Queen Elizabeth II 'feared Prince Harry and Meghan Markle recorded secret conversations for Netflix', biographer claims

Ben McCaffrey
Sat, 11 Apr 2026 10:23:22 +0000

The late Queen became fearful Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were secretly recording her for their Netflix documentary, a royal biographer has claimed.

Hugo Vickers, author of Queen Elizabeth II: A Personal History, has suggested the Sussexes caused Queen Elizabeth II great "distress" in her final years on the throne.

In 2021, Harry and Meghan gave a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, suggesting there had been instances of racism within the family.

According to Mr Vickers, certain members of the Royal family were "sickened" by the timing of the Oprah broadcast, which aired merely six days after Prince Philip underwent heart surgery at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London.

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And while the Palace said the allegations were "very troubling" and vowed to take them "very seriously," Mr Vickers claims it left the Queen "deeply hurt by her grandson's attacks," and led her to become "distrustful of Harry".

The trust is said to have fallen so significantly, according to the biography, the Queen reportedly "refused to answer his phone calls unless there was a witness who could record what was said".

"The distress the Sussexes caused the Queen in the last years of her life cannot be overestimated," Mr Vickers adds in the book.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Mr Vickers elaborated on the late monarch's anxieties, suggesting she also grew wary of in-person encounters with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex over fears their discussions might be recorded.

"Trust had been broken, basically," he told the paper. "So I think, as far as having somebody in the room, it was ... to stop them taking photographs or being wired or God knows what."

In 2022, the duke and duchess released a Netflix docuseries billed as an insight into the couple's life that "even the most plugged-in fans and followers of their story have never heard it told".

Prince Harry also published his infamous memoir, Spare, in 2023.

Mr Vickers was questioned whether the Queen was directly fearful of conversations being recorded, potentially for the use of footage for the docuseries.

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"Yes, wired for recording," he replied. "It’s always a possibility. I’m not saying it happened."

The couple have previously denied accusations of leaking information from private family gatherings.

The book, released earlier this week, also suggests the Queen advised Harry against rushing into marrying Meghan and waiting a year, advice he did not take.

"A person close to the Queen told me that her attitude about the wedding in general was this: 'Go ahead. It doesn’t affect me'," Mr Vickers claims.

The biographer also writes that the late Queen pulled Meghan up on an alleged incident where she was rude to a gardener after the couple moved into Frogmore Cottage.

"One of the head gardeners told the queen about it, and she flew into a rage," the book claims.

"She got into her car, drove to the site, and scolded Meghan for her rudeness to the staff."

The Sussexes relinquished their positions as working royals in 2020.