When Meghan Markle signed with top Hollywood talent agency WME back in April in preparation for what’s been dubbed a ‘Meghanaissance’, speculation began swirling that the Duchess may follow in her husband’s footsteps and release a tell-all book detailing her experience as a member of the Royal Family and her life since stepping down from The Firm.

But an insider reveals that while the former Suits actress, 42, is committed to publishing her book, Prince Harry, 39, is concerned it’ll be the nail in the coffin for a reconciliation with the royal family following almost four years of strain between them.

The source tells Closer, “It’s become a real elephant in the room at this point, because there’s no way Meghan could publish a full-blown account of her life to date without being fully transparent about the pain and suffering she’s endured at the hands of the monarchy – and that would just open another colossal can of worms that would surely mean the end of their titles.” 

They add, “Harry knows that and it worries him enormously, even if he does agree it’s only fair she should get to tell her truth like he did. Right now it’s been postponed for the foreseeable future, they’re focused on trying to make peace with the royals and will settle for a ceasefire if that’s not possible. But sooner or later it’s apparent that Meghan will pull the trigger, and that’s when all hell’s going to break loose.”

Our insider explains that the purpose of Meghan’s memoir will be to “correct false narratives” that have been written. But Harry thinks it’s best for her to leave the past behind and focus on their future instead.

“Meghan wants to set the record straight from her point of view. She will find it extremely cathartic and she won’t be holding back when this happens, that’s something she’s done long enough. So it’ll be a warts-and-all tome, all aspects and highs and lows of her life to date will be covered and in substantial depth,” they say.
“Harry’s in an extremely difficult position, he doesn’t want to try to control Meghan or overstep the mark as far as what she’s entitled to write. But he has gently pointed out that his family will only tolerate so much more embarrassment or scandal at this point – and it’s highly likely that once she goes ahead with this there will no way back to the Firm, in any capacity. He wants her to put it to one side, focus on their projects in 2024 and try to reconcile with the royals before unleashing any more missiles. And for now, Meghan is willing to do that. It’s satisfying for her to know that she’s got this up her sleeve for when the timing’s right – even if it does give Harry total nightmares.”

Harry isn’t the only one who thinks it’s bad timing. Royal author Omid Scobie has previously spoken about how Meghan putting pen to paper wouldn’t work as well as Harry’s book because she’s less ‘candid’ than her husband.

Before his latest book Endgame was released – in which the Dutch version of the publication controversially named King Charles and the Princess of Wales, Kate as the subject of a letter Meghan wrote to the King following her claims that the family had “concerns” over the skin colour of her unborn son with Harry – Omid suggested Meghan might not be up to the level of candour required to produce a memoir.
He revealed, “To gain the respect of the reader, you have to be completely human in your portrayal, transparent in your portrayal of yourself.”

The author – who has previously been described as “Meghan’s mouthpiece” and who Meghan confirmed had had contact with one of her aids to write his first book Finding Freedom – added, “It has to be candid, it has to be embarrassing in places, it has to be all of these things to be the true portrait of a human being rather than the varnished image of a public figure that wants to be seen in a certain way.

“And it’s why I think his [Harry’s] book would always be more interesting than say if Megan wrote a memoir, because I think Megan has a much more curated take on what her image is and how it should be. Harry has always been a very candid, candid man.”

Harry’s book Spare hit the shelves in January 2023 and became the fastest selling non-fiction book in history, shifting 1.43 million copies on its first day, including pre-orders. It was reported he received £16 million as an advance and could make up to £33 million for it in total.

Our insider says that Meghan will rake in the cash when the memoir is signed on the dotted line and is likely to supersede her husband’s revenue when the time comes.

“Meghan will make an absolute fortune when she goes ahead with this book, it’s the ultimate fairytale journey that’ll be packed with so much juicy drama that makes it a publisher’s ultimate dream to produce. If Harry got a £16 million advance for Spare plus all the subsequent add-ons and royalties then Meghan’s looking at coining at least that amount if not more, especially given all the spin-off and side opportunities that would come off the back of it – a global speaking tour has been mentioned, for instance,” they say. 

“She’s extremely coy when anyone asks her about her intentions and a time frame for when she could and likely will put pen to paper or make a formal deal with a publisher. And she knows that the moment those negotiations start in earnest, people will talk and information will leak out and be greeted with anger and possible retaliation by the royals’ press machine. But she’s not deterred and just like Harry, one line keeps being made abundantly clear inside her inner circle is that when the time comes this won’t be just about making money, it’s about correcting false narratives.”