Meghan Markle ‘manipulated’ Prince Harry amid shock Beckham rift

Meghan Markle is reportedly at the core of a feud between Prince Harry and David and Victoria Beckham as allegations of story leaks continue to swirl.

Meghan Markle allegedly “manipulated” Prince Harry into a feud with David and Victoria Beckham, a former friend of the Duchess has claimed.

Earlier this week it was revealed the couples’ friendship is over amid claims of royal story leaks.

The power couples had a much-publicised friendship, with the Beckhams even attending the Sussexes’ wedding in 2018.

The Sussexes are said to have terminated their friendship with the Beckhams. Picture: Getty Images

However, David Beckham was left “absolutely bloody furious” after he and wife Victoria were accused during a tense phone call of “leaking stories”, The Mail on Sunday reports.

The Sun has previously reported how Prince Harry confronted the soccer legend over leak claims.

And now TV presenter Lizzie Cundy claims the Duchess of Sussex “manipulated” Prince Harry into thinking the Beckhams were behind the leaks.

“I think Victoria and David have slowly tiptoed away like the other friends,” Ms Cundy told the New York Post.

“Many friends who went to the wedding have tiptoed away from Meghan.

“These are real big family people, there’s no way Victoria would’ve leaked stories.”

Ms Cundy claims Meghan was completely starstruck by Victoria the first time they met in 2013 – when Ms Cundy and Meghan attended an event together.

David and Victoria Beckham at St George's Chapel for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Picture: AFP

“I’ve never seen anyone squeal quite like it,” Ms Cundy told the New York Post.

“Meghan was so thrilled with excitement to see Victoria Beckham. She went ‘Oh my God, that’s Victoria Beckham!’

“It was crazy. I thought ‘You’ve got to calm down and be cool.’

“I was the one who knew Meghan before Prince Harry, and I saw the reaction to Victoria. She was a proper big fan, she let that show – Victoria doesn’t need to leak stories, she doesn’t need to do that.”

David Beckham with his sons during Prince Harry’s 2018 Invictus Games in Sydney. Picture: AAP

‘VERY SUPPORTIVE’

Meghan went on to become friends with the Beckhams after she started dating Prince Harry in 2016.

It is thought the couples grew close as David’s communications director Izzy May is close with Markus Anderson, who helped to arrange Prince Harry and Meghan’s secret dates at London’s Soho House.

A source close to the Beckhams told The Mail on Sunday that David and Victoria were “very supportive when Meghan arrived in the UK”.

But they said: “Any making up now is so unlikely.”

And while the Beckhams attended the Sussexes’ wedding in 2018, they were noticeably not in attendance David and Victoria’s eldest son Brooklyn married heiress and actress Nicola Peltz at her family’s estate in Florida’s Palm Beach Beach in April last year.

David Beckham, with Prince William and Prince Harry, has long been part of the royal circle. Picture: AP

Nor were they at David’s star-studded soccer event this month — with Kim Kardashian and Serena Williams there for Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami debut.

In the wake of their fallout, Meghan appears to have replaced one Victoria with another: Victoria Jackson, the cosmetics mogul who pioneered the natural make-up look and the couple’s neighbour in Montecito, California.

“Victoria [Jackson] is a dynamic force. She’s someone who built a business but has also overcome adversity in her private life,” a source told The Mail on Sunday.

“She and Meghan bond on many levels. They are extremely close, they adore each other.”

The Sussexes were not at David’s star-studded soccer event this month – with Kim Kardashian and Serena Williams there for Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami debut. Picture: Getty

‘MONTECITO MAFIA’

The Sussexes’ exclusive inner circle has been dubbed the “Montecito Mafia” by one Hollywood executive, according to the Mail.

The circle is rumoured to include Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, photographer Misan Harriman and Meghan’s former Suits co-stars Sarah Rafferty and Abigail Spencer.

The legendary feminist activist Gloria Steinem has also been a close friend of the Duchess, presenting the Women of Vision Award to Meghan just hours before the couple were involved in a supposed “near-catastrophic” car chase in May.

Pop star Katy Perry, who performed at King Charles’ coronation, and her husband, actor Orlando Bloom, are also neighbours to the Sussexes in Montecito.

However, like the Beckhams, their friendship with the Sussexes has seemingly cooled.

The source also said George and Amal Clooney, who were surprise guests at the 2018 royal wedding, are no longer friends with Meghan.

The Beckhams at the 2018 wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Picture: AFP

It comes after Prince Harry was this week licking his wounds after a British High Court judge highlighted his testimony’s “lack of credibility”.

The royal’s reputation hit an all-time low as Mr Justice Fancourt blasted his “inconsistent factual case” and threw out his phone-hacking claim against The Sun.

As the humiliating judgement was published to the National Archives, sources said “all is not well” in US-based Prince Harry’s life after a lucrative deal collapsed.

The Duke and Meghan were branded “f*****g grifters” by a Spotify executive last month as the company ditched their $30 million podcast deal after one series. And the couple, who live in California with their two kids, have been dogged by claims on US gossip sites of marriage problems — which were denied by their reps.