A Vanity Fair journalist denied a new royal book's claim that he felt manipulated by Meghan Markle when he interviewed her in 2017

• Journalist Sam Kashner has denied a royal book's claim he was "played" by Meghan Markle.
• Tom Bower's upcoming book details Kashner's interview with Markle for Vanity Fair in 2017.

The journalist Sam Kashner has denied a new royal book's claims that he was manipulated by the Duchess of Sussex when he interviewed her for the cover of Vanity Fair in September 2017.

Kashner's story, titled "Meghan Markle, Wild About Harry!" marked the first time the former actress had publicly discussed her relationship with Prince Harry, who she began dating in July 2016.

In an excerpt of his upcoming royal book, "Revenge: Meghan, Harry, and the War between the Windsors," published in The Times of London on Saturday, Tom Bower wrote about what allegedly happened behind the scenes during the interview.

Bower wrote that Kashner felt "played" by the duchess, who told him: "You're not like a typical journalist," and that she liked him because of his stutter, according to The Times of London excerpt.

Writing in the letters section of The Times of London on Tuesday, Kashner said: "Sir, I'm afraid Tom Bower didn't convey my admiration and respect for Meghan Markle in the excerpt of his new book in The Times on Saturday ("Writer 'felt manipulated' by Meghan"). I found Ms Markle to be exceptionally warm and gracious and admired her intelligence and remarkable courage, as I still do."

In the letter, titled, "My interview with Meghan Markle," Kashner addressed Bower's claims that Markle told him their friendship was over after he did not include a flattering anecdote about her activism. According to Bower's excerpt, the Vanity Fair article did not include Markle's comments about her campaigning success as a child against Procter & Gamble because the publication's fact-checkers could not confirm the entire story.

Writing in the letter to The Times, Kashner said that he regretted Markle's anecdote being edited out because "I'd wanted to highlight her lifelong activism."

"One more thing, I do not have a stutter," Kashner added. "I may hem and haw a bit but a stammer is not a stutter, and as far as I know, Ms Markle never said she liked me because of it!"

Representatives for Bower, Vanity Fair, and the Duchess of Sussex did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. Insider was unable to reach Kashner for comment.