This Is Why Meghan And Harry Were Apparently Jealous Of William And Kate

In the months since the now-infamous "Megxit," much speculation has been made of why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were driven to resign from their duties as senior members of the royal family in favor of a life of independence in Los Angeles. Now, a new book by two journalists centered entirely on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's break from the rest of the royals is providing an in-depth look as to what went on behind the scenes — and revealing some shocking information about how Prince William and Kate Middleton played a larger part than anyone would have guessed.

In newly released excerpts from the upcoming Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, set to be published in August 2020, authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand cite anonymous sources with firsthand access to the goings-on in the royal court. The insiders claim jealousy played a significant role in Harry and Meghan's decision to sever ties with the Windsors. But were Harry and Meghan actually jealous of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge? And if so, what were they jealous of? Let's take a look.

According to The Daily Mail, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand's new tell-all Finding Freedom argues that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's life pre-"Megxit" was rife with turmoil. There was also apparently mounting pressure and a burden completely inequitable to that of Prince William and Kate Middleton, in that the older couple faced far less scrutiny both inside and outside the confines of royal life. 

Though neither Harry nor Meghan were interviewed for Fighting Freedom, an "extensive" number of court insiders and friends of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex contributed to the biographical exposé. Ultimately, most of them came to a similar conclusion: Harry and Meghan felt "unprotected" by those who surrounded them, and William and Kate were among the most prominent to close ranks and "freeze" the couple out.

The supposed mistreatment of both Harry and Meghan, in particular, was seemingly propagated by William and Kate. Whether intentionally or not, the Sussexes felt they were only too happy to benefit from the couple's lack of popularity. As the Daily Mail summarized, Finding Freedom claims that in the days leading up to "Megxit," the couple was "frustrated that William and Kate got all the best official roles, and felt 'cut adrift' from the Royal Family and 'viper' courtiers." 

Adding insult to injury, Prince Harry apparently felt that projects he collaborated on with his wife Meghan Markle, most of which were philanthropic in nature, were given a "backseat" to those helmed by Prince William and father Prince Charles. But according to Finding Freedom, the further slights against the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were even worse — and more dangerously insidious.

According to journalists Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand (via The Daily Mail), tensions were inadvertently heightened between the royal family and Meghan and Harry due to behavior from "individuals who may like to take a look at how they view the world" — or in other words, as hinted by the authors, racism and racist attitudes. The lack of repercussion for those who perpetuated these behaviors led Meghan to confess to confidants within the royal sphere that she felt as if she gave her "entire life for this family," only to be met with mistreatment and hostility. 

Though it's not apparent as to whether Prince William or Kate Middleton participated in any of these racism-driven behaviors alluded to by Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie in excerpts of their book Finding Freedom, seemingly nothing was helped by either William or Kate's handling of the situation at large. Indeed, the book suggests that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's decision to opt into siding with the family, rather than sticking up for Harry or Meghan, only intensified feelings of jealousy and anger over perceived favoritism. This also added to feelings of increasingly apparent isolation for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. 

According to Scobie and Durand (via The Daily Mail), things came to a head at the last royal event both couples participated in back in March at Westminster Abbey, in which William "barely acknowledged" the couple and Kate went as far as to refuse to make eye contact with her sister-in-law. (Though "Meghan tried to make eye contact with Kate," in an attempt to show signs of wanting to repair the rift at the time, "the duchess barely acknowledged her.")

Now that Harry and Meghan have officially resigned from their duties as senior royals, it seems that their estrangement from William and Kate shows no signs of fading anytime soon — and if the accounts found in Finding Freedom are indeed accurate, it's pretty apparent that Meghan and Harry's feelings about it might be perfectly justified.