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NEED TO KNOW
Prince Philip issued a warning to his grandson, Prince Harry, after learning of Harry's engagement to Meghan Markle
Philip's warning is revealed in Entitled, Andrew Lownie's biography of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, per the Daily Mail
Harry previously revealed that his brother, Prince William, expressed "concerns" about his relationship with Meghan
WhenPrince Harryfirst announced his engagement toMeghan Markle, his grandfather, the latePrince Philip, issued a blunt warning.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussexannounced their engagementin November 2017, a little over a year afternews of their romance first broke. Philip reacted to the news with reluctance about Meghan, 44, entering the royal fold, theDaily Mailreported, citingEntitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, historian Andrew Lownie's biography ofPrince AndrewandSarah Ferguson.
InEntitled, which was released earlier this year, Lownie writes that upon learning of their plans to wed, Prince Philip warned: "One steps out with actresses, one doesn't marry them."
Philip's caution to Harry, 41, after learning of the news was first reported byThe Sunday Timesin 2019.
"Idle dinner party gossip, perhaps, although it does sound like a Prince Philip bon mot," the outlet stated at the time. (Philip'squick wit and no-nonsense humor were legendary, both inside and outside palace walls.)
The Duke of Edinburgh, whodied in 2021 at age 99, was not the only one who reportedly expressed wariness toward Meghan and Harry's engagement.
In 2019, a source told PEOPLE thatPrince William— who dated college sweetheartKate Middletonfor about eight years before tying the knot —cautioned his younger brother that things were moving too quickly, leaving Harry angry and hurt.
Harry wrote in his 2023 memoir,Spare, that William, 43,insulted Meghan in an incident after they had already wed— but later clarified that William never tried to dissuade him from marrying her.
The Duke of Sussex claimed inSparethat a 2019 disagreement between the brothers — which he said turned violent — began when William called Meghan "difficult," "rude" and "abrasive." In response, Harry said he replied that his brother was simply "parrot[ing] the press narrative" about his wife.
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In an interview tied to the memoir, Harry was asked by ITV News'Tom Bradbyif his older brother tried to dissuade him from marrying Meghan, andstated that William "never did that."
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"No, he never tried to dissuade me from marrying Megan, but he aired some concerns, very early on and said, you know, this is gonna be really hard for you," the Duke of Sussex recalled during the interview. "And I still to this day, I don't truly understand which part of what he was talking about."
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"But maybe, you know, maybe he predicted what the British press' reaction was gonna be," added Harry.
During the same interview, Harry told Bradby that he saw a "red mist" in his brother during the emotional exchange, and added toAnderson Cooperon60 Minutesthat he felt like William"was coming for my wife."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who first met in early 2016,tied the knotin May 2018.
They laterstepped back from their royal rolesin 2021, and now live in Montecito, Calif., with their twoo children,Prince Archie,6, andPrincess Lilibet, 4.
Read the original article onPeople
