Did Prince Harry hurry into marrying Meghan because they both sensed her biological clock was running out?
When a royal couple gets engaged before truly getting to know each other, it often leads to difficult consequences.
The Royal Family learned this the hard way when Prince Charles proposed to 20-year-old Diana after only dating for about six months, during which they reportedly met in person just 13 times.
So, when Prince Harry began dating Meghan Markle in July 2016 and engagement rumors started swirling by 2017, the royal family was quick to intervene.
It’s said that Prince William, who had an eight-year courtship with Kate before proposing, grew “nervous” about how quickly Harry and Meghan were moving. He was concerned that Meghan might struggle to adapt to royal life so quickly.
Despite his brother’s worries, Harry dismissed William’s concerns, citing Meghan’s «biological clock ticking» as she was nearing 35, according to royal author Tina Brown.
However, Brown suggested that William’s unspoken, deeper worry was for his younger brother’s «mental fragility.» He feared Harry wouldn’t be able to handle the intense media scrutiny and harassment that Meghan would inevitably face.
Soon after Harry, now 40, and Meghan, now 43, began their relationship, the couple paid a casual visit to the Queen at Royal Lodge in Windsor following a church service.
As per Ms. Brown, who was close to Princess Diana and met with her just weeks before her tragic passing, the Queen withheld judgment, simply expressing that she was «happy Harry was happy.»
However, in her bestselling book *The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor*, Brown notes that while the Queen was supportive, William had deeper concerns. He feared his brother was heading for trouble, as he knew Harry all too well. “Every time Harry fell in love, it was like an eruption of Vesuvius,” Brown wrote.
After hearing Harry’s glowing account of his trip to Botswana with Meghan, William couldn’t resist teasing him, remarking, «You do realise this is the fourth girl you’ve taken to Botswana?»
William didn’t immediately voice his worries about Meghan, keeping things cordial when they met for the first time during a relaxed tea at the Cambridges’ Kensington Palace apartment in November. «I was looking forward to meeting the girl who has put that silly grin on my brother’s face,» he told Meghan with a disarming tone, according to Brown.
Over two years of interviews with 120 royal insiders, Brown learned that most of the family, including Prince Charles and the Queen, seemed to warm to Meghan. However, William remained the most hesitant. He also expressed concerns that Meghan wouldn’t have enough time to settle into her new life in the UK and build a supportive social circle.
In the book, it’s noted that Harry’s response to William’s concerns was that the best way to protect Meghan was to marry her «as quickly as possible,» ensuring she would receive the same police protection he had as a working royal.
Harry is also said to have pointed out that, with Meghan just a month shy of turning 35, her biological clock was ticking.
