Prince Harry reportedly barely leaves his and his wife Meghan’s Montecito mansion – and now he can no longer count on the support of his once close cousin Princess Eugenie either
For a man often described as ‘thin-skinned’, and whose feud with Piers Morgan goes back years, the pictures must have been mortifying. Two of the only family members with whom Prince Harry still maintained a strong friendship, laughing, joking – and hugging – his sworn ‘enemy’.
It was in April 2023 when photographers snapped Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice enjoying a night at the Princess Royal pub in Notting Hill, West London, with a star-studded group of friends, including singer James Blunt and caustic TV presenter Piers Morgan. The group was seen with at least three magnums of Chateau Lynch Bages 1999 red wine, which costs around £145 per bottle.
Pictures also showed the group erupting into laughters on the street outside as Blunt’s wife Sofia Wellesley carried a cardboard cutout of one of the guests. And another showed Princess Beatrice tightly hugging TV presenter Piers in a clear show of the sisters’ close friendship.
Although it isn’t known what the occasion was for, the photos are believed to have been the catalyst for the alleged break up of Harry’s friendship with his once-close cousins. “A dim view was taken of this, as Piers has clashed with Meghan and Harry in the past,” a source told The Sun. “Eugenie has been supportive of Harry and Meghan for years and was right there at the beginning of their relationship – but it has now soured.”
Harry had always been close to Eugenie in particular as the two cousins grew up, often going on joint holidays together with her mums Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson. In the early days of Meghan and Harry’s relationship, Eugenie and her now-husband Jack went on double dates with the couple. They also visited Toronto, Canada, to see the pair after the prince had travelled to be with Meghan during her time filming legal drama Suits.
And after Harry and Meghan stunned the royal family by stepping down from royal duties in 2020 and moving to the US, she has remained supportive, even appearing in the couple’s Netflix docuseries, playing with Archie and having dinner with them in LA, while Harry even bought an investment property in Portugal near Eugenie and Jack.
Now, however, Harry appears to have cut Eugenie out of his life too, reportedly no longer speaking with his once inseparable cousin, as he faces more damaging allegations of his harsh treatment of others amid a boardroom battle with his charity Sentebale. After he resigned from the charity he founded, the organisation’s chairwoman Dr Sophie Chandauka has accused the prince of bulling, harrasment and misogyny.
The charity, set up in memory of his late mother and named after her favourite flower, the forget-me-not, was a labour of love for the prince, alongside the Invictus Games, the Paralympic-style games he set up ten years ago for wounded veterans. And as he appears to burn even more bridges that connected him to his life before Meghan, the Duke of Sussex has allegedly become increasingly isolated.
Insiders claim that Harry, 40, who once surrounded himself with friends, barely leaves the couple’s mansion in Montecito. One old friend of the prince, who was close to him and his brother growing up, told The Daily Beast: “It’s absolutely tragic. He has dozens of friends here who would love to hear from him, but he has completely severed contact with us. No-one ever hears from him.”
The extent of the estrangement became even clearer this weekend when it was reported Harry was not privately informed about the King’s admission to hospital last week, instead reading about it in the media like everyone else.
Harry’s displeasure with Piers Morgan is deep rooted. The broadcaster has been a vocal critic of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, famously storming off set and quitting his Good Morning Britain job after saying he did not believe Meghan’s claims she experienced suicidal thoughts during that infamous 2021 Oprah interview, triggering a record 57,121 complaints to Ofcom.
He also notably congratulated them for “trashing their families on TV” when their Netflix series was nominated for a Hollywood Critics Association TV Award. Morgan has also long claimed he once went for a drink with Meghan, alleging that she messaged him on Twitter and let him know she was a fan before the Duchess met her future husband and brutally “ghosted” him.
He said: “We had two hours in the pub, she had a couple of dirty martinis and pints – we got on brilliantly,” Piers said of his ‘first date’ with Meghan during an appearance on the Late Late Show. Then I put her in a cab, and it turns out it was the cab that took her to a party where she met Prince Harry. The next night they had a solo dinner and that was the last I ever heard from Meghan Markle. I never heard from her again – Meghan Markle ghosted me.”
The Mirror has approached representatives for Prince Harry.