It’s been no secret that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have faced animosity from senior royals since ‘Megxit’.
In 2021 the late Queen led the Palace’s response to the Sussexes notorious interview with Oprah Winfrey, where she famously claimed ‘recollections may vary’.
When Harry released his memoir Spare in January 2023, the Firm remained silent and have not commented on any of the revelations revealed inside the book.
But while last month’s ‘peace summit’ suggests relations between the two camps could be warming, privately some of the family’s closest friends have been quite candid about Harry and Meghan.
According to a royal source, friends of Prince William and Kate Middleton allegedly ridiculed Meghan after the announcement of her lifestyle company being rebranded to As Ever in February.
The friends reportedly referred to the Duchess of Sussex’s latest business venture as ‘As If’, as in ‘as if it will take off’, Bella Magazine reported.
One said: ‘It’s caused quite a bit of laughter within the group. WhatsApp messages have been going back and forth.
‘It’s all very budget and rushed. Embarrassing, really.’
Upon the launch of her lifestyle brand – which sells products including an assortment of teas, edible flower sprinkles and a £20 jar of honey – Meghan’s products sold out very quickly but then the website was not updated for several months.
That was until Meghan launched her latest line of products – Californian rosé wine. Customers were able to purchase three bottles for £66, six bottles for £118, and 12 bottles for £223 and it was sold out within the hour.
Meghan has also invested in a number of companies including the vegan coffee brand Clevr Blends and haircare line Highbrow Hippie.
Through her business ventures and lucrative deals with media brands, royal experts have hypothesized that Meghan could have ambitions to become a billionaire.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said Meghan has ambitions to become a billionaire with her various projects including TV and investing in start-ups, but Harry lacks the same ‘ruthlessness’.
‘Harry is increasingly finding himself as the spare in a relationship with Meghan which undoubtedly involves mutual affection, but where their priorities differ widely.
‘Meghan likes glitz and glamour and is absolutely ruthless as the interview on Oprah showed so clearly. Because she married Harry, her brand does have reach.
‘She would like to be a billionaire influencer and an A-list celebrity but she has very few A-list friends.’
He cautioned that Meghan’s hopes of becoming a billionaire, could be damaged by her problematic public image.
‘Her declining popularity in the United States is partly due to the bullying allegations which have dogged her though she strongly denies them, and partly because, as was pointed out by critics of her With Love, Meghan cookery show, she is too self-obsessed,’ Richard explained.
‘She should take advice from the infamous but pragmatic 16th-century diplomat Nicolo Machiavelli who wrote “It is not necessary that a prince (in her case a princess) be just. It is very necessary that he (she) appear to be”.
‘The talent isn’t there, the ambition is boundless, the self-love infinite and it shows far too obviously. The novelty has worn off, too. If you preach love but rubbish the royal family, which you married into, you might not make the fortune you seek!’
Meghan’s attempts to build a global empire have hit some stumbling blocks.
Harry and Meghan signed a lucrative £18million deal with Spotify in 2020. However despite appearing to be a joint venture, the only show they produced was hosted by Meghan.
In the series, titled Archetypes, Meghan interviewed various celebrities from Serena Williams to Paris Hilton.
The deal was ‘mutually ended’ in June 2023 with sources claiming the music streaming giant did not see a enough content to warrant the full payout.
And now Harry and Meghan’s $100m Netflix deal is reportedly ‘dead’, following ‘dismal’ viewing figures for With Love, Meghan, an insider at the streamer reportedly said.
Meghan’s lifestyle show failed to break into Netflix’s top 300 programmes for the first half of 2025 and was even thrashed by multiple seasons of Suits.
Harry’s passion project documentary Polo ranked at a disastrous 3,436 out of 7,000 shows and was only watched by 500,000 people in six months.
A second season of With Love, Meghan was announced by the Duchess herself as the first season came out in March this year as part of the couple’s $100million deal with the streaming giant, which expires this year.
But a Netflix source has claimed: ‘This deal is dead.
‘She had everything going for her – name, platform, press – and the numbers were dismal.
‘They’re just waiting for the credits to roll. They’re letting it expire without drama. There’s no appetite for anything new.’
Their most successful show was their first Netflix series about the Sussexes was released aptly named Harry and Meghan.
While it holds the record for the biggest debut for a Netflix documentary it received mixed reviews.
