Explosive new claims in Harry and Meghan’s Beckhams feud
New details have surfaced about the falling out between Harry, Meghan and their former friends the Beckhams.
Meghan Markle and Victoria Beckham’s falling out began over allegations of beauty salon leaks and culminated in an awkward snub during the Sussexes’ 2018 Australian tour, according to an explosive new book.
The House of Beckham, written by Tom Bower – the author of Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the war between the Windsors – and published by Harper Collins, puts celebrity couple and global brand David and Victoria Beckham under the microscope. The book examines their most controversial moments … including their mysterious feud with Prince Harry and Meghan.
The Duke of Sussex had shared a years-long friendship with the former soccer star, and the Beckhams were among the A-list guests at Harry and Meghan’s royal wedding in 2018.
However, the couples’ high-profile friendship quickly appeared to diminish, with reports surfacing last year about tensions flaring in the lead up to the nuptials.
“There’s no doubt that the original clash [started] when Victoria had given Meghan makeup advice, which was leaked,” Bower told news.com.au.
“And David got a call from Harry accusing either he or Victoria of leaking the story to promote Victoria, but then they discovered it was one of Victoria’s employees, and that undoubtedly caused anger.”
Bower went on to claim that despite the awkwardness, Meghan had taken the Beckhams up on an offer to stay at their empty home in Los Angeles before the wedding.
However, when the big day came, David and Victoria – who was pictured looking less than thrilled as they made their high-profile arrival at St George’s Chapel inside Windsor Castle – were apparently “very angry” at not being invited to the exclusive dinner after the ceremony.
The issue was heightened, Bower claimed, by a separate argument David and Victoria were having at the time over allegations the former football star had been “playing” around with another woman the night before the wedding.
Bower alleged that the couples’ rift really came to a head and got “really interesting” a few months later in Australia, where Harry and Meghan were touring in honour of the 2018 Invictus Games being held in Sydney.
“Harry asked David to come to sort of get a famous face to support the games, and when he turns up at the stadium [in Sydney], Harry snubs him, won’t even meet him, let alone be photographed with him,” Bower claimed.
Once again, he added, it coincided with heavy friction within the Beckhams’ marriage, with Victoria – who had travelled with her husband Down Under – in a “rage” after he’d described their marriage as “hard work” during an interview with Ten’s The Sunday Project.
“They rented a very lovely house on [Sydney’s] North Shore, but apparently it was a freezing atmosphere inside the house,” he explained.
“And they tried to patch up there, and it took them a long time to patch up the relationship again.”
While the Beckhams may have gotten back on track, Harry and Meghan’s friendship with them apparently never recovered from the awkward saga.
As well as the Sussex v Beckham feud, Bower also uncovered further details surrounding David’s multiple alleged affairs, including graphic text messages he claims were sent between David and Australian-Malaysian model, Sarah Marbeck, in the early 2000s.
The alleged months-long relationship was made public when she gave an interview to News of the World back in 2004, but in Bower’s book, previously-secret messages reportedly exchanged between the pair were also revealed.
David – who reportedly called Marbeck “Tinkerbell” while referring to his wife as Wendy” – allegedly told his lover that he fantasised about picking up a call girl, like Richard Gere’s character famously does with Julia Roberts’ in Pretty Woman.
The Beckhams have previously denied Marbeck’s affair claims.
Bower also told news.com.au that he’d approached more than 150 people during the process of writing the book, and that “more than a third” had shared information, despite allegedly having signed “Draconian NDAs (nondisclosure agreements)” by the Beckhams.
So why would they take the risk?
“Anger,” he said simply. “ … They key source to my books is finding the victims. These people in particular feel that they’ve suffered, and they want to tell the truth about what happened to them.”
So, of all those within the circle of fame, why did Bower turn his focus onto the Beckhams?
“They’re such famous people and no one had really ever gone into how they operate and the truth about their lifestyles,” he explained.
“And I always select subject on the basis they’ve got to be living and they’ve got to seek to influence people’s lives and profit from it, and invariably conceal as much as they can of the negatives.
“I was attracted to them for that reason, that they do exercise a lot of influence. They want to influence people and they control. They seek as hard as they can to control the media and their image.
“I thought it would be interesting – but in fact, it turned out much more interesting than I’d realised.”
The House of Beckham by Tom Bower will be available to buy in Australia from July 3.