Top News

younger brother, , has often spoken warmly of his relationships with his two nephews, and . As he celebrates his 61st birthday on Tuesday, one role he reportedly played for the Duke of Sussex backfired.

In his explosive book Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War between the Windsors, author Tom Bower delved into the lives of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, speaking to 80 people who know them personally. One particularly intriguing claim from the book reveals that Earl Spencer was asked to speak with his nephew about the speed of his relationship with .

According to Bower, not only did Earl Spencer and Diana's sisters, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Baroness Jane Fellowes, fail to see the similarities between Meghan and Harry's late mother, but they also thought she would struggle to fit in with .

The author wrote: "In early September 2017, Kate revealed that she was expecting her third child. Prone to sickness in pregnancy, she curtailed her public appearances.

"Since the Vanity Fair article had increased the Cambridges' suspicion of Meghan, the actress discovered that her neighbour in Kensington Palace had even less time for her. By then, Harry had introduced Meghan to Diana's two sisters, Jane and Sarah, and her best friend, Julia Samuel. Harry assumed that Diana's family and friends would see a similarity between Diana and his fiancée.

"Both, he said, shared the same problems. He was disappointed. No one agreed that his vulnerable mother had anything in common with his girlfriend. More discomforting for him, they thought Meghan would not fit in with the Royal Family."

The author went on: "Their unease was voiced by Charles Spencer, Diana's brother. At William's request, Spencer weighed in. Three times married, Spencer cautioned his nephew to reconsider his haste towards marriage. His advice provoked a bitter reaction. 'This was going to be really hard,' Harry would later reflect on establishing Meghan's place in the family."

However, Tom claimed that it wasn't just Earl Spencer who openly expressed his concern over Harry and Meghan's budding relationship.

He wrote that Meghan's former talent agent, Gina Nelthorpe-Cowne, told the actress that she "wouldn't be able to make any more movies" with her priority set to become royal life instead. But Meghan wasn't impressed, claims Bower, writing: "Gina, save it,' Meghan snapped. Nelthorpe-Cowne was taken aback by the steel in Meghan's voice."

"Holding up her hand, Meghan continued: 'Stop. Be quiet. I don't want to hear any negativity. This is a happy time for us.' Stopped in her tracks, Nelthorpe-Cowne looked at the hard fury in Meghan's eyes."