It’s been just over two years since Prince Harry sensationally confessed in his memoir to having taken cocaine, marijuana and ‘magic mushrooms’ during his younger years ahead of his marriage and subsequent move to the US with wife Meghan Markle.
However, after an unrelenting campaign by a US think-tank for the information in Harry’s US visa application to be made public – which the US Heritage Foundation hoped would reveal his admission or denial of drug misuse, both of which would break US immigration laws – official papers were released last week.
The shock decision to release the previously sealed documents came just weeks after the premiere of Meghan’s Netflix lifestyle show, With Love, Meghan, and insiders say the couple are at their wits’ end with the humiliating drugs scandal.
And on top of that, they’re having to deal with a new barrage of claims over the state of their marriage, with reports that Netflix are going to keep ‘ties’ with the couple, despite ending their multi-million contract, as their divorce would be a ‘ratings winner’.
A source says, ‘Harry and Meghan are sick to death of this saga. They can’t believe it’s still dragging on and find it excruciatingly annoying how it always seems to rear its head at the worst possible time. They’ve cultivated a squeaky clean, wholesome and responsible image and want to appeal to families and ethically-minded professional types.
‘Yet because of this on-going campaign by the Heritage Foundation - which they feel is ridiculous – the ‘drug scandal’ element is being dragged out in public and Harry is being raked over the coals and branded a liar.’
And it seems the Sussexes - who currently live in the exclusive enclave of Montecito with children, Archie, five, and Lilibet, three - can’t win.
Despite the documents that were released by a US court being heavily redacted, with officials choosing to block out details of Harry’s actual visa application on the grounds that it ‘would potentially expose the individual to harm from members of the public’, this decision has caused a backlash.
A member of the Heritage Foundation accused Harry of using his ‘wealth and status’, adding that this was not ‘the end of the road’.
The saga is just the latest in a long line of humiliations that Harry, 40, has suffered following the release of Spare in 2023.
US President Donald Trump, who recently met with Harry’s estranged brother Prince William, caused further embarrassment when he became the latest in a long line of famous faces to mock the couple. After rumours that the President would kick Harry out of the country when he took office in January, Trump joked, ‘I'll leave him alone... He's got enough problems with his wife. She's terrible.’
But the source says the on-going furore and the uncertainty over his future in the US is taking a toll on Harry and Meghan, 43.
They add, ‘It is really wearing him down. Meghan is equally stressed because she hates to see him so stressed and upset.
‘On one hand they’re pleased the application was sealed in large parts, that’s something of a small win. But it doesn’t take away from the fact they’re up to their necks in more drama and scandal – and one they have little to zero control over. All they can do is hope that it’ll go away eventually.’
To add to their woes, the divorce rumours that have shadowed the couple in recent years have reached fever pitch following reports that Netflix bosses are allegedly ready to end the Sussexes’ rumoured £77 million contract, but are secretly keeping close to Meghan in case of a divorce from Harry providing rich content in future.
However, Harry has continuously denied reports, joking at the New York Times 2024 DealBook Summit last year, ‘We've apparently divorced maybe 10, 12 times as well. So it's just like, what?'
His rebuttal came ahead of reports late last year that the couple hadn’t been spotted together since their ‘quasi-royal’ tour of Columbia in August – a month before Harry spent his 40th birthday with friends apart from Meghan before embarking on a series of solo trips.
But Meghan and Harry put on a united front when they attended the opening ceremony for The Invictus Games in Canada last month, where he wrapped a protective arm around her, and the pair were photographed holding hands in the stalls.
But our source says the continued split speculation is just another setback in their bid to create their new life as a family in California and away from the Royal Family.
The insider says, ‘It’s the last thing they need right now and a real kick in the teeth – they feel humiliated, especially with all the divorce comments too.
‘Plus of course there’s still that ultimate nightmare scenario that Harry could yet be kicked out of the country – even though they’re confident that won’t ultimately happen, it’s still there, hanging over them.’
They add, ‘Harry is starting to wonder if he’ll ever be able to escape his past and get the chance to move on with his new life in America, he can’t believe the level of vindictiveness that he and Meghan both continue to suffer.’