Finding Freedom: Harry’s Remembrance Sunday wreath ‘stayed in box’

The authors of a new epilogue of unauthorised Harry and Meghan biography Finding Freedom have claimed the Prince’s Cenotaphwreath “remained in its box” rather than being laid on Remembrance Sunday.

Authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand have added a new section to their best-selling book which is published in paperback at the end of the month.

It covers the eventful year the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have had since stepping down as senior royals in early 2020 before moving to America permanently.

Harry and Meghan’s legal team have long stated Scobie and Durand “did not collaborate with the authors on the book, nor were they interviewed for it”.

In the epilogue, which has been seen by The Independent, the authors discussed Prince Harry’s “sadness” that his wreath was not laid during Remembrance Day events in 2020.

Previously, it was alleged the Prince had been denied the opportunity to have a wreath laid on his behalf at the Cenotaph as he was no longer a frontline working royal. When he made the decision to step back from his duties, Prince Harry was stripped of his military posts when he relocated to California.

In Finding Freedom, it is claimed Prince Harry ordered a poppy wreath with Royal British Legion. “But as the day came and went, Harry’s gesture remained in its box at the charity’s headquarters in Kent.” The authors say Harry was “saddened and disappointed by the decision”. Their source added: “Ten years of service and a lifetime commitment to the military community and this is how it’s been acknowledged by his family.”

The section also discusses the couple’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey - which was broadcast in March 2021.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made several allegations in the interview - namely accusations of racism within the royal household and that Meghan was “suicidal” while pregnant with the couple’s first child Archie.

The epilogue alleges that Prince William “was understood to be ‘furious’” at the interview and the fact the couple had discussed private family matters in public.

The authors also detail a report in The Times - released days before the couple’s Oprah interview - that alleged Meghan had bullied staff in 2018.

“Though the duchess was used to defamatory reports, this front-page story was more worrying,” the Finding Freedom authors write. “It felt like certain individuals at the Palace were doing their very best to undermine and discredit anything they worried the couple may or may not say during the interview.”

The funeral of Prince Philip - which was attended by Prince Harry weeks after the bombshell interview - is also covered by the authors, with them suggesting Harry’s presence in the UK for the funeral had “broken the ice” of tensions following his sit down with Oprah.

Meghan did not attend the funeral as she was heavily pregnant with their second child Lilibet. The authors say some members of the royal family were “understood to have been ‘quietly pleased’” she did not attend as they “didn’t want a circus” or “the Duchess creating a spectacle”.

Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.

Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand ,is published in paperback on 31st August (HQ, £9.99)

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