Harry Reportedly ‘Drove the Queen Mad with Paranoia’ Right Before Her Death as Sources Claim the ‘Distress’ He Caused Her ‘Cannot Be Overestimated’
StyleCaster Editors
There’s no doubt that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepping down as senior royals shook the British royal family. It wasn’t just the headlines; it was the way it broke longstanding precedent and what that meant for the people who remained in the institution. And perhaps no one felt that more strongly than Queen Elizabeth II.
Now, a new book on the former queen by royal biographer Hugo Vickers is claiming that Harry’s decision eroded his relationship with his grandmother greatly, to the point where she stopped taking calls from him unless someone else was present.
Related: Here’s what each royal inherited from Queen Elizabeth
“Whenever Prince Harry called his grandmother, she asked her lady-in-waiting to stay with her,” Vickers wrote in his book Queen Elizabeth II: A Personal History, per RadarOnline. “The distress the Sussexes caused the Queen in the last years of her life cannot be overestimated.”
Harry, as we might remember, moved to California with his family in 2020. Before that, he’d proposed a plan that would see him and Meghan be working royals part-time, a plan the Queen did not accept.
Elizabeth II reportedly also kept a lady-in-waiting with her when she met Princess Lilibet for the first time. “Prince Harry was at [his then-residence] Frogmore Cottage with his wife and two children, the gate adorned with balloons to celebrate baby Lilibet’s first birthday,” he wrote, adding, “They visited the Queen with the children, again with a lady-in-waiting present.”
Reports also indicate the queen refused to have a photographer present for the meeting.
Vickers also says the Queen wasn’t happy about Harry’s decision to move to the U.S. “And now Harry has opted out, and for what? To be a carer for (his son) Archie?” Vickers claims the queen told a friend.
The way Harry and Meghan stepped back reportedly left the monarch feeling unsettled. RadarOnline reports that, “Harry literally drove the Queen mad with paranoia in those final years – she felt she had to protect herself in conversations and ensure there were witnesses to what was said.”
Plus, the conversations were reportedly not warm. “Conversations between them had become noticeably restrained, often reduced to brief, clipped replies from the Queen, which reflected just how cautious things had become. There was a clear sense that the Queen felt she needed a layer of protection during these exchanges, which is why she insisted on having a trusted member of staff present at all times. She was paranoid Harry would leak or even record their conversations.”
“It was not just about protocol – it was about reassurance, accountability, and making sure there was an accurate record of what was said. Above all, she remained deeply guarded with Harry because she had been so personally hurt by his actions, and that emotional impact shaped how she approached every interaction with him,” the source added.
It’s now impossible to tell how much of these stories is true or not, as Queen Elizabeth is no longer around to corroborate them. But Prince Harry and King Charles seem to be on the road to reconciliation, and the King will reportedly see his grandchildren again soon. So, perhaps, the family drama can still be put aside.
