An explosive book about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has made some shocking claims – including how Charles, Earl Spencer was reportedly asked to speak to his nephew

As he celebrates his 40th birthday on Sunday, Prince Harry will be surrounded by the family he has created with wife Meghan.

The couple and their two young children are believed to be spending the landmark day in California, their chosen home following their rejection of Royal life. But things could have turned out very differently, had Harry listened to advisors including his uncle, Earl Spencer, the late Diana, Princess of Wales’ brother. In his book, Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War between the Windsors, Tom Bower claims Earl Spencer was asked to speak to Harry about his relationship with Meghan. According to Tom, Earl Spencer and Diana’s sisters, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Baroness Jane Fellowes, thought Meghan would struggle to fit in with the Royal Family.

Prince Harry has remained close with his uncle, Charles, Earl Spencer ( 
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PA

The book explains how by the autumn of 2017 Harry had introduced Meghan to Diana’s two sisters, Jane and Sarah, and her best friend Julia Samuel. Tom wrote: “Harry assumed that Diana’s family and friends would see a similarity between Diana and his fiancee. Both, he said, shared the same problems. He was disappointed. No one agreed that his vulnerable mother had anything in common with his girlfriend. More discomforting for him, they thought Meghan would not fit in with the Royal Family.”

The author continued: “Their unease was voiced by Charles Spencer, Diana’s brother. At William’s request, Spencer weighed in. Three times married, Spencer cautioned his nephew to reconsider his haste towards marriage. His advice provoked a bitter reaction. ‘This was going to be really hard,’ Harry would later reflect on establishing Meghan’s place in the family.”

Charles, Earl Spencer reportedly spoke to his nephew ( 
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Dave Benett/Getty Images for Charles Sabine)

Tom suggests that Earl Spencer wasn’t the only one who openly expressed doubts about Harry and Meghan’s rapidly developing romance.

He wrote that Meghan’s former talent agent, Gina Nelthorpe-Cowne, told the actress that she “wouldn’t be able to make any more movies” with her priority set to become Royal life instead.

But Meghan wasn’t impressed, claims Tom, describing her as having a “hard fury” about the idea.

Meanwhile, Prince Harry has said he is “excited” about turning 40, admitting he’s looking forward to the new decade far more than when he entered his 30s in 2014, the year he returned from his second tour of Afghanistan shortly after splitting from then-girlfriend Cressida Bonas. He told the BBC in a statement: “I was anxious about 30, I’m excited about 40. Whatever the age, my mission is to continue showing up and doing good in the world”.

Charles, Earl Spencer was Diana’s younger brother ( 
Image:
PA)

And the Invictus Games founder admitted his two children have given him a new outlook on life. He added in his statement: “Becoming a father of two incredibly kind and funny kids has given me a fresh perspective on life, as well as sharpening my focus in all my work. Being a dad is one of life’s greatest joys and has only made me more driven and more committed to making this world a better place.”

Harry recently described his son and daughter as the “best gift” he has ever received. He told People magazine: “The best gift I’ve ever been given is, without a doubt, my kids. I enjoy watching them grow every single day, and I love being their dad.”

Harry is set to inherit £8 million from the late Queen Mother – who died in 2002 at the age of 101 – upon his birthday. When he was 10, Harry’s great-grandmother, who was then 94, put aside a tax-free £19 million to leave to her great-grandchildren, according to The Times. It is thought that the inheritances were divided into two installments, one for when they turned 21 and another when they hit 40. A former palace aide told The Times: “There was a trust fund set up at the time. It was a way in which the Queen Mother could set aside money for when her great-grandchildren were older and a way of passing a slice of her estate down in a tax-efficient way. It was a way in which some of her estate could be ring-fenced for them.”