Prince Harry Felt He 'Risked Assassination' to 'Sustain' Meghan's Brand in the UK: New Book
Royal author alleges Meghan insisted on returning to Britain to 'sustain her brand' despite Harry's fears over lack of police security.
Prince Harry travelled to the UK in 2022, when he very much believed his own life was in danger. He went anyway — not, it seems, out of duty or desire, but because his wife, Meghan Markle, needed to be there. That, at least, is the portrait painted by royal author Tom Bower in his forthcoming book.
The trip, which saw the Duchess of Sussex deliver a speech at the One Young World charity conference, came just two years after the couple's high-profile departure from the UK for a new life in California. Bower claims that Harry was left rattled after the Home Office declined to provide armed police protection in either Manchester or London — a decision that reportedly left him feeling both vulnerable and, in his own words, 'abandoned.'
However, Harry, being the doting husband he is, pressed ahead. In an extract from his upcoming book, Betrayal: Power, Deceit and the Fight for the Future of the Royal Family, serialised in The Times, Bower alleges it was ultimately "Meghan's insistence that her appearance was essential to sustain her brand" that tipped the balance. The Duke, Bower writes, made the conscious choice to 'risk assassination' and accompany his wife.
The logistics of the journey did little to ease his anxiety. Bower claims that "a whole rail carriage was reserved for the journey from London to Manchester," and yet, even with that buffer from the public, Harry's discomfort did not abate." Although the public would be barred from access to the 'royal carriage', Harry later complained about the dangers he faced 'because of his proximity to the public,'" Bower writes. As Markle took to the stage, her husband's mood appeared to speak for itself — and Bower claims Harry clapped with what was now arguably his 'perma-scowl.'
The picture Bower paints of Harry's subsequent UK visit, in September 2025, is a study in contrasts. Gone, apparently, was the brooding unease, replaced by a carefully calibrated public warmth. "He planned to promote himself as the smiling, generous royal serving the people," Bower adds. In keeping with that image, Harry reportedly donated $1.46 million to Children in Need, a move described as unusual for a royal, and chose to publicize the gift. "To some, it appeared as mitigation money," Bower notes. "His only gripe was the absence of police protection. Once again, he urged the Home Secretary to reconsider."
The Sussex camp, for its part, has not taken the book's claims lying down. In a statement responding to earlier extracts, a representative for the Duke and Duchess responded and said, "Mr Bower's commentary has long crossed the line from criticism into fixation. This is someone who has publicly stated, 'the monarchy in fact depends on actually obliterating the Sussexes from our state of life,' language that speaks for itself. He has made a career out of constructing ever more elaborate theories about people he does not know and has never met. Those interested in facts will look elsewhere; those seeking deranged conspiracy and melodrama know exactly where to find him… in The — once respected — Times."
