Meghan Markle has been compared to her late mother-in-law Princess Diana during her and her husband Prince Harry's unofficial tour of Nigeria. And much like the news of the tour itself, it seems that Prince William is less than impressed by the latest comparisons.
Meghan raised eyebrows during the tour, wearing a plain gold necklace very similar to one Diana wore during her and the now King Charles' own trip to Nigeria in 1990. And a second necklace she wore, featuring a diamond cross, was reported to have once belonged to Diana.
However, the legitimacy of the cross belonging to Diana has been questioned with a source close to the late Princess of Wales saying they "didn't recognise [the necklace] at all."
They say, "Diana was ever the professional and she generally avoided wearing religious motifs of any kind because they have the potential to offend people, so she would never usually wear such a thing."
In fact, Diana was only pictured wearing a cross twice in public – once in October 1987 and again in Brazil in April 1991.
While Harry and Meghan are continuing to go ahead and follow in Diana's footsteps by breaking away from the Royal family, insiders say that Prince William is not happy with their actions.
A source tells Closer, "William doesn’t want to deprive Harry of the right to celebrate their mother’s legacy. What bothers him is how Meghan’s paraded around as the modern -day version of Diana, he finds that beyond tasteless and offensive, not only to him but also to Kate
"To add insult to injury, Harry’s not consulted with him about these trips abroad and future plans they’ve apparently got in the works to celebrate Diana’s life and legacy. The fact that the tension with the Sussexes is now impacting celebrating their mother’s legacy is beyond the pale for William, but it’s not as though he can really speak about it with Charles and Camilla because there’s obviously history there with Diana being estranged from the royals so he’s feeling pretty alone on this."
A separate report tells how William now sees his brother as an outsider who should not be trusted, and that King Charles not being able to make time to see Harry during his recent trip to the UK is a clear sign of his position within the family.
A source said, "It’s notable that the King didn’t send a message of support for Harry’s celebration of ten years of the Invictus Games – and even more notable that he found time to meet David Beckham but not his own son."
They added, "His lack of significance as a member of the royal family was highlighted. The message that he is now just another outsider could not be any clearer."
As for the comparisons between Meghan and Diana, a source continues to tell Closer, "As far as William’s concerned his mother was one of a kind, he doesn’t go around comparing Kate to her, that would be ridiculous. And he thinks it’s just as ridiculous for Meghan to be compared to her.
"Diana was so humble and didn’t have a self-promoting bone in her body. The spotlight found her and she was forced to contend with it. Her love of children was the reason she chose to be a nanny and then a school teacher and that became the driving force in the way she lived her life, from the charity work she did, to the way she connected with the public and most of all the way she raised her boys.
"She will always be on a pedestal in William’s eyes, it’s no wonder he bristles at the idea of Meghan being held up as a modern day Diana. The last thing Diana wanted was attention, she was so humble and genuinely shy, she didn’t need fanfare, or to be validated. That’s why everyone was so taken with her, she was the opposite of a fame-seeker, everything she did just came straight from her heart. Whereas a lot of people, rightly or wrongly, see Meghan as someone who really craves and pursues the spotlight. The feeling amongst a lot of people is that she goes out of her way to make things about her."
Harry has even compared Meghan to his late mother publicly, saying in the couple's Netflix documentary in 2022, "So much of what Meghan is, and how she is, is so similar to my mum. She has the same compassion, she has the same empathy, she has the same confidence. She has this warmth about her."
But our source says that the Sussexes are now trying to downplay the comparisons and are "adamant" that Meghan is not trying to be like her mother-in-law.
"From their perspective it’s a load of lies and awful bullying aimed at taking her down," the source says, "The fact is she does remind Harry of his mother in so many ways, and he doesn’t understand why that’s a bad thing, nor does he think anyone, including his brother, has a right to condemn him for that.
"All he and Meghan are trying to do is honour Diana and her legacy. He’s given William ample opportunity to be a part of it and he still hopes that he’ll get down off his high horse and join them. But William doesn’t see it that way and doesn't think that anybody should be compared to his mother. They broke the mould when they made Diana, and to suggest that someone could ever take her place is not only absurd – it’s downright infuriating for William.”