Princess Diana’s Family Reportedly Didn’t Give Harry the Support He Was Looking For in Marrying Meghan

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It was only a week ago when Prince Harry recounted the moment he knew his wife Meghan Markle was his soulmate. But as longtime royal family fans will tell you, the couple’s initial relationship was met with some skepticism from members of Harry’s family. Now we’re learning that it wasn’t just prominent figures in the House of Windsor who had their doubts about Harry and Meghan’s marriage — Princess Diana‘s family seemingly shared a less than enthusiastic reaction to Meghan and Harry’s relationship.

According to Tom Bower’s new book, Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors, Princess Diana’s sisters, Sarah and Jane, and brother, Charles Spencer, didn’t see the likeness to the late Princess of Wales Harry was hoping they’d find in Meghan. By 2017, “Harry had introduced Meghan to Diana’s two sisters, Jane and Sarah, and her best friend Julia Samuel,” Bower writes, via Marie Claire. “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 continues.

“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.” Matters only became worse, per Bowers, when Harry’s uncle intervened and voiced a similar sentiment to that of Harry’s brother Prince William, who had his own doubts about Meghan and Harry’s relationship.

“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.” As we all know, Harry and Meghan married in May 2018, and have been together since. The couple, who are also parents to son Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1, have cultivated a whole new life for themselves in Santa Barbara since taking a step back from the royal family in 2020. Despite early doubts, the couple continues to show their love, devotion, and admiration for one another time and again.

Before you go, click here to see more of Meghan Markle & Prince Harry’s milestones since leaving the royal family.