Meghan Markle 'plotted Prince Harry's frosty David Beckham snub' at huge event

David Beckham was left confused and frustrated after he was snubbed by Prince Harry during the Invictus Games in Sydney in 2018, a new book claims

David Beckham and Prince Harry's strained relationship is examined in royal book - with it claimed Meghan Markle was behind the Duke of Sussex once brutally snubbing the retired footballer.

In Tom Bower's new book, The House of Beckham, serialised by the Mirror over the weekend, the spotlight is shone on David and Victoria Beckham's long-standing marriage, revealing fresh insights into their rollercoaster relationship. The book also makes sensational claims about Posh and Becks' relationship with the Royal family, particularly their deteriorating bond with Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle. David, the former England captain, 49, and Posh Spice, 50, were guests at both William's 2011 wedding to Kate Middleton and Harry and Meghan's nuptials in 2018. However, according to The House of Beckham, David's camaraderie with both brothers didn't sit well with Meghan.

Tensions between the foursome first took a turn when Harry and Meghan invited the showbiz power couple to their wedding - but not to the lavish evening 'do whether other A-listers were attending. "Meghan appeared to want to punish the Beckhams," Bower writes. "Television pictures of the couple arriving at St George’s Chapel for the wedding showed Victoria stony-faced and David chewing gum. Meghan had not invited them to the wedding dinner. Her veto was an insult. After all, many guests such as George Clooney and other Hollywood stars invited that evening did not even know Meghan."

Then during the Invictus Games in Sydney, David found himself in a puzzling situation as he struggled to touch base with Harry when he arrived to show his support to the charity. "Arriving on the agreed day to meet Prince Harry he was perplexed why officials were playing a dance to keep him happy, but away from Harry. ‘Where is he?’ Beckham asked the Games’ officials as he waited. ‘When will I meet him?’ he kept asking," Bower writes. "Beckham was unaware that the Prince had ordered that under no circumstances was the footballer to be allowed near him. Photographs of the two together were forbidden."

David was said to have been left confused by the snub. According to Bower, it later emerged that the order had actually come from Meghan, who didn't want any media competition from Beckham, or particularly his wife Victoria. Meghan's first foreign Royal tour to Australia was a roaring success, with adoring crowds convincing her she was the new Diana of the Royal Family. The cherry on top was the announcement of her pregnancy. However, behind the scenes at the Sussexes' Sydney base, things were less rosy.

Bower writes that Meghan was "outraged that in the royal hierarchy she was subservient to Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and the future Queen. In her bad mood, both she and Harry were constantly searching the internet for critical comments about themselves. She was not happy to read anything flattering in the media about the Beckhams."

However, at the Beckhams' rented North Shore residence, Harry's snub was barely a blip on their radar. "A bit strange," Beckham commented according to Bower, but he didn't reach out to Harry. Neither did he make his way back to the stadium. At that point, the couple's focus was primarily on their marriage, their brand, and Victoria's wavering self-esteem.

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