Queen Elizabeth 'Ordered Staff to Ignore Meghan Markle's Tiara Request' — After Late Monarch 'Was Not Pleased' With Prince Harry’s Demands Before Royal Wedding
A new book reveals how the queen told staff to 'ignore' Prince Harry's demands about the tiara.
April 4 2026, Published 4:42 p.m. ET
The late Queen Elizabeth II was so fed up with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's outrageous demands leading up to their May 2018 royal wedding that the monarch ordered one request specifically be denied, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The prince demanded the Queen's personal aide and dresser, Angela Kelly, obtain a priceless tiara for his bride-to-be with almost no notice, which the sovereign instructed her assistant to "ignore."
New Details About 'Tiaragate'
Meghan Markle wore Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau tiara for her royal wedding.
While much has been discussed about "tiaragate," author Robert Hardman writes in his new book, Elizabeth II, about the queen's scathing response after putting up with so much drama from Harry and Markle in the run-up to their wedding.
The former actress was lent Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau tiara for the nuptials, but didn't realize that such royal jewels take time to access during a day-of hair-testing session with stylist Serge Normant.
Hardman writes that the "mood turned sour" when "the couple rang the Palace to ask the Queen’s dresser and curator, Angela Kelly, to send over the tiara," as Markle wished to "practice" with it for her hairstyle.
The queen was quite miffed, as Kate Middleton had used a plastic tiara from the accessories chain Claire's to practice her wedding-day hair in 2011, and couldn't understand why Markle couldn't do the same.
Queen Elizabeth Told Staffers to 'Ignore' Harry's Phone Calls About the Tiara
Prince Harry reportedly complained about Meghan Markle not getting the tiara for a day-of hair test session.
As Harry kept pressuring Kelly to deliver the tiara, the queen huffed to palace staffers, "It's not a toy," about the priceless diamond piece.
"She told Kelly to ignore the phone calls," Hardman writes.
"Harry had been on to everyone about this. We thought Angela was like the fairy godmother who had delivered," one source told him.
"But when she called Kensington Palace, she was put through to Prince Harry, who just said, 'Get it here now.' And that was the end of the conversation."
Prince Harry Claimed Angela Kelly 'Whined' to the Queen About Meghan Markle's Tiara Drama
It was difficult to ultimately see how Meghan Markle styled her hair due to her massive veil.
Another palace insider told the author that Markle was late for the hair appointment, leaving a fuming Harry to chastise Kelly for telling the queen about his rude requests.
"There was already an atmosphere before Angela arrived. Meghan was nowhere to be seen. Harry poked the box and said 'Is that it?' Then he stood over Angela and said he did not like her whining to his grandmother," the source claimed
"Angela gave it straight back. She said that she did not like him getting all these people to push her when she was just doing her job. She tried to tell him about the history and how it was for their own sake, but he walked out," said the insider.
The queen's aide tried to put the situation aside and "decided to put it down to pre-wedding nerves. All Angela did was to try to protect them, a former colleague said about Harry and Markle, who would go on to earn the nickname "Duchess Difficult."
Prince Harry Called Angela Kelly 'Obstructive'
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle brought plenty of drama leading up to their May 2018 wedding.
In his 2023 memoir, Spare, Harry claimed Kelly was "obstructive" for not getting his bride the tiara exactly when she wanted it.
“She [Ms Kelly] was being obstructive … To my mind, Angela was a troublemaker, and I didn’t need her as an enemy," he wrote.
In the 2020 biography Finding Freedom, which the couple allegedly collaborated on with authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Duran, the book claimed that Harry felt Kelly "deliberately dragged her feet" in getting Markle the tiara for the hair testing.
