Prince Harry Reportedly Furious at King Charles Over Meghan Markle Payroll Snub

A new release tell-all book focusing on the Royals claims that money ended up as a huge factor in Prince Harry's spat with his father, King Charles III. The book is called Our King and is written by long-time royal reporter Robert Jobson. Sources apparently told Jobson the king refused to pay Markle a stipend as a member of the royal family the way that others are paid.

Insiders said that Prince Harry was "infuriated" when his father, then Prince Charles, informed him that his new wife would not be on the royal payroll, according to an excerpt obtained by The Daily Mail. They said that this fight was a "bombshell" that kicked off the enmity between Prince Harry and the royal family. The younger prince reportedly swore at his father and repeatedly asked for more money, until at last Prince Charles stopped taking his calls altogether. Even Queen Elizabeth II was confused by this disagreement.

"When the Queen asked Charles why he hadn't given in, he told her that he wasn't a bank," Jobson wrote. He also heard that the king claimed he couldn't pay Markle while also supporting his own wife Camilla and his heir, Prince William, whose family was still growing quickly at the time.

Jobson reportedly theorized in his writing that this fight over money impacted all the alleged conflicts within the royal family over the last few years. He speculated that any spat with the other royals took on greater significance for Prince Harry and Markle knowing that royal money was being withheld from them. Meanwhile, Prince Harry was also preoccupied with his older brother's disapproval of Markle in general. Prince William reportedly saw their romance as a "whirlwind affair," which took place without enough consideration of the family's needs.

Markle felt this strain too, according to Jobson. She felt that Kate Middleton was "stand-offish" towards her, and that discomfort never left their relationship. While the queen was confused by Prince Charles' refusal to pay Markle, she was reportedly upset by their departure from royal duties and the "antics" that followed. She described their behavior as "quite mad" after their interview with Oprah in 2021, and she said at one point that Prince Harry's love for his wife was "clouding his judgement."

Jobson is best known for writing tell-all books about Prince Harry's mother Princess Diana. In 2002, he co-authored Diana: Closely Guarded Secret with Ken Wharfe, who was the princess' personal protection officer from Scotland Yard. In 2017 they followed that up with another book called Guarding Diana, with other books about the British royal family in between. However, Jobson's objectivity is hotly contested among critics, many of whom harbor their own strong opinions on the royals and their affairs. Fans can make up their own minds when Jobson's new book is released on Thursday, April 13.