Prince Harry Addressed His Anger After "Cruel" Argument with Meghan Markle

"Did you overhear adults speak that way when you were growing up?"

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle hold hands
(Image credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle appeared to have a fairytale courtship and royal wedding. However, the prince opened up about some of the couple's more challenging moments in his biography, Spare, including an argument they had early on in their relationship.

Meghan was introduced to Prince Harry in July 2016, and the couple's romance moved rather quickly. In his book, Harry described a date the couple had in December 2016, during which they roasted a chicken while drinking wine and listening to James Taylor and Nina Simone. However, the night turned sour when the prince "snapped" at his future wife, seemingly for no reason.

"Maybe the wine went to my head," Harry explained in Spare (via the Express). "Maybe the weeks of battling the press had worn me down." He continued, "For some reason, when the conversation took an unexpected turn, I became touchy. Then angry. Disproportionately, sloppily angry."

Unfortunately, communication between the couple broke down. "Meg said something I took the wrong way," Harry wrote. "It was partly a cultural difference, partly a language barrier, but I was also just over-sensitive that night. I thought: Why's she having a go at me? I snapped at her, spoke to her harshly, cruelly."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Northern Ireland.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Northern Ireland.

(Image credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Harry realized he'd behaved badly as Meghan left the room for fifteen minutes, and didn't return. When he finally went to find her, she was sitting on the bed, and told him, "[I] would never stand for being spoken to like that." The Duchess of Sussex then tried to ascertain where Harry's anger had come from, and why he'd reacted the way he did. "Where did you ever hear a man speak like that to a woman?" she asked him. "Did you overhear adults speak that way when you were growing up?' I cleared my throat, looked away. Yes."

Meghan was apparently firm with Harry, telling him, "She wasn't going to tolerate that kind of partner. Or co-parent. That kind of life. She wasn't going to raise children in an atmosphere of anger or disrespect."

According to Harry, he entered therapy after their disagreement, with a view to working on the anger he felt. "It came from somewhere deep inside, somewhere that needed to be excavated, and it was obvious that I could use some help with the job," he wrote. The couple have since married, welcomed two children, and started a new life together in California. Plus, Harry has continued to advocate for the benefits of therapy, and it presumably changed his life for the better.

Amy Mackelden
Weekend Editor

Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.

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