Once can surmise that the life of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in the US hasn’t been half as private as the lives they implied to the public that they wanted to live. Instead the Sussexes have – in no small part thanks to their Netflix and Spotify deals – had a very publicized existence since leaving the Royal Family. Suffice it to say that Harry’s memoir, Spare, didn’t exactly help to quell interest.
While the couple’s children will soon start kindergarten and preschool, the Sussexes are allegedly having problems. In the past it’s been rumored that they wanted to be a part of Hollywood celebrity society, but many A-listers didn’t want anything to do with them. Now, according to new reports, Harry’s friends don’t want to visit him.
The Duke hasn’t journeyed home to the UK often of late. You’ll remember, Harry and Meghan were evicted from Frogmore Cottage by King Charles, and since then haven’t had a “base” in the prince’s old home country.
However, if we’re to believe reports, a sh0ck return could be on the table, with one royal expert suggesting that Harry is looking for a ‘permanent’ home in the UK… and for one sad reason.
Harry and Meghan’s move to the US marked the beginning of a completely new life far away from everything that had anything to do with their previous royal duties. Leaving the Royal Family was a huge undertaking for the then family of three, but they managed it. Since then, Harry and Meghan have welcomed their daughter, Princess Lililbet, who turned three just some weeks ago.
Prince Harry & Meghan Markle
The couple has expressed a desire for a more private life, but their many accusations against the Royal Family, made clear in their infamous Oprah Winfrey interview, Netflix series, other interviews, and, foremost, Harry’s tell-all memoir Spare, has made them staples on the front pages of newspapers worldwide.
Harry & Meghan have also started several business ventures, and at the time of writing Meghan is said to be endeavoring to better develop her own brand. Some months ago, American Riviera Orchid, the Duchess’s lifestyle brand, was launched, however the reception it received initially was different from what she expected.
Meghan’s first product launched through American Riviera Orchid was a new jam. Sadly, it was mocked, because of tasting average, and its astronomical price tag. As per royal expert Tom Quinn, she was left in tears over the “unfair criticism” she received.
“The one fly in the ointment is Meghan’s new internet brand, America Riviera Orchard. Meghan was in tears when the brand launched, and her new jam was widely mocked for being expensive and nothing special,” he told the Mirror.
“She has reached the point now where she thinks that anything and everything she does will be unfairly criticized. Like her husband, she feels that people are unfairly picking on her – she cannot understand why people don’t admire her work.”
“She is especially sensitive about any criticism of her luxurious lifestyle in the US – from her point of view this is something to be admired not criticized.”, the royal expert added.
The current life of the couple in Montecito, California, looks markedly different from the one they left in the UK. Above all else, they aren’t followed by paparazzi everywhere, and the mere fact that Meghan was able to give birth to daughter Lilibet in relative peace – compared to when Archie was born in the UK – was life-changing.
As the two settled into their new life, Harry was foremost seen at the Santa Barbara polo club, not far from their Montecito mansion, while Meghan spent more time in Los Angeles, about a 90-minute drive away.
The pair were both said to have wanted to make their way into Hollywood’s celebrity society. But according to Hollywood insider, broadcaster, comedian, and actor Tim Dillon, that interest wasn’t mutual.
“I know people in LA that know them, and all they want to do is hang out with celebrities. I was at a celebrity party the other night talking to somebody about this, and they go, ‘These people are just… it’s constant with them,’” Dillon said on the “They Come and Go” episode of his podcast, The Tim Dillon Show, last summer, according to the Daily Mail.
“She was texting the person I was with there – and, ‘no, you can’t come’. I shouldn’t have even been there. But the point is they just won’t stop, these two. They are just like moths to the flame trying to hang out… They’re like low-grade reality stars that are trying to attach to anything.”
It was not the first time Harry and Meghan were criticized by Dillon. Back in September 2021, the comedian tweeted:
“Harry and Meghan are such a gift to this country. Thank GOD for them. They make everything OK. Just because they’re here. They’re helping people by being on NETFLIX! This was such a happenstance thing, not at all a plan they had. I love when good things just happen. There IS hope!”
“She wants everything all at once”
Going into further detail regarding Meghan’s text messages, Dillon claimed that friends of his showed text messages from the Duchess in which she begged people to “hang out.”
“She is trying to get places. It’s sad. A lot of it isn’t working, and they are rolling their eyes to me, and they’re going LOL, and we are all having a good laugh about this because they’re just a bunch of goons, and no one cares.”
The broadcaster and comedian added: “Now listen, at the end of the day, I respect the hustle, I get what she’s trying to do, I get what they are trying to do, but it didn’t work, right? A lot of people at this party were like, ‘Hey man, you know, we text her back, we tried to be nice, she’s the Duchess, but we’ve had enough, we’ve had enough of her.”
Launched via Spotify, Meghan’s podcast was an unmitigated disaster, and ended up being canceled. A Spotify boss labeled her and her husband “grifters,” but her career as a podcast host is not apparently over.
No, the Duchess is set to launch a new podcast with Lemonada Media, but according to reports, it has been pushed back to next year. An insider has told In Touch that Meghan is “greedy.”
“She wants everything all at once, and it’s backfiring on her again. She’s become a total joke and is overplaying her hand,” the insider stated, as per NY Post.
“That clearly didn’t go down well with Lemonada. They surely expected to be Meghan’s priority project, but she must have decided she had bigger fish to fry with Netflix. Almost everything they’ve tried has ended in disaster.”
Another insider said to In Touch that Meghan has lost all respect among Hollywood A-listers.
“Hollywood is glam and glitz on the outside, but the real stars have worked hard for their success — and you get the impression hard work isn’t really Meghan’s thing,” the source said. “Now, after all her failures, those A-listers — and the royals — are laughing at her!”
It seems that Harry and Meghan aren’t the most popular people among the upper echelons of Hollywood, and it shouldn’t be assumed that they are better liked by the UK family they left behind. The many allegations against leveled by Harry and Meghan at the Royal Family have left the likes of King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, and Kate Middleton furious.
Whether the royals and the Sussexes will ever make amends is yet to be seen. However, after Harry’s book Spare was released, it was clear that at least King Charles would not let him bash the Royal Family without consequence.
In March in 2023, just two months after Harry’s book was released, the world heard the bombshell news that King Charles had evicted Harry and Meghan from their UK base at Frogmore Cottage.
After moving into Frogmore, the couple renovated the royal estate to the tune of around $3 million. When they stepped down from their royal roles, Harry and Meghan agreed to pay back the entire price tag to UK taxpayers. They were still allowed to keep Frogmore Cottage as their UK base when visiting – but that has since changed.
Reports showed that Charles made his mind up about the future of the property just one day after Harry’s book, Spare, was released.
A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan confirmed that they had been evicted from Frogmore Cottage. Meanwhile, reports suggested that the Duke and Duchess were not happy about it.
Sources close to Prince Harry and Meghan claimed the couple were “stunned” by the decision.
“Harry and Meghan have until early summer to vacate,” a source told Omar Scobie, reporting for Yahoo, at the time. “Initially, they were given just weeks, but now they have at least until after the coronation.”
“It all feels very final and like a cruel punishment,” a friend of Harry and Meghan’s added. “It’s like [the family] wants to cut them out of the picture for good.”
Incidently, Prince Harry reportedly rejected King Charles’ invitation to stay at Buckingham Palace while he briefly visited London for an Invictus Games ceremony in May.
“For King Charles, forcing (Prince) Andrew to move to Frogmore solves several problems at once – it sends a message to Harry that, as a private citizen and no longer a working royal, he will never be allowed back to Frogmore,” he told the Mirror.
Quinn added: “It sends [a] message to Andrew that having disgraced himself, he can no longer expect to live in the grand style. And, finally, it means that a suitably grand residence can be made ready for the royals who really matter – William and Kate. Charles is determined that Royal Lodge is the only residence on the royal estate at Windsor that is big enough and regal enough for his heir.”
Little is known about Harry’s friendships in the US. Sure, he plays polo with some pals occasionally, but other than that, the finer details of who he spends his time with when he’s not with his family remain unclear.
Tom Quinn shares that Harry misses his army and college friends dearly. Sadly, they haven’t visited him in California because “they don’t get on with Meghan.” As a result, it’s been reported that the Duke is now looking for a “permanent” home in the UK.
“As time goes by, Harry misses some aspects of his old life in the UK. Inevitably, the honeymoon period where everything in the States is new and exciting is coming to an end and Harry is looking back at the past through rose-tinted spectacles,” Quinn claimed.
He added: “He misses his Old Etonian and army friends, many of whom have not visited as they don’t get on with Meghan. Harry is determined to find his own permanent home in the UK, which is partly why he’s continuing his legal action to get the British taxpayer to pay for his security.”
