It was like a bad fairy tale: the princes and the peeved. The tale of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry started as a storybook romance. But somewhere along the way, it dissolved into testy arguments and family feuds. Tom Bower’s “Revenge” goes into the ugly details.

He thinks he knows who to blame, too. Although the book’s full title is “Revenge: Meghan, Harry, and the War Between the Windsors,” Markle is the book’s real subject and its snarky author’s target.

Markle’s beginnings didn’t hint at the international drama to come. She was born in Los Angeles in 1981, the daughter of Thomas Markle, 37, and Doria, 24. Thomas was white, a lighting director on TV. Doria was Black, a free spirit trying to establish herself as a designer. The marriage didn’t last and Thomas assumed full custody.

After college, Markle went on endless Hollywood auditions. She was one of the hostesses on “Deal or No Deal.” She met and wed a young producer. The union didn’t last. But Markle had already landed a part on “Suits.” She began chasing endorsement deals and spokesperson gigs and began to distance herself from her her past.

In 2016, Markle met a fashion publicist who was a childhood friend of Harry’s. Bower reports Markle asked if the publicist could set up the actress with the prince. The date was a success. British tabloids started investigating Markle’s American roots. The coverage became snobbish, even racist..

Harry proposed and she accepted. The wedding itself was a success. But what came next? Traditionally, the new bride would be expected to assume a supporting role. But Markle had always dreamed of being a star.

“The Royal Family had embraced a media junkie determined to exploit her new status,” Bower declares.

The couple has since settled in California. And what have they left behind in England? Only bad feelings, insists Bower. He coldly sums up Markle as a “merciless opportunist.”