A True 'Outsider': Prince William Disliked Prince Harry's Infatuation With Californian Meghan Markle 'From the Start'

Prince William always considered Meghan Markle to be the "living embodiment of an outsider," especially when Prince Harry first started daring the Suits star in 2016.

"William had been wanting to distance himself from his brother ever since Harry’s marriage to Meghan — whom the then Duke of Cambridge took a disliking to from the start," Omid Scobie revealed in his new book, Endgame.

The then-Duke of Cambridge allegedly felt that Harry "was swept up in her glamour and American joie de vivre to the point that he was refusing to acknowledge the rules and risks of managing a relationship within the institutional apparatus. At the expense of the family image, it was felt that Harry was rushing into something that had serious blowback potential," Scobie added.

The rift between the former "Fab Four" had gotten so bad, so early — it took the then-Prince Charles intervening to ask William and Catherine to host the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at Anmer Hall for Christmas 2018.

Kate, the then-Duchess of Cambridge, also found it hard to get along with Meghan, which stemmed from the Princess Charlotte bridesmaid dress fiasco in the run-up to her wedding to Harry in May 2018.

"The extra workload that's been handed to them is huge. It's given them even more responsibility but also had a huge impact on their marriage and family life, and at times it can feel like they are cracking under this relentless pressure," a royal insider shared when discussing the impact Harry and Meghan left on royal life when they exited the monarchy in early 2020.

They continued: "With less time at home together and having to spend more time apart, they feel constantly torn apart in different directions, and they insist that wouldn't be happening if Harry and Meghan hadn't abandoned their royal duties."

Meghan and Harry were, and still technically are, senior members of the royal family, but they lost all their privileges once they orchestrated "Megxit" in January 2020. Once the duo abandoned Britain and their public service duties, this left the future king and queen in precarious positions once King Charles III acceded to the throne in September 2022. Despite their extra workload, William and Catherine are ensuring the strain they are under does not show while in public.

"I love the brand Meghan and Harry, but I do think that were Kate and Wills wanting to crack America, as rumored, they would do so with far greater ease and speed than their power couple rivals. Whilst Harry and Meghan have a powerful and well-established network of celebrity friends and 'fixers,' there is no substitute for being an actual, fully paid-up member of the royal family," PR analyst Andy Barr dished.

"The global interest and intrigue in the British royal family means that they are guaranteed crowds wherever they go and whatever they do," he added.

InStyle reported on excerpts from Endgame.