Meghan Markle and her husband, Prince Harry, are living quite an extraordinary life in California, especially compared to the life they had while working as members of the royal family. The couple have secured multi-million dollar deals, but not all of them have been successful.
Meanwhile, the feud between them and the royal family continues. The fact that King Charles and Kate Middleton received cancer diagnoses morbidly enough opened up somewhat of a chance of them making amends with The Firm, and a good first step would surely be to visit them.
Prince Harry visited his father for a brief meeting after the monarch’s cancer diagnosis had been made public. Meghan didn’t travel with him, and it’s been a long time since she last stepped on UK soil. It’s been reported that it could happen next month. However, a source claims she may cancel the trip – because of fears for her children’s safety.
Harry and Meghan have been in the spotlight for years now.
Not only because they left the royal family – going on to feature in several high-profile interviews – but also because of their ongoing feud with the establishment they left behind.
Many felt the now-infamous Oprah Winfrey interview started their “war” against the monarchy. During the sit-down, the couple made startling claims regarding what they’d been forced to endure while living together in the UK.
Money still kept flooding in as they started their new lives.
In September 2020, the couple secured a five-year $100 million production deal with Netflix. Then there’s the four-book deal with their publisher – said to include an eye-watering $20 million advance and global royalties for Harry’s book Spare – which might be worth more than $120 million. Moreover, Meghan and Harry pocketed an additional $20 million for their Spotify deal. According to an industry expert speaking to Newsweek, the agreement itself might be worth $35 million.
Their Netflix series was a huge success, and Harry’s book, Spare, sold millions of copies in just a few days. Meghan even launched her own Spotify podcast, which seemed hugely promising in its early days.
However, in June last year, the couple suffered a huge setback, both career-wise and economically. Archewell Audio, the media group run by Harry and Meghan, and streaming giant Spotify announced that they had mutually agreed to end their multi-million dollar contract.
The $20 million contract saw the Duke and Duchess of Sussex produce just one series – Meghan’s podcast Archetypes – following their 2020 agreement.
Meghan’s podcast topped charts for weeks with her discussions with several influential women. Guests included stars such as Mindy Kaling, Mariah Carey, Trevor Noah, Serena Williams, and Paris Hilton. Despite the success, the two parties decided not to move forward.
The official statement read, “Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series that we made together.”
According to an unnamed Variety source at the time, Spotify was reportedly expecting more content from Archewell Studios than they delivered.
According to the Wall Street Journal, a source close to Spotify explained that Harry and Meghan didn’t meet the productivity benchmark required to receive all the money agreed on from the beginning.
In total, Meghan released only 12 episodes of her podcast.
Bill Simmons, the company’s head of podcast innovation and monetization, was unhappy with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s contribution under their contract.
Simmons founded the Ringer podcast network – and sold it to Spotify for around $200 million in 2020. According to The Guardian, he was handed a leadership role at the streaming company in the deal.
Shortly after Spotify and the Sussexes canceled their deal, Bill Simmons called them “grifters” on his podcast.
“I wish I had been involved in the ‘Meghan and Harry leave Spotify’ negotiation. The Fucking Grifters, that’s the podcast we should have launched with them,” Simmons said on the Bill Simmons podcast.
“I have got to get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories … Fuck them. The grifters.”
“They’ve done remarkably little”
At the time, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams declared the end of their Spotify deal a “shocking failure.”
“The idea was that several series would be produced. Since only one was, there’s no doubt the contract could be considered a failure. Clearly this relationship hasn’t been as mutually beneficial,” he said.
“Losing Spotify is a huge blow. How hard we’ll have to wait and see,” Fitzwilliams added. “The collapse of the Spotify deal puts under the microscope the three deals they’ve got – Netflix and Random House. They’ve done remarkably little for Netflix.”
While Harry and Meghan repeatedly complained about the treatment they had to endure in the UK, their dream of becoming more private and living a quieter life has been a central subject, often discussed since their move to the US.
Others argued that the Sussexes are actively trying to stay relevant, performing interviews, releasing a book, being involved in their own Netflix show, and creating podcasts. Indeed, it’s not quite the stepping back from the spotlight folk might have envisaged.
The fact that Harry and Meghan appeared to want even more time in the spotlight didn’t go unnoticed, and the couple was even mocked at one point on one of the most successful comedy shows in history.
A little more than a year ago, the couple got roasted on South Park.
Harry & Meghan mocked on ‘South Park’
In the episode, a scene from Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral shows two characters, based on Harry and Meghan, walking past a candle that looks identical to the one talked about last fall, supposedly blocking Meghan from the cameras. Claims were made that the royals had done it intentionally, and the scene in South Park was clearly a nod to the Duchess.
Also, in the episode, Harry promotes a new book titled WAAAAGH — an obvious nod to his memoir, Spare.
Harry and Meghan’s characters in the South Park episode meet with what could be called a “brand manager” who labels Meghan as a “sorority girl, actress, influencer and victim.” At the same time, Harry is branded a “royal prince, millionaire, world traveller victim.”
When Harry and Meghan began their new life in North America, it wasn’t long before they sat down with iconic TV host Oprah Winfrey. The resulting interview made headlines worldwide and shocked the monarchy to its core.
Of course, South Park did their own version of a Harry and Meghan sit down, with the two animated characters visiting Good Morning Canada in the show.
Upon walking into the studio, Meghan holds a sign that reads, “Do not look at us,” while Harry says, “We do not want privacy.”
The morning show host then asks Harry if he “hates journalists.”
The Prince answered, “That’s right, we just want to be normal people – all this attention is so hard.”
The scene ends with Harry and Meghan storming off the stage.
The South Park episode also included how they left the UK, though, in the show, Harry and Meghan moved to the town of South Park instead.
“If we moved here, people would think we’re really serious about wanting to be normal,” Meghan’s character said.
“It’s all frankly nonsense”
The other characters on the hit show didn’t appreciate their arrival, though. One of the lead characters, Kyle, accused Meghan’s character of “bossing” him around.
“I’m sick of hearing about them! I can’t get away from them!” Kyle says.
Kyle also states, “They have this huge jet parked in front of my house and they keep on wanting me to buy their book.”
According to a source in The Spectator, Meghan was not happy with the portrayal.
An insider said she’s been “annoyed by South Park but refuses to watch it.” Moreover, the Duchess was said to have been “upset for days” and “underwhelmed.”
At the time, royal expert Neil Sean said that the Sussexes might bring on a lawsuit on their own towards the adult comedy series. However, as of today, that has yet to happen.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson speaking on behalf of Harry and Meghan said the reports that they are angry about how they were portrayed are untrue.
“It’s all frankly nonsense. Totally baseless, boring reports,” the spokesperson told The Guardian.
Harry and Meghan have not been back on UK soil many times since they left the royal family. The two attended Queen Elizabeth’s funeral together, but as King Charles received his cancer diagnosis and Harry traveled to the UK to meet with his father, the Duchess stayed in the US.
The feud between the Sussexes and The Firm has been ongoing for years, and nothing points towards them ever making amends. Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan reached out to Kate Middleton after her surgery as well as when she announced she had been diagnosed with cancer – which Harry and Meghan reportedly heard of through the news and not directly from their family members.
Meghan turned down Prince William & Kate’s UK invite – she fears for her children’s safety
Even though the relationship is icy, one royal expert suggests that Prince William and Kate Middleton are ready to give it another shot to bury the hatchet.
Speaking with the Mirror, expert and royal author Tom Quinn stated that the Prince and Princess of Wales were open to the idea of inviting Harry and Meghan, as well as their children, to visit England.
However, Meghan didn’t seem too keen on the idea – and passed on the offer.
“There is no way Meghan would bring the children to the UK,” Quinn told the Mirror in early April.
“William and Kate have suggested that Meghan and Harry bring the children and that the two couples and their families try to make up, but the suggestion is not leading anywhere so far.”
Prince Harry is expected to return to the UK for a special Invictus Games service at St Paul’s Cathedral in May. Reports suggest that he is very keen on having Meghan by his side at the service, and at first, sources stated that she wanted to go.
But now, Meghan Markle has made a shocking u-turn — and once again, it concerns her children.
A source told OK! Magazine, that while Meghan had hopes of going to the UK with Harry in May, she didn’t want to bring Archie and Lilibet with her. She fears for her children’s safety.
“It’s now got to the point where Meghan doesn’t want to come to the UK with the children. She just doesn’t feel safe. The situation is now about whether the family should attend with increased security or Harry should go it alone,” the source said.
Moreover, Harry reportedly begged his wife to reconsider, saying, “I don’t want to do this alone.”
“She feels like she’s not wanted”
“Harry doesn’t want to keep making solo trips to the UK,” the source continued. “He would prefer it if the entire family made regular visits to see his family and build bridges, but there is so much going on behind the scenes that it just isn’t possible at the moment. “
Both Harry and Meghan were planning to come to the UK, but when the exact time and date of their appearance were made public, she started to rethink that idea,” the source said.
The children’s safety isn’t Meghan’s only concern about returning to the UK. The OK! Magazine source stated that the Duchess doesn’t want to “be thrown back into an anxiety-fueled visit to England where she feels like she’s not wanted.” At the same time, Harry is said to be very torn about how to support his wife while also supporting Kate Middleton, his sister-in-law, simultaneously.
Time will tell if Meghan Markle will join his husband for the UK trip. But one thing is for sure: A reunion with the royal family seems very far away.
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