Prince Harry believes that the memory of Princess Diana was being used as ‘a stick to beat his wife with’ during her gaffe-laden trip to Paris last week, friends have told The Mail on Sunday.
They say the Duke of Sussex was left ‘hurt and upset’ after Meghan received backlash for a video which showed her stretching her feet out in the back of a limo close to the Pont d’Alma tunnel where Diana died in 1997.
The footage was criticised for being ‘utterly bewildering’ and ‘insensitive beyond belief’ and ensured her 48-hour PR blitz during Paris Fashion Week, including an appearance on the front row of the Balenciaga show in support of designer Pierpaolo Piccioli, was marred by controversy.
It is understood the Duchess, 44, was not aware of the car’s location, with friends saying it was a ‘hell of a stretch’ to suggest she drove past the tunnel on purpose.
And Harry, who has not spoken publicly about the row, is said to have been left ‘despondent, but not surprised’ by the barrage of criticism his wife faced.
A friend of the couple said: ‘Harry was left hurt and upset. Diana’s death was used as a stick to beat his wife with. [Meghan] did not even pass close to the tunnel.
They added: ‘The whole thing is a joke, but not a very funny one for Harry.
Prince Harry believes that the memory of Princess Diana was being used as ‘a stick to beat his wife with’ during her gaffe-laden trip to Paris last week, friends have told The Mail on Sunday
The short clip Meghan posted on Instagram showed her putting her feet up while being driven through the French capital
Critics have noted that after she passed Paris’s Pont Alexandre III bridge (pictured), she was heading towards nearby Pont d’Alma – close to where Princess Diana died in 1997
‘He was left feeling hurt, but the depressing thing is he wasn’t even that surprised. He was more despondent than shocked.’
For Meghan, the furore surrounding her trip – which she had hoped would mark a flawless debut on the fashion social scene – was so toxic, ‘it went down like a sack of cold sick’, the friend said.
A source insisted last night that, unlike Diana in 1997, Meghan was wearing a seatbelt for her journey through Paris.
And rather than noting her progress on the way to the £2,500 a night Hotel Plaza Athenee, the Duchess was in fact distracted by preparing a slick Instagram reel of breakfast trays, Eiffel Tower views and make-up prep.
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Harry’s anger as memory of Diana ‘is used as stick to beat Meghan with’