'Hurt' Queen Elizabeth Allegedly Refused 'Monosyllabic' Calls with Prince Harry to 'Keep a Record'

Hugo Vickers' new biography claims Queen Elizabeth II insisted on having a lady-in-waiting present whenever Prince Harry rang her from California after his 2020 departure from royal duties, with palace sources alleging the monarch sought 'a record of what was said' to protect herself.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had stunned the world by quitting as working royals that year, relocating to Montecito after the Queen vetoed their bid for a part-time role. Prince Harry's subsequent memoir Spare and their Oprah interview where Meghan accused unnamed royals, later identified as King Charles and Kate Middleton, of racism only widened the chasm.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Harry's Fraying Bond

Vickers, whose book Queen Elizabeth II: A Personal History hits UK shelves on 8 April, paints a picture of deep wariness. 'Whenever Prince Harry called his grandmother, she asked her lady-in-waiting to stay with her,' he writes bluntly.

A palace insider echoed this to Page Six, describing the Queen's responses as 'monosyllabic.' 'There were lots of one word answers, 'yes' and 'no,' the source said.

The insider pinned it on self-preservation. 'The Queen clearly wanted some kind of protection,' they explained, noting the lady-in-waiting provided 'moral support and protection... to ensure there was a record of what was said.'

Hurt simmered beneath it all. 'I think the Queen was also on her guard with Prince Harry because she was so hurt by what he had done,' the insider added. Vickers doesn't mince words either. 'The distress the Sussexes caused the Queen in the last years of her life cannot be overestimated.'

That guardedness spilled over into rare face-to-face moments. In June 2022, amid Platinum Jubilee festivities, Prince Harry, Meghan and their children including one-year-old Lilibet, whose Frogmore Cottage gate was festooned with balloons visited the Queen at her Windsor Castle base.

Again, no privacy. 'They visited the Queen with the children, again with a lady-in-waiting present,' Vickers recounts. She had already nixed their photographer, fearing a leaked photo op.

The Queen's take on Prince Harry's American reinvention? Dismissive at best. Vickers says she confided in a friend, 'And now Harry has opted out, and for what? To be a carer for Archie?'

Prince Harry's life now, monetised through media deals, stood in stark contrast to the duty she embodied till the end. She died on 8 September 2022, aged 96.

Early Doubts Over Queen Elizabeth, Prince Harry and Meghan's Union

Rewind to the courtship, and Vickers uncovers private reservations that feel almost prescient. He alleges the Queen urged Harry to pause before wedding Meghan, the divorced actress.

'Prince Harry would never have been allowed to marry such a girl at an earlier time in the reign for obvious reasons,' Vickers notes, though a 'younger, more tolerant generation' warmed to it. Windsor staff dubbed her 'Sparkle' at the 2017 Christmas party.

Not everyone bought the sparkle. Prince Philip called her 'The American.' King Charles, per Vickers, channelled old Mountbatten advice, 'have fun with her, but don't marry her.'

The Queen counselled a year's wait. Harry pressed ahead, tying the knot at St George's Chapel, Windsor, on 19 May 2018. Whispers reached the Queen about the dress, 'too white and with ungainly shoulders.' Her stance? 'You get on with it. It's nothing to do with me,' a confidant relayed.

Domestic friction followed at Frogmore Cottage. Vickers told Page Six the Queen personally intervened after Meghan's alleged rudeness to an under-gardener.

'When one of the head gardeners mentioned this to the Queen she got in her car and drove over and ticked off Meghan for being rude to the staff.' Hundreds of gardeners tend those grounds; slights don't go unnoticed.

These anecdotes, drawn from Vickers' insider access, culminate in a poignant irony. Absent her uncle Edward VIII's 1936 abdication for Wallis Simpson, Elizabeth might never have ascended at 25. Yet by her passing, her grandson was adrift from King Charles and Prince William, family bonds severed.

'The final curtain had fallen on a golden age,' Vickers concludes.