point is, until she met Harry, even Graydon Carter the editor of Vanity Fair who commissioned the article never heard of her and never heard of Suits".

"He was just told that anyone who marries Harry is going to be famous and she indeed was". She said to her father "I want to be famous, I want to walk down the red carpet".

10. She thought the royal family would be like Hollywood. Speaking to Ben Shephard and Charlotte Hawkins on Good Morning Britain Bower claimed that once Meghan realized the royal family was 'lots of work and little reward', she didn’t like it anymore.

The biographer went on to say he believes the royal family tried very hard to accommodate Meghan by including her in the family.

Officially The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, May 2018

He said: "People were very excited by the fact that there was a mixed race girl coming", adding: "It was going to be a great development for the royal family". However, he said "it went wrong".

"Both sides are to blame but I believe the blame lies mostly with Meghan, who I don't think understood the monarchy", Bower said. 

TV host, Ben Shephard, asked Bower how the book is going to be an unbiased account if "we know the people interviewed already don't like Meghan". 

Tom Bower replied: "Because I sifted through (the information), I never put in stuff that isn't true and can't be checked".

Wedding portrait

Criticism 

However, the book faced criticism. Some details were disputed by people who were mentioned in the book. For instance Sam Kashner, a journalist, who denied Bower's claim that Kashner felt manipulated by Markle when he interviewed her for Vanity Fair's cover story in 2017. 

Bower wrote that Kashner felt "played" by the duchess and that Markle told him: "You're not like a typical journalist."

Kashner, however, disputed the claim, saying Bower's book didn't convey his "admiration and respect" for Markle and that Bower falsely wrote that the duchess liked him because of his stutter, which he said he does not have.

Meghan and Harry during the Invictus Games in April

Meghan's former co-workers in Suits appeared to contradict the juicy revelations in Bower's book that Meghan Markle had become difficult to work with on the set of "Suits" after meeting Prince Harry in 2016.

Bower's book claimed: "Some actors and staff discovered that Meghan's attitude occasionally shifted. Sometimes she arrived late and her empathy morphed into near-arrogance. Her tone had become sharper and more aggressive during the sixth season of the show".

In March 2021, during Buckingham Palace's investigation of the Duchess of Sussex's alleged bullying of the royal staff, her "Suits" coworkers came to her defense and denied the allegations.

Derek Ursacki, the assistant director of Suits, wrote on Instagram: "She was always a pleasure to work with and was always kind with a huge heart, easy going, humble even after the fame of the show and her popularity skyrocketed, so full of life, so giving, supportive and funny."

Revenge: Meghan, Harry, and The War Between Windsors was published on July 21, 2022. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, so far, have not heard commenting on the controversial revelations of Tom Bower.

Description of the book in Good Reads:

The British Royal Family believed that the dizzy success of the Sussex wedding, watched and celebrated around the world, was the beginning of a new era for the Windsors. Yet, within one tumultuous year, the dream became a nightmare. 

In the aftermath of the infamous Megxit split and the Oprah Winfrey interview, the Royal Family's fate seems persistently threatened. The public remains puzzled. 

Meghan's success has alternatively won praise, bewildered and outraged. Confused by the Sussexes' slick publicity, few understand the real Meghan Markle. What lies ahead for Meghan? And what has happened to the family she married into? Can the Windsors restore their reputation?