Prince Harry Ditched Meghan Markle On PR Tour To Show Critics He’s Not ‘Controlled By His Wife’: Sources

Sources say the Duke of Sussex is attempting to change the narrative about his image.

Prince Harry has been everywhere lately, criticizing the royal family in interviews with Anderson Cooper and Michael Strahan as he touts his bombshell tell-all, Spare. He even regaled Stephen Colbert’s audience with takes of his frost-nipped “lodger.” But while the 38-year-old frequently brings up “Meg,” his wife of four years, Meghan Markle, the 41-year-old has been conspicuously absent, leading some to wonder, where is Meghan?

That hasn’t always been their strategy. Harry sat down for the second half of the pair’s bombshell 2021 TV interview. He popped in, in shorts and a T-shirt, to talk about the plumbing while a reporter from The Cut was chatting with Meghan at the $14.65 million home the couple shares with Archie, 3, and 18-month-old Lilibet in Montecito, California.

Harry could even be spotted juggling outside the window during the actress’ 40-birthday video for their Archewell Foundation. “Harry is very protective of Meghan and supports her in everything she does,” said the insider. “it’s very important to them that people see that.”

They also want to be seen as anti-royals. Unlike Harry’s sometimes stuffy father, King Charles, brother, Prince William, and his wife, Princess Kate, they offer a more casual, approachable side of the monarchy, Just watch their three-part Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan in which they kiss in the kitchen, play ball in the yard and do yoga. “They want to be seen as this normal California couple who are just like us,” added the insider. “They may have come from different worlds but they walk around the house barefoot, laugh, and are silly.”

Now, however, Harry wants to be taken seriously. “Harry wants to come across as self-confident and self-motivated and not merely controlled by his wife, as some have accused them of,” said the source. “It was agreed that Meghan would only be a distraction if she were constantly by his side during the press tour.”

It’s a sensible move for a woman drubbed in the British press for destroying the royal family. Says an insider,” There’s some suggestion that the duchess had concerns over the reaction to some of the more inflammatory passages in the book and wanted to avoid negative publicity towards herself!”

Of course, a book tour is a tall order for a mom of two young kids. “They also thought it best for Meghan to stay behind in this instance,” said the source. “They don’t like to leave the children with nannies or her mom, even.”

As much as Meghan has remained silent, so has the famously tight-lipped royal family. “Harry is willing to meet with his father and William to discuss the issues,” said the insider. “But no one really expects them to do that.”