Prince Harry banished best pal from group of friends because he told him 'not to marry Meghan'
Prince Harry has reportedly "banished" best friend Tom "Skippy" Inskip from his inner circle because he advised the soon-to-be father against marrying Meghan Markle. The 34-year-old Duke of Sussex is said to have "frozen out" members from his "old posse", including Inskip, but it was previously believed that the royal wanted to remove "temptation" by distancing himself from the party-obsessed group.
An article that will be published in the May issue of Tatler, however, suggests that the rift began after a warning from Inskip to Harry against marrying 37-year-old Meghan.
Speaking about the public criticism that the Duchess has received, the Daily Mail reports that the article says: "Hang out with the Clooney/Beckham/Soho House set and be assailed for being too Hollywood, for forcing your hen-pecked husband to abandon his old, country-set muckers – including Tom "Skippy" Inskip, the ultra-loyal, tight-lipped Harry pal, who, it’s said, advised Harry not to marry Meghan and has paid the price: banishment."
The article also reiterated some previous reports that suggested 36-year-old Prince William had "advised [his brother] against rushing into marriage".
Apart from this, the piece has alleged that the Duchess of Sussex has a nickname called "Me-Gain" given to her by some members in her own staff. The Duchess has been previously reported to have ticked off some courtiers with sources claiming that she had been dubbed "Duchess Difficult" before.
The report comes after multiple reports linked Meghan to the resignations of several key members of the palace staff, including her own personal assistant. In a comment that the palace previously made to The Sun, they have vigorously denied similar claims and have said that the Tatler piece is "patently untrue".
Harry met Inskip, who is a banker when they were students in Eton and the pair were best friends for many years. Inskip had been with Harry during the infamous trip to Las Vegas in 2012 when the party-loving prince was photographed naked during a game of "strip billiards". Inskip was also busy partying with the royal during a trip to Croatia the previous year when they were both photographed jumping into a pool at a nightclub with their clothes on.
Harry was a major part of Inskip's wedding in Jamaica in 2017, which was one of Meghan's first appearances with the prince in public. Inskip also attended the royal wedding along with his wife last year. In the months that followed Harry and Meghan's big day, however, reports started emerging that suggested Inskip had been "frozen out" of the royal's inner circle.
A friend of theirs told the Daily Express in October last year: "Like several others who were considered a questionable influence on Harry during his bad old bachelor days, Tom has been dropped, even though he himself now has a lovely wife, Lara." The source then added: "It's all part of Meghan's quiet airbrushing out of Harry's old posse. She doesn't want temptation - of any sort - being put in his way while they concentrate on starting a family."
Piers Morgan of MailOnline has previously reported on members of Harry's inner circle of friends being frozen out. He wrote of a "sad story" in February this year that involved some of Harry's closest friends. Morgan wrote: "It came from someone who knows the couple well and involved the lavish party they threw after the televised nuptials, for just 250 handpicked guests at Frogmore House near Windsor Castle. Three of Harry’s closest male friends weren’t invited. These guys aren’t just casual mates, they go back a very long way with him."
"The lack of invitation was apparently wounding enough to them. But their dismay at the snub was somewhat exacerbated when they saw who HAD got the Willy Wonka lucky tickets instead – a load of celebrities like the Beckhams, Elton John, James Corden, Idris Elba, Serena Williams, Priyanka Chopra, and George and Amal Clooney." The friends were reported to have said at the time: "We’ve been ditched for people more famous than us."