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Queen's biting words to Harry over Meghan's 'tiara tantrum' are revealed

Meghan Markle in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle for her wedding to Prince Harry in Windsor, Britain, May 19, 2018. Jonathan Brady/Pool via REUTERS
The Queen Mary tiara was allegedly Meghan's second choice. (Jonathan Brady/Pool via Reuters)

The Queen is not known for her quick temper. In fact, for decades, the monarch has held her tongue and kept her counsel, often in the face of extreme provocation.

When it came to her grandson Prince Harry's wedding to Meghan Markle, however, the Queen had a few choice words for him – at least, according to royal biographer Andrew Morton, author of bombshell book Diana, Her True Story and the recent Meghan: A Hollywood Princess.

According to Morton, high-handed behaviour by Harry and Meghan in the run-up to their 2018 wedding was beginning to try the patience of palace staff.

There was the well-known falling-out with the Duchess of Cambridge, allegedly over the bridesmaids' tights (Meghan wanted bare legs; Kate, whose daughter Princess Charlotte was one of the five bridesmaids, said tights were royal protocol).

Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (C) walks up the west steps with Prince George (L) and Princess Charlotte (3L) and bridesmaids for the wedding ceremony of Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and US actress Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, in Windsor, on May 19, 2018. (Photo by Jane Barlow / POOL / AFP)        (Photo credit should read JANE BARLOW/AFP via Getty Images)
Looks like Meghan won that argument... (Jane Barlow/AFP via Getty Images)

In Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey in March, she recalled that Kate had "made her cry" and added that she had forgiven her sister in law and sent flowers.

But according to palace staff, who have since accused Meghan of "bullying", the scenario played out the other way around, with Kate leaving in tears.

Now, new chapters in Morton's book reveal the words the Queen allegedly snapped at Harry.

"In November 2018, just days after the couple returned from their successful tour Down Under, The Times reported that Meghan had thrown a ‘tiara tantrum’ shortly before her wedding because the tiara she wanted to wear was not available," he writes.

Watch: Royal Family highlights of 2018

Rather than giving in to Harry's request for the one Meghan wanted, Morton adds, the Queen replied: "She gets what tiara she’s given by me."

The Queen's dresser Angela Kelly, who oversees the royal jewellery, also told Harry it wasn't possible due to various security protocols.

Reportedly, Harry was "irate" over the snub, and uttered the immortal words "what Meghan wants, Meghan gets" to "anyone who would listen". We can assume that list did not include Her Majesty.

WINDSOR, UNITED KINGDOM - MAY 19: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 24 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex travel in an Ascot Landau carriage as they begin their procession through Windsor following their wedding at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018 in Windsor, England. Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales marries Ms. Meghan Markle in a service at St George's Chapel inside the grounds of Windsor Castle. Among the guests were 2200 members of the public, the royal family and Ms. Markle's Mother Doria Ragland. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
Is Harry brooding on tiara-gate? (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

Read more: The cost of Meghan Markle, Kate Middleton and Princess Eugenie's wedding tiaras revealed

According to tradition, royal women can't wear a tiara until their wedding days, and it wasn't until the day before the wedding, on 19 May, 2018, that the final choice was confirmed as Queen Mary's bandeau tiara from Her Majesty's collection.

Queen Mary commissioned it in 1932 to incorporate a brooch she had received on her wedding day. It was left to the current Queen, her granddaughter, in her will.

The Queen also lent a diamond to Meghan, to place in the centre of a diamond circlet at the front.

Portrait photograph in Buckingham Palace from the wedding of King George V and Princess Mary of Teck. Showing the family all posed in a group in their wedding clothes. Photograph taken in 1893. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Queen Mary, a blushing bride in 1893. (Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

In her voiceover for the royal wedding outfit exhibition at Windsor in 2019, Meghan said: "When it came to the tiara on the day I was very fortunate to be able to choose this very gorgeous Art Deco-style bandeau tiara.

"Harry and I had gone to Buckingham Palace to meet with Her Majesty the Queen to select one of the options that were there, which was an incredibly surreal day, as you can imagine.

"That was the one that I think as we tried them on stood out; I think it was just perfect because it was so clean and simple, and I think also at that point an extension to what Clare (the Givenchy head designer) and I had been trying to do with the dress, which was have something that could be so incredibly timeless but still feel modern."

Princess Eugenie during her wedding to Jack Brooksbank at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, Windsor, Britain, October 12, 2018. Danny Lawson/Pool via REUTERS
Princess Eugenie in the tiara Meghan allegedly wanted. (Danny Lawson/Pool via Reuters)

Read more: What Meghan was like on her wedding day, from those who were there

There's no indication in her words that the tiara she wore with her white column Givenchy dress was anything other than her first choice.

According to biographer Omid Scobie, co-author of Harry and Meghan biography Finding Freedom, which was reportedly sanctioned by the couple, her first choice was the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara.

The Queen refused the choice, and six months later, Princess Eugenie, daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, wore it for her own wedding to Jack Brooksbank.

Meghan's response has not been recorded.

Watch: Princess Eugenie, Jack Brooksbank reveal their son's unique name