A royal author has claimed that Prince Harry’s friends thought he was “nuts” after he brought Meghan Markle to a weekend gathering during the early days of their romance.

Eager to introduce Meghan to his longtime circle, Harry invited her to a shooting weekend at Sandringham, a tradition within the royal family that he and Prince William had grown up with. According to Tom Bower’s book, Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors, what followed was a tense three days that Harry hadn’t anticipated.

Bower wrote: “Harry was looking forward to endless banter, jokes – and a lot of drinking. He had not anticipated Meghan’s reaction.” He claims the duchess didn’t appreciate his friends’ politically incorrect humor at dinner and made her feelings clear.

“Without hesitation, Meghan challenged every guest whose conversation contravened her values. According to Harry’s friends, again and again she reprimanded them about the slightest inappropriate nuance. Nobody was exempt, Harry’s world would not be her world.”

The author added that Harry’s friends questioned her “wokery” and felt she dampened the atmosphere. “She lacked any sense of humour,” Bower wrote. After the weekend, group chats among Harry’s friends reportedly buzzed with remarks such as: “‘OMG what about HER?’; ‘Harry must be f*****g nuts’; and ‘She’s a total nightmare.’”

Harry has lost touch with ‘his friends’

Over time, Harry’s circle reportedly shifted. Many of those at Sandringham were old school friends from Eton who shared similar upbringings. But royal biographer Angela Levin, in her book Harry: Conversations with the Prince, suggested Harry grew distant once he realized how Meghan was perceived.

She noted he pulled away from old companions like Tom “Skippy” Inskip, once a close friend and part of Harry’s wild bachelor days, including the infamous Las Vegas trip in 2012. According to Levin, Harry may also have withdrawn from these friends because they were skeptical of his relationship with Meghan.

Famous faces Prince Harry is no longer close with

The Duke of Sussex has also appeared to drift from several celebrity acquaintances. Although he and Meghan mingled with A-listers—George and Amal Clooney and David and Victoria Beckham attended their royal wedding—the couples no longer seem close.

Similarly, Harry was once friendly with comedian Jack Whitehall, who described their past connection during an Australian radio interview. “I was quite good friends with Harry back in the day. Pre-Meghan, when he was a terror,” Whitehall said, adding that the friendship faded after Harry’s marriage.

While royals often mix with celebrities, their relationships, like anyone else’s, don’t always last. In Harry’s case, authors suggest Meghan’s presence and her different values reshaped his social life—leading him to step away from the old world he once thrived in.