A bombastic new book has claimed that Prince Harry turned into a “shady old roué” before he started dating Meghan Markle.
The Duke of Sussex, 38, was also a “pretty wild boy” according to new book Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown and had a reputation as a party prince after a decade in the military.
It involves the Prince allegedly playing air guitar with a pool cue at Encore at the Wynn Las Vegas Hotel in August 2012.
But the book says Harry has now finally put that life behind him and is enjoying life in California with Meghan and their two young children Archie, three, and Lilibet, who was born in June last year.
Written by Valentine Low, it also details how Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton was appointed part-time private secretary to Harry and brother William before they became full-time queens, The Mirror reports.
He had to “steer a course through life” for the young royals, although it was “more complex” for Harry.
Low says: “The younger prince was a dashing figure, flying an Apache helicopter and heavily involved in children’s health, with charities such as Well Child. But he used to be a pretty wild guy too.
The Duke of Sussex, 38, was also a “pretty wild boy” and had a reputation as a party prince after a decade in the military, according to the book
But the book says Harry has finally put that life behind him and is enjoying life in California with Meghan
Prince Harry turned into a “shady old roué,” the former Suits actress (pictured in a promotional photo for the series).
Valentine Low claims Prince Harry turned into a “shady old roué” before he started dating Meghan
The claims were made in the new bombastic royal book Courtiers: the Hidden Power Behind the Crown (pictured: book cover).
“When Harry was young, it was easy to forgive his transgressions. But when does a wild lad become a dodgy old roué?
“At the time it wasn’t a cause for concern, just something to keep an eye on.
“Eventually, of course, the problem would resolve itself, but not in the way Lowther-Pinkerton or anyone else envisioned it.
“The wild boy died the day Harry met Meghan Markle.”
The release of the book, released yesterday, comes amid allegations that concerned royal staffers reported feeling “sick” before taking part in the work with the Sussexes.
Mr Low, a royal correspondent for the Times, made the claims during an appearance on Good Morning Britain promoting the book.
The book claims that a “paranoid” Prince Harry would run “loyalty tests” on palace staff to see if they were still “fighting for him.”
Mr Low also said the Duke of Sussex would be looking for signs of what he described as “palace syndrome”, which showed staff in the royal household becoming “institutionalised”.
He claims the prince identified a “key symptom” as “giving in to the media,” something he claims the royal was “obsessed with” even before he met Meghan Markle.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Mr Low addressed claims that royal staffers who worked on the front lines with the Sussexes during their time as royals had formed a group called the ‘Sussex Survivors’ Club’.
The allegation was written in his new book, citing royal sources who also claimed staff members have labeled Meghan a “narcissistic sociopath” and repeatedly said they felt “played”.
When asked by Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid if staff had started a “group” called the Sussex Survivors’ Club, he replied: “Absolutely yes.”
Ms. Reid replied: “What did you survive?”. Mr Low said: “I think it’s been a very difficult experience for some of them.
“As I revealed last year, there were allegations that Meghan was bullying employees. People talked to me about people getting totally destroyed.
“I heard people at the time saying things like ‘I’m sick’ or ‘I’m shaking’ in the face of a possible encounter with Meghan – extraordinary things an employee can say about the prospect of seeing their employer in half an hour.”
However, Mr Low said the courtiers were somewhat to blame for the couple’s acrimonious “Megxit” split from frontline royal duties in January 2020.
He said: “There is a way in which the courtiers are to blame. So the people around them were doing their best, these were people who believed in Harry and Meghan and wanted to help them.
“But early on, in the first year of their marriage, there were signs of just how unhappy Harry and Meghan were.
“And nobody really did anything about it. Nobody picked it up, nobody marked it, and there were no big discussions with the highest courtiers in the institution.’
However, he concluded that he didn’t think it “would have made a difference.”
He added: “(Because) what Harry and Meghan wanted and what the Royal Family thought the Queen was giving, I don’t think there was ever a meeting point.”
Mr Low also spoke to Good Morning Britain about claims Prince Harry carried out “loyalty tests” on staff.
Mr Low said: “This has been brewing for a long time – before Meghan. Harry was obsessed with the media. He was so very unhappy.’
An excerpt from his book says: “He used that phrase ‘the palace syndrome’ all the time when you’re not fighting the battles he wants because you’ve been institutionalized.
“Giving in to the media was a key symptom of whether you had developed it.
“It was a constant test of loyalty: ‘Will you protect me? Or have you just become one of those who won’t fight for me?’ It was exhausting.’
Mr Low has claimed things only got worse once he started dating the Duchess.
In his new book he writes: “Harry’s obsession with the media; his sense of frustration that he was not achieving all that he could; his distrust of the courtiers in the other households; the constant loyalty tests of his own staff: all of this was there before Meghan came on the scene.
“But after she showed up, it got a lot worse.”