A new royal book alleges that Meghan Markle had orchestrated a "coup" to secure "cheap publicity" at one of her surprise appearances last year. The Duchess of Sussex made headlines around the world last year after she attended Balenciaga's show during Paris Fashion Week in October 2025.

Meghan attended the main show before heading to the after-party.

Her team initially said her trip to Paris was to support Pierpaolo Piccioli, who recently assumed the role of creative director for the house, in what "marks her first time back to the shows in over a decade". The two of them had known each other for years. Now, according to Tom Bower's upcoming book, Betrayal: Power, Deceit and the Fight for the Future of the Royal Family, Mr Bower cited insiders who revealed what allegedly went on behind Meghan's surprise appearance in Paris.

In extracts serialised by The Times Magazine, Mr Bower alleges that Meghan "masterminded" a whole "coup" for her unannounced appearance.

He writes: "The coup was masterminded by Meghan herself. Meghan had worn a few of Piccioli's costumes. She called him with a suggestion.

"In return for all her expenses, she would make a surprise entrance at his show. In the battle against their rivals for publicity, Balenciaga calculated Meghan's proposal was a no-brainer. Nicole Kidman was paid millions of dollars by Chanel, so $250,000 for Meghan's expenses was comparatively cheap."

He then went on to say that Meghan's team consistent of her make up artist at the time, Daniel Martin, a stylist and a press spokesman. She stayed at a $22,000-per-night four-bedroom suite the Plaza Athénée Hotel.

The author alleges: "None of the assembled photographers around the hotel knew where she was heading as she walked through the lobby dressed in a stunning Balenciaga white trouser and cape outfit.

"For a brief moment, the spectator of fashion shows had transformed herself into a glittering performer.

"Even the empress of fashion, Vogue's Anna Wintour, was already sitting at the Balenciaga show looking at two empty seats beside actress Tracee Ellis Ross. Twenty seconds before the lights dimmed, Meghan made a royal entrance."

The author claimed the only "hiccups" during Meghan's appearance was actress Kristin Scott Thomas ignoring her, a video of her laughing after a model slipped on the runway and her controversial video near Princess Diana's car crash site.

In response to The Times' serialisation of Bower's new book, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said: "Mr Bower's commentary has long crossed the line from criticism into fixation.

"This is someone who has publicly stated, 'the monarchy in fact depends on actually obliterating the Sussexes from our state of life,' language that speaks for itself.

"He has made a career out of constructing ever more elaborate theories about people he does not know and has never met.

"Those interested in facts will look elsewhere; those seeking deranged conspiracy and melodrama know exactly where to find him."