Meghan Markle put her palms on Princess Diana's grave and asked for 'clarity and guidance'

6 January 2023, 14:03 | Updated: 6 January 2023, 14:09

Diana is buried on the Althorp estate
Diana is buried on the Althorp estate. Picture: Getty/Alamy
Kieran Kelly

By Kieran Kelly

Meghan Markle kneeled next to Princess Diana's grave, asking for 'clarity and guidance' on the 20th anniversary of her death, Prince Harry has revealed.

The pair rowed out to the island where Diana is buried on the Althorp estate. Following a personal moment of reflection, Harry saw Meghan "on her knees with her eyes closed and her palms flat against the stone".

The visit took place in August 2017, around a year before their wedding.

Harry has compared his wife to his late mother on a number of occasions. In the couple's recent Netflix series, Harry said: "So much of what Meghan is and how she is, is so similar to my mum.

"She has the same compassion. She has the same empathy. She has the same confidence. She has this warmth about her."

Lady Diana used to live in Althorp
Lady Diana used to live in Althorp. Picture: Getty
The Princess Of Wales and a young Prince Harry
Harry has said his wife has the "same compassion" as his late mother. Picture: Getty
Harry and Meghan started dating in 2016
Harry and Meghan started dating in 2016. Picture: Getty

A series of revelations have been made since copies of Spare - due to be released next week - leaked days before its official release.

One of the most damning claims centred around Meghan, with Harry claiming his brother physically attacked him in a row over the American actress.

Harry says he saw a "red mist" come over William during the fight, claiming his brother "wanted me to hit him back". Harry said he "chose not" to retaliate to William's attack, claiming the alleged incident took place in 2019 in Nottingham Cottage, when Harry and Meghan had moved in there.

William had come to the house to complain about Meghan Markle, Harry claimed, before calling her "difficult", "rude" and "abrasive".

"What was different here was the level of frustration, and I talk about the red mist that I had for so many years, and I saw this red mist in him," Harry told ITV in a new trailer for his interview with Tom Bradby.

"It all happened so fast. So very fast. He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dog's bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me," Harry reportedly wrote.

Read More: 'He wanted me to hit him back': Harry says he saw 'red mist' in William during physical attack

Read More: 'They were not chess pieces': Harry accused of 'war crimes' by Taliban leaders after admitting killing 25 fighters

The royal family has so-far remained tight-lipped after the revelations.

The autobiography – which has not yet been released in the UK but came out prematurely in Spain – sees the Duke of Sussex admit that he took cocaine.

In another extract, Harry said his father made a joke about his parentage amid a backdrop of rumours that he was actually the love child of Diana and Major James Hewitt, who had an affair between 1986 and 1991.

The duke said one of Charles's favourite anecdotes was to tell about a time he visited an psychiatric hospital and met a patient claiming to be the Prince of Wales.

Finishing the story with Harry present, he said: "Who knows if I'm even your real father? Perhaps your father really is in Broadmoor, my dear son!"

Prince Harry and King Charles at the Queen's funeral
Prince Harry and King Charles at the Queen's funeral. Picture: Getty

Harry said he found that in poor taste given the conspiracies about his parentage at the time.The duke also recalls an incident where Meghan told Kate she must have "baby brain because of the hormones".

Meghan was then told she wasn't close enough to Kate to talk about that.

Meghan looked confused as to why Kate had taken offence, with William then pointing at Meghan to say the comment was "rude" and not how they did things, with Meghan then telling William to "take your finger out of my face", Harry claims.

Elsewhere in the book, Harry admits to taking cocaine as a teenager "to feel different", an apparent rebellion against what he called a "pre-established order", and that he lost his virginity in a field to an older woman.

Harry memoir – the key revelations so far

He described asking his chauffeur to drive him to the Parisian tunnel where Diana died, asking him to go at the same speed as the car she was in, and said he fully realised she was dead after that.

The duke describes killing 25 Taliban in Afghanistan, says he asked his father not to marry Camilla along with William, and that Charles did not want Meghan at Balmoral.

Spare is due out on January 10 but it has already been released in Spain by accident.