Meghan Markle was once hailed for being a breath of fresh air for Britain’s fusty royal family, but the honeymoon is long over.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back as senior royals in 2020 and moved to California. Now, Meghan is gearing up to launch her grand comeback to public life.
According to reports, the mother of two will be unveiling her Netflix series and lifestyle brand in 2025. But after the couple aired their grievances, and the 43-year-old was accused of bullying by palace courtiers, one royal expert believes it’s unlikely Meghan will ever be welcomed back with open arms across the pond.
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Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex during Trooping The Colour on June 9, 2018, in London. Meghan’s appearance at this event was parodied by Comedy Central’s “South Park” in an episode titled “The Worldwide Privacy Tour.” (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
“I don’t think Meghan will ever win over the U.K. public again,” Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine and author of “My Mother and I,” told Fox News Digital.
“Things change very quickly, but I cannot see it happening,” Seward insisted. “Not in this generation. Maybe there’s a younger generation that Meghan might win over. I know she probably appeals to younger rather than older people.”
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“Everyone agrees that Meghan is a gorgeous-looking girl and very stylish… but it doesn’t mean that you like her,” said Seward. “I just think at the moment, people in the U.K. simply don’t like her.”
Meghan Markle is poised to make a public comeback to royal life. But Ingrid Seward believes the U.K. public may have already made up their minds about the Duchess of Sussex. (Robin L Marshall/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
The Duchess of Sussex and her husband, Prince Harry, have been estranged from the family since they quit royal duties. The couple said the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British press were what prompted them to step back as senior royals.
After moving to California, they gave a televised interview to Oprah Winfrey, which was viewed by nearly 50 million people globally, and filmed a Netflix docuseries. The Duke of Sussex also wrote a bestselling memoir, “Spare,” which detailed his struggles with royal life.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex gave an interview to Oprah Winfrey in 2021 that was viewed by nearly 50 million people globally. (Joe Pugliese/Harpo Productions via AP)
Days before the Duke and Duchess of Sussex sat down with Winfrey, The Times of London published a report alleging that Meghan had driven out two personal assistants and that staff had been “humiliated” on several occasions during her time living in Kensington Palace.
Meghan’s lawyers denied the allegations. At the time, a spokesperson for the duchess said the claims were just the “latest attack on her character.”
In 2021, The Times of London published a report accusing Meghan Markle of bullying palace staff. The duchess’ lawyers and representative denied the allegations. (Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images)
Between the accusations and their public woes about royal life, their popularity quickly plummeted.
“I think sadly in the U.K. they are really not liked, especially Meghan,” Seward explained. “People see her as a girl [who] took her husband away from his family, and she’s a girl [who] abandoned her own family. Not all of it, obviously not, but her father. And now, she’s persuaded Harry to abandon his father, and he dissed his own family in his autobiography. He didn’t have to do that.”
Meghan Markle doesn’t have a relationship with her father, Thomas Markle, who has given numerous interviews to U.K. outlets. (Getty Images)
“I think people really have a very, very low opinion of the Sussexes,” Seward continued. “I think there is a big fondness for Harry still. I think people feel that he’s totally manipulated by his wife, which we don’t know, but I think people feel that.
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex participated in a Netflix docuseries that became available for streaming in December 2022. (Netflix)
“At the moment, people are just not interested in them here, but they’re interested in reading about their demise… They’re not interested in perhaps reading about how well they might be doing. We never hear if they’re doing well because we only hear about the bad things they do.”
“People are fickle, and it could all change,” Seward added.
“I think people really have a very, very low opinion of the Sussexes… I think there is a big fondness for Harry still. I think people feel that he’s totally manipulated by his wife, which we don’t know, but I think people feel that.”
Meghan Markle was an actress starring in “Suits” before she met Prince Harry. (Frank Ockenfels/USA/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
In June 2023, Buckingham Palace announced it had investigated how the staff had handled allegations of bullying.
According to palace officials, the details of the independent review were not being released to protect the confidentiality of those who took part. Following the review, officials said the palace’s human resources policy had been updated, but the palace declined to say what the changes were.
In her interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan Markle said Kate Middleton, the revered Princess of Wales, made her cry leading up to her royal wedding in 2018. Meghan clarified that the mother of three apologized. (Getty Images)
It wasn’t the first time that Meghan was scrutinized by the British press.
When Harry, 40, began dating Meghan, the “Suits” star was criticized by the U.K. tabloids for everything from eating avocados to wearing dark nail polish. However, others pointed out that Meghan is hardly the first royal to get a rough ride in the media.
Prince Harry’s memoir “Spare” was published in January 2023. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
The press and the royal family have an intense and often toxic relationship going back decades.
Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, was snapped by paparazzi wherever she went. When she and the former Prince Charles admitted that their marriage was in trouble, her private life became public property.
Like Meghan Markle, Prince Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, was targeted by the tabloids before her death in 1997 at age 36. (Terry Fincher/Princess Diana Archive)
Diana was killed in a Paris car crash in 1997 while being pursued by photographers. She was 36. Harry later said he feared “history repeating itself.”
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle married in 2018. The Duke of Sussex expressed fears of history repeating itself, referring to his wife and his late mother, Princess Diana. (Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images)
“I lost my mother, and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces,” said the father of two.
Kate Middleton was also scrutinized for years before she became the Princess of Wales. She was accused of being lazy for not having a full-time job and dubbed “Waity Katy,” for seemingly waiting for Prince William to propose. Since then, she’s been praised for representing the future of the British monarchy.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex at the Paley Gala honoring Tyler Perry on Dec. 4, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images)
But drama continued to follow the Sussexes as they tried to control the narrative. Their media blitz of tell-alls was met with both sympathy and contempt. And many have wondered if Meghan can win over the public again by creating a successful brand in the States.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been working on solo projects that sparked divorce rumors. Prince Harry shut down those claims. (Simon Dawson – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Page Six recently reported that Meghan will be launching a Netflix show centered on “cooking, gardening and entertaining” in “early 2025.” She will also unveil her lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard. Sources told the outlet some staffers from Archewell, the foundation she and Harry created, are involved.
Meghan Markle’s upcoming series will focus on “cooking, gardening and entertaining.” (Getty Images)
“As far as Meghan being quiet, she’s been in the background working on her entrepreneurial efforts,” an industry insider told the outlet.
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“Both the Netflix project and her brand will come out within the same timeline in the New Year,” the source claimed. “It’s going to be a good year for Meghan specifically, she’s spent the majority of the year doing work behind the scenes to launch a project in the first few months of 2025.”
A source who knows the couple told the outlet that “they are going to be criticized no matter what.”
“When they’re together, there’s headlines that Meghan is too controlling or trying to be the star of the show.”
Meghan Markle is gearing up to launch her lifestyle brand and series in 2025. (Diego Cuevas/Getty Images)
Kinsey Schofield, the host of the “To Di For Daily” podcast, claimed to Fox News Digital that it’s going to take more than a celebrity-branded jam to sweeten up her image.
“I don’t think anyone is looking at American Riviera Orchard thinking that this is going to be a home run,” Schofield claimed. “Everything with these two is so messy. But Crisis Management Meg is a crucial step in her attempt at flying solo. There is also one key ingredient needed to excel in personality-driven television – an authentic personality. And I think that is something that Meghan Markle lacks.”
Meghan Markle was last in the U.K. when Queen Elizabeth II, England’s longest-reigning monarch, passed away in 2022 at age 96. (Kirsty O’Connor – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
“How many times are we going to hear the words ‘Meghan Markle rebrand’ or ‘Meghan Markle comeback’?” Schofield argued. “Peak Meghan was May 19, 2018 – the day she married Prince Harry. And there’s no comeback from March 7, 2021 – the day her interview with Oprah Winfrey aired.”
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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the Commonwealth Day Service on March 9, 2020, in London. Their appearance took place shortly before they made their royal exit that year. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
“I don’t think Meghan will ever be as popular as she once was, and she only has herself to blame,” Schofield added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
