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Following his farewell to the royal family and move to the United States, Prince Harry<\/a> has had a fraught relationship with his relatives. In 2021, the Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle<\/a> gave a bombshell interview to Oprah Winfrey<\/a> that suggested the Windsors had been racist. At the time, Queen Elizabeth II, who died in 2022, responded with a diplomatic official statement: \u201cThe issues raised, especially the racial ones, are troubling. Although some memories may vary, they will be taken very seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, in his new book Queen Elizabeth II: A Personal History,<\/a><\/em> historian Hugo Vickers says the sovereign was \u201cdeeply hurt by her grandson\u2019s attacks.\u201d After that interview, the queen became very \u201cdistrustful of Harry,\u201d Vickers claims, so much so that she reportedly \u201crefused to answer his phone calls unless there was a witness who could record what was said.\u201d Per Vickers, whenever Prince Harry called her, \u201cthe queen would ask her lady-in-waiting to be with her.\u201d When she responded, Queen Elizabeth II reportedly limited herself to \u201cmonosyllabic conversations made up only of \u2018yes\u2019 and \u2018no.\u2019\u201d According to A Personal History,<\/em> Elizabeth was \u201ctrying to protect herself from her grandson.\u201d Vickers, a longtime friend of the royal family, writes, \u201cOne cannot underestimate the pain the Sussexes caused the queen in the last years of her life.\u201d<\/p>\n The royal biographer shares another alleged episode that suggests the queen may have been distrustful of Harry and Meghan. In June 2022, during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the queen refused to meet the couple privately when they first introduced her to her granddaughter, Lilibet Diana. The queen, Vickers writes, \u201cdemanded that the Sussexes\u2019 visit take place in the presence of her lady-in-waiting.\u201d Prior to the meeting, Elizabeth gave strict orders: No photographer would be allowed at the event. \u201cThis is a family affair and must remain in the family,\u201d the queen reportedly told Harry and Megan<\/a>, who purportedly would have liked to capture the moment. \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t have been a photo for the family album; it would have gone straight to the US media or Netflix,\u201d writes Vickers. \u201cThe queen knew this very well, so she wanted to put a stop to it immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n In his book, which hits stands in the UK on April 8, Vickers also states that the queen advised Harry not to rush things with Meghan. \u201cThe queen suggested that her grandson wait a year before marrying Meghan,\u201d writes Vickers. \u201cHarry did not wait: The wedding was staged in May 2018.\u201d Per Vickers, the queen did not like the bride\u2019s dress, finding it too white and with ungainly shoulders. \u201cA person close to the queen told me that her attitude about the wedding in general was this: \u2018Go ahead. It doesn\u2019t affect me,\u2019\u201d writes Vickers. There were allegedly problems, the royal biographer continues, even when Harry and Markle moved to Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor estate, near the castle where Queen Elizabeth spent most of her time. \u201cWhen they lived there, Meghan was rude to one of the gardeners in charge of property maintenance,\u201d he writes. \u201cOne of the head gardeners told the queen about it, and she flew into a rage. She got into her car, drove to the site, and scolded Meghan for her rudeness to the staff.\u201d<\/p>\n Original story appeared in<\/em> VF Italia<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n