Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are celebrating their 6th wedding anniversary on Saturday and their union will need to be as strong as ever as they weather the media storm.
“If you were a PR executive who took on Harry and Meghan a day after they got married, it would be almost difficult to embark on a strategy to remove them from their popularity in the way they have,” royal commentator Duncan Larcombe told Fox News Digital. “It would be hard to have done it deliberately and strategically. Now… the relationship with the British public has disappeared.”
The American actress, who starred in the legal drama “Suits,” became the Duchess of Sussex when she married the British prince on April 1, 2018, at Windsor Castle. It seemed like a real-life fairy tale, and the pair was celebrated as the new, youthful face of the British monarchy as Markle also brought a touch of Hollywood glamour to the royal family.
However, those dreams quickly crumbled when the couple made their royal exit in 2020. At the time, they alleged that palace officials were insensitive to Markle’s mental health struggles as she attempted to navigate royal life. The couple also claimed that the duchess, 41, faced racist attitudes from the U.K. press, which contributed to their decision to leave the country.
But life for the couple hasn’t been a happily-ever-after. Most recently, reps for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said they were pursued by photographers in a “near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi.” The incident occurred Tuesday night after the duchess was honored at the Women of Vision Awards in New York City.
“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers,” the couple’s spokesperson said. “While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone’s safety.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams criticized the “reckless and irresponsible” incident during a press conference, but also said he found it “hard to believe” a “two-hour, high-speed chase” happened in the densely-populated city wrought with traffic, pedestrians and ongoing construction projects.
It is the latest chapter in an ongoing saga that surrounds the couple.
Since moving to North America, the duke and duchess have repeatedly condemned ruthless tabloids as well as the constraints associated with royal life. They gave a televised interview to Oprah Winfrey in 2021 that was viewed by nearly 50 million people globally. A six-part Netflix docuseries titled “Harry & Meghan,” in which they slammed the intrusive British press, was launched in December 2022, followed by Harry’s explosive memoir, “Spare,” which was published in January.
Harry’s relationship with his family has been increasingly strained following their televised sit-downs, to the point that he was not even seen speaking with his brother Prince William during the king’s coronation earlier this month.
Larcombe said the couple’s popularity took a drastic turn with the public in the U.K. as well, following their sit-down with Winfrey. It has only deteriorated with time.
“That was a game changer,” he explained. “Because the accusation … [of] racism within the ranks of the royal family went down very badly here in the U.K. A lot of what they said turned out to be inaccurate. So much so that the queen released a statement saying recollections may vary.”
Harry later revealed on “60 Minutes” that their claims about comments made within the palace about “how dark” his son, Prince Archie, might be, have been misinterpreted.
“The key word here was ‘concern,’ as opposed to ‘curiosity,'” said the 38-year-old. “But the way that the British press, what they turned it into, was not … what it was.”
Larcombe alleged that the couple’s so-called “truth bombs” about the monarchy were viewed as “a betrayal” within the U.K. He said that while the public expected them to have “a quieter life” away from the limelight, they went on “to sign lucrative deals with the likes of Netflix, Spotify and Random House.”
“That was widely interpreted in the U.K. as selling the family secrets – talking about the royal family in exchange for enormous amounts of money,” he said. “So, that’s where their popularity, I think, started to plummet.”
“The damage was done,” he added.
