They have been desperately trying to carve out a life for themselves in Montecito, more than 5000 miles away from their past lives as working members of the royal family. But almost five years after turning their backs on The Firm, the American Dream that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have so tirelessly strived for has, by all accounts, slipped away. In the wake of Harry’s 40th birthday in September, he and former Suits star Meghan, 43, have been dogged by claims that their marriage has landed on shaky ground. While once seemingly inseparable, the pair have been notably carrying out more solo engagements.
But speculation surrounding the state of their six-year marriage is not all the Sussexes have had to contend with. With the imminent US election, questions have been raised about their future in the States if Donald Trump gets elected. After Harry confessed to trying drugs in his memoir Spare, questions have been raised over whether he disclosed this controversial information on his paperwork when entering America. ‘If he lied, they’ll have to take appropriate action,’ former president Trump previously said over the issue.
Whether that appropriate action is leaving America for good, the couple still continue to face intense public scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic. ‘Meghan’s deeply affected by the negative public perception and every time she turns around it seems like there’s another hit piece,’ an insider shares.
And, with their A-list pals falling increasingly by the wayside – thought to include the Beckhams, Oprah Winfrey and George and Amal Clooney – some famous, non-acquaintances have had no qualms publicly bashing the former royals over the years. It’s safe to say they have zero affiliation with Team Sussex…
Tina Brown
Not afraid to mince her words, former Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Tina Brown gave a wholly honest opinion on Harry and Meghan after calling Megxit a 'disaster’ years earlier. Venting on The Ankler podcast, Tina said, ‘The trouble with Meghan is that she has the worst judgment of anyone in the entire world. She’s flawless about getting it all wrong. All of her ideas are total crap, unfortunately.' She went so far as to call Harry ‘the lamb to the slaughter in this situation’, adding, ‘And he just sort of blindly followed her like a child, really.’
A source divulged to Closer how Tina’s scathing narrative affected the Duchess of Sussex, saying, ‘It was a shock and so hurtful, it felt like a punch in the gut. No matter what Meghan does, or doesn’t do, it seems there’s always a line-up of people ready to rip her to shreds. This whole “Wicked Witch” narrative is something she tried so hard to shake when she was in the U.K., she never expected it to follow her to America.’
Kelly Osbourne
Never one to bite her tongue, Kelly Osbourne has had some choice words to say about Harry and Meghan’s repeated attacks against the royals – calling Harry a ‘f**king twat’ in June last year. She later clarified her opinions, explaining, ‘Maybe it’s because I feel a certain level of disappointment in the sense where I feel like they had an opportunity to become the most liked, loved people in the entire world that could actually bring some positive change. But then, they went down this, like, victim road instead. I get wanting to leave [the royal family], but then just leave. Don’t leave and then just give, “Woe is me” stories about how difficult it was.’
Piers Morgan
It’s safe to say that Piers Morgan has bigger beef with the former royals than a carnivore convention – yet it all could have turned out so differently. According to the news host, he had a short-lived friendship with a pre-marriage Meghan – enjoying ‘a couple of dirty martinis’ with her at a London pub. However, after meeting Harry, she apparently ghosted the TV host, prompting him to label her ‘a social climber’. Still, it was in 2021 that things really soured when – in the wake of Harry and Meghan’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey – Piers said he ‘didn’t believe a word’.
After clashing with fellow GMB presenter Alex Beresford live on air, Piers stormed off camera and never returned to the show, later claiming, ‘If I have to fall on my sword…so be it.’ In the years since his dramatic GMB walk-out, Piers has lambasted the couple on countless occasions, recently referring to them as ‘two spoiled brat renegades who ditched royal duty and service for a life of self-enriching Hollywood glitz and glamour.’
Bethenny Frankel
As one of The Real Housewives of New York City’s most vociferous alumnae, Bethenny Frankel’s not afraid to start a rift – and she proved just as much in July 2023, when she lashed out at Harry and Meghan and their indelicate transition from working royals to Hollywood stars. ‘How do you do every single thing wrong?’ she railed, calling their highly publicised outbursts against the monarchy ‘a botched job’. She continued, ‘I can’t just imagine going from hero to zero like that,’ concluding that the only thing left to do was ‘go away for a long time’ and ‘close the mouth’.
Megyn Kelly
Former Fox News presenter Megyn Kelly once dedicated her Twitter feed to Sussex scorn. Slamming them for ‘complaining and moaning and seeing themselves as downtrodden victims,’ she’s also labelled them ‘whiny, lazy losers’.
Howard Stern
You might notice that ‘whiny’ is a word that often crops up when it comes to the Sussexes – and US radio host Howard Stern agrees wholeheartedly. In 2022, after their Netflix docuseries premiered, Howard labelled them as whiny b**ches’ and said their decision to air their grievances so publicly was ‘very weird’ for two people who have so vehemently demanded their privacy. He added that the series was ‘painful’ to watch and that it was ‘like the Kardashians, except boring’.
Noel Gallagher
They might not be the most obvious doppelgangers, but Prince William and Prince Harry actually have a lot in common with Noel and Liam Gallagher – at least according to Noel. The Oasis star said he related heavily to Wills, whose estrangement from Harry mirrored his own famous fallout with his younger brother, Liam. Before the Gallaghers patched things up to reunite as Oasis this year, Noel said, ‘Prince William. I feel that f**king lad’s pain. He’s got a f**king younger brother shooting his f**king mouth off with s**t that is just so unnecessary. I’d like to think I was always the William.’
Bill Simmons
Who can forget Harry and Meghan’s highly lucrative $20m deal with Spotify, which crashed and burned in spectacular fashion in 2023 after Meghan produced just 12 episodes of content for her podcast Archetypes? Spotify eventually pulled the plug due to their pair’s lack of output, with Spotify executive Bill Simmons tearing into the pair for their inertia.
Speaking on his own podcast, Bill – who acts as the company’s head of podcast innovation and monetisation – called them ‘grifters’. He added, ‘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… F**k them.’