Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

This is why Prince Harry urged wife Meghan Markle not to take picture in front of Taj Mahal

The Duke of Sussex revealed about the incident in his explosive memoir ‘Spare’ which was released on January 10, 2023.

This is why Prince Harry urged wife Meghan Markle not to take picture in front of Taj Mahal

The new memoir of Prince Harry has made the headlines, thanks to a series of explosive accusations he has brought against members of his family, including private confrontations with other senior royals, but the book also has details about some witty incidents.

For example, the Duke of Sussex has revealed in his 'Spare' that he had once requested his wife Meghan Markle not to take a picture in front of the Taj Mahal, India's iconic 17th century mausoleum, ahead of a trip she made to the south Asian country.


But why did Prince Harry, 38, give his wife such advice when the established practice for foreign dignitaries visiting the Taj is to pose for the lensmen with the ivory-white structure in the background?

Princess Diana in front of Taj Mahal (FILES) This combination photograph shows (RIGHT) Princess Diana of Wales as she poses at The Taj Mahal in Agra on February 11, 1992, and (LEFT) Britain's Prince William, then Duke of Cambridge (L) and Catherine, then Duchess of Cambridge as they pose during their visit to The Taj Mahal in Agra, India, on April 16, 2016.(Photo by DOUGLAS CURRAN,PRAKASH SINGH/AFP via Getty Images)


In his memoir, Harry wrote that he made such a request since he did not want people to assume she was mimicking Princess Diana, his late mother who died in a car crash in France in 1997.

'Spare' revealed that Prince Harry and his wife laughed about the advice he gave her.

“Do not take a photo in front of the Taj Mahal. She’d asked why and I’d said: My mum,” Prince Harry wrote.

“I’d explained that my mother had posed for a photo there, and it had become iconic, and I didn’t want anyone thinking Meg was trying to mimic my mother,’ the Duke of Sussex said in his memoir.

In an interview ahead of the release, Prince Harry said that his brother William, the Prince of Wales, and his wife Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, "stereotyped" Markle as a "divorced biracial American actress".

He also claimed that his elder brother and sister-in-law never got on with his wife "from the get-go".

“There was a lot of stereotyping that was happening, that I was guilty of as well, at the beginning. American actress, right, and that was playing out in the British press in the media at the time as well. Some of the things that my brother and sister-in-law – some of the way that they were acting or behaving – definitely felt to me as though, unfortunately, that stereotyping was causing a bit of a barrier to them really sort of, you know, introducing or welcoming her in," Prince Harry said.

Harry married Markle in May 2018.

More For You

uk-snow-getty

People drive their cars past a landscape covered in snow and along the Snake pass road, in the Peak district, northern England. (Photo: Getty Images)

UK records coldest January night in 15 years at -17.3 degrees Celsius

THE UK recorded its coldest January night in 15 years as temperatures dropped to -17.3 degrees Celsius in Altnaharra, Sutherland, by 9 pm on Friday.

This is the lowest January temperature since 2010, when Altnaharra hit -22.3 degrees Celsius on 8 January, The Guardian reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
Chandra Arya

Arya, who represents Nepean in Ottawa and was born in India's Karnataka, made the announcement on X. (Photo: X/@AryaCanada)

Liberal MP Chandra Arya declares bid for prime minister of Canada

CANADA’s Asian MP Chandra Arya has announced his candidacy for the prime ministership, just hours before the Liberal Party confirmed that its next leader will be selected on 9 March.

Arya’s announcement comes days after prime minister Justin Trudeau declared his decision to step down while continuing in office until a new leader is chosen.

Keep ReadingShow less
Exclusive: 'Starmer must fill NHS staffing defecit'
Dr Chaand Nagpaul

Exclusive: 'Starmer must fill NHS staffing defecit'

LABOUR's latest announcement to cut NHS waiting lists, while welcome, does not go far enough, the former leader of the doctors’ union, Chaand Nagpaul has told Eastern Eye.

Prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, unveiled his plans on Monday (6). He pledged Labour would set up more NHS hubs in community locations in England, and the service would make greater use of the private sector to help meet the challenge.

Keep ReadingShow less
Exclusive: 'Stop spreading racial hatred'
Nazir Afzal

Exclusive: 'Stop spreading racial hatred'

POLITICIANS must dial down “dangerous and inflammatory” rhetoric and recognise the contributions of all communities in Britain, prominent south Asians have told Eastern Eye.

They are concerned that recent social media attacks on asylum seekers, immigrants, especially British Pakistanis, as well as ministers will lead to unnecessary deaths.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lisa-Nandy-Getty

The culture secretary retains powers to refer the case to the Competition and Markets Authority, which could trigger an investigation into press freedom concerns linked to Abu Dhabi’s involvement. (Photo: Getty Images)

Calls grow for Lisa Nandy to end Telegraph ownership stalemate

THE SALE of The Telegraph newspaper has drawn widespread political calls for culture secretary Lisa Nandy to intervene and end the prolonged uncertainty surrounding its ownership.

The newspaper has been in limbo for 20 months after an auction process initiated by RedBird IMI, an Abu Dhabi-backed investment fund, failed to secure a suitable buyer.

Keep ReadingShow less