There have been several attempts to compare Meghan Markle with the late Diana, Princess of Wales ever since her and Prince Harry’s relationship became public knowledge.

These comparisons reached boiling point following the release of investigative journalist Tom Bower’s controversial book ‘Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors’ last year.

One of the most striking claims was how Harry reportedly hoped that Diana’s two sisters and younger brother would identify the similarities between Meghan and his late mother – a fact which ended up in disappointment when they didn’t.

In an eyebrow-raising twist presented by Bower, he suggests that Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer was requested to intervene about Harry’s growing relationship with Meghan.

According to the book, Earl Spencer, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Baroness Jane Fellowes, as well as family confidante Julia Samuel, failed to see any resemblance between Meghan and Diana – contrary to Prince Harry’s hopes – but they thought that she would struggle to fit in with the Royal Family.

Sketching out the ill feelings, Bower penned: “Since the Vanity Fair article had increased the Cambridges’ suspicion of Meghan, the actress discovered that her neighbour in Kensington Palace had even less time for her.

“By then, Harry had introduced Meghan to Diana’s two sisters, Jane and Sarah, and her best friend Julia Samuel. 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,” reports the Mirror.

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.”

Earl Spencer and prince harry
Bower went on: “One of his recurring concerns was insufficient money if they married. Although Harry annually received about £1.5 million from Charles, Meghan had been advised to continue acting to supplement their income.”

“By that point, Meghan knew from her agent Nick Collins that her acting prospects were limited.

Omid Scobie, her official biographer, would accurately summarise her exit from Hollywood. “‘She wanted a more meaningful career,’ he wrote. ‘She could be doing so much more with her platform.’ Her frustration remained. She was tantalisingly close to sealing her future, but nothing was official.”