Prince Harry Forced to ‘Banish’ Longtime Best Friend Because of Meghan

New reports are coming in alleging that Prince Harry has “banished” his childhood friend Tom “Skippy” Inskip from his inner circle of friends after he advised him not to marry Meghan Markle.

Daily Mail reported that it was previously thought that Harry’s falling out with Inskip was because the royal wanted to remove negative partying influences from his life. However, a new article published by Tatler claims that Harry actually cut his longtime friend out of his life because of issues Inskip had with Meghan.

The article addressed the criticisms that Meghan has received since marrying Harry, saying, “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.”

This comes after months of reports that a rift formed between Harry and his brother Prince William when the latter also advised him against marrying Meghan so quickly.

Harry and Inskip met as children when they were students at the renowned boarding school Eton, and they had been virtually inseparable for decades. Inskip was so close to Harry that he was known by the public as his “wingman,” and he attended his May wedding to Meghan with his own wife Lara.

“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,” a source said in October. “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.”

It’s always sad to see a friendship end after so many years, regardless of the reason. If Meghan did play a role in their falling out, we can only hope that she has a change of heart and allows Harry to continue his friendship with this dear old friend. Friends that stick with you through think and thin for decades are tough to find, so it would be nice to see Harry and Inskip rekindle their friendship at some point down the line.