BOOK REVIEW : HARRY - MEGHAN- HEART

FINDING FREEDOM : Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family by Omid Scabie and Carolyn Durand.

I'VE CRIED for Meghan Markle three times : The first time was two years ago, shortly before she married Prince Harry, when her father appeared out of this air and embarrassed his daughter.

Weeks later, I cried tears of joy when I watched her walk down the aisle on Prince Charles arms, and as the camera went from her face to Prince Harry's.

The third time I cried for Markle was after she told  ITV's Tom Bradby that not many people had asked her how she was.

I, like many others, am obsessed with Sussexes' love story. I grew up with a Zambian mother, who, like many other African mothers, was obsessed with Diana, Princess of Wales, and we are both invested in seeing her younger son find love and success.

As a college student, I was a fan of  ''Suits'' in its early days and followed Markle's lifestyle blog, The Tig, until I was taken offline in 2017.

Surely, part of my fascination, with Markle is her race,. It means something to me to seen an institution as old, rigid, and white as the British Royal family welcome Markle, who is divorced, American, older than Prince Harry and biracial, with an African-American mother and a white father.

Their wedding, with its inclusion of African history and culture as well as nods to the Commonwealth countries, seemed to usher in a new era for the Firm, as the Royal Family, is often called.

This is the context in which I entered the passwords and downloaded an app to access PDF of : ''Finding Freedom : Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal family,'' by two veteran royal reporters.

To ensure safekeeping, each page was stamped with my email address and the word ''CONFIDENTIAL,'' both in at least 18-point font.

The measures taken to keep the book a secret for as long as possible signalled that there would probably be a lot of new information in its pages.

''Yet  ''Finding Freedom'' did not deliver.

The book chronicles the couple's relationship, from their first date at Soho House in London to the prince's courting of Markle. Their first year together is depicted as one of bliss, facilitated by an innercircle who helped preserve their privacy by offering homes and personal jets.

That first year was filled with romance, with flights between Canada and London and details of things  like Prince Harry's favorite Emoji [the ghost].

This honeymoon phase came to a screeching halt when news of their relationship went public and the press descended.

''Finding Freedom'' does offer an alternative to the story line that has become a go-to for the couple's detractors, in particular for those who argue that Markle is high maintenance and controlling, and has forced her husband to to leave his family.

Here she is presented as the independent woman who emboldened him to stand up for himself and do whatever it took to get what he wanted : a Life outside the Firm.

The World Students Society thanks review author Tariro Mzezewa, a travel reporter at the New York Times.