Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Denounce New Biography as Deranged Conspiracy

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, publicly rejected claims made in a new book by British writer Tom Bower, calling the work a collection of fabrications and accusing the author of an unhealthy obsession with the couple. A spokesperson for the Sussexes described the book's claims as a "deranged conspiracy" and "melodrama," according to reporting by the BBC and The Guardian published on March 14, 2026. The rebuttal came after extracts from the book were published by The Times, bringing the book's most contentious allegations into wide circulation. The couple also criticized what they called Bower's "fixation" on them, signaling their frustration with repeated scrutiny from the author.

Among the most prominent claims featured in the published extracts is an allegation that the late Queen Elizabeth II said Meghan had "brainwashed" Prince Harry. The book also reportedly states that Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, were alarmed by Meghan's impact on Harry and regarded her as a threat to the royal family. These claims drew immediate attention across international media, with outlets in the United States, Germany, Switzerland, and Greece all covering the story within hours of the extracts' publication. The Sussexes' spokesperson did not address each allegation individually but issued a broad rejection of the book's framing and conclusions. The response was widely reported by AP News, the BBC, and The Guardian, among others.

Tom Bower has written multiple unauthorized biographies of prominent public figures over the course of his career, establishing a reputation for investigative accounts that their subjects have frequently disputed. Prince Harry and Meghan have been the subject of sustained media and literary scrutiny since their decision to step back from senior royal duties, a move that generated significant coverage across British and international press. Bower previously wrote an unauthorized biography of Meghan, published in 2022, which the couple also contested. The relationship between the Sussexes and the wider British royal family has been a recurring subject of public debate, particularly following the couple's interviews and memoir disclosures in subsequent years.

The publication of the extracts in The Times and the subsequent Sussex rebuttal quickly became one of the most widely covered royal stories of the week, appearing in major outlets across Europe and North America. The Sussexes' use of the phrase "deranged conspiracy" to characterize the book's claims represents an unusually sharp public response from the couple, who have at various points chosen not to comment on media coverage. Bower, as an unauthorized biographer, operates without the cooperation of his subjects, a method that has historically produced contested accounts in the genre. The Sussexes did not specify which individual claims they considered most objectionable beyond the general characterization of the book's content as melodramatic and conspiratorial. No confirmed information is available on the book's full publication date or title as of the reporting reviewed.