Meghan Markle and Prince Harry remain in the spotlight despite now being back in the US. With Harry preparing to release his new memoir, there’s a chance his rift with the Royal Family might further worsen.
Meghan, meanwhile, has done several bombshell interviews since she and Harry stepped back from royal duties. Recently, she sat down with Variety, and things took a somewhat more laidback feel.
The former actress gave fans a whole new insight into her private life with Harry and the children – even revealing details about their bedtime routine.
Despite Harry and Meghan attending the funeral of Queen Elizabeth in September and thus reuniting with the Royal Family, the tensions between the Firm and the Sussexes seems to be all but settled.
Harry & Meghan – rift with royal family
The couple left the UK shortly after the funeral, and while it might have appeared as though Harry and Meghan were showing a united front with William and Kate – and the rest of the family – during their time there, it might have all just been a show. At least that’s according to royal correspondent Russel Myers, working with the Daily Mirror.
The royals have had many ups and downs in the last year. When Queen Elizabeth passed, Harry and Meghan traveled to the UK together. The day after the Queen’s death, they appeared alongside William and Kate Middleton to present a united front to the world.
Yet, according to reports, that gesture merely papered over cracks that are still very much there.
William and Harry didn’t make eye contact as they thanked the public for their kind words. Kate and Meghan, meanwhile, didn’t interact at all.
For the Queen’s procession – where the male royals walked behind the coffin – Meghan Markle did not ride in the same car as Kate.
According to royal correspondent Russel Myers, there were careful attempts to portray a united front from Harry, William, Kate, and Meghan.
One such offering was the public walk together at Windsor Castle, which some took for a reconciliation.
“There is still a serious amount of distrust”
However, Myers says that there can be no rebuilding of bridges burned until Harry has put all of his cards on the table. And also after his book has either been published or scrapped entirely.
“The family continues to be in mourning and are now finally being allowed to grieve for the Queen away from the gaze of millions. However, any talk of a truce between the Prince (William) and the Duke (Harry) would only be temporary,” a royal insider told Myers.
“There is still a serious amount of distrust in the air and there hasn’t been any cause for that to change,” Myers said, adding that Meghan and Kate were “not known” to have exchanged words one single time during the period when Harry and Meghan were in the UK.
But it’s not just their relationship with Kate and William that has been a “problem” for Harry and Meghan. Months before the Queen’s funeral, Harry and Meghan made a quick stop in the UK where they were supposed to meet then-Prince Charles and Camilla to try and make amends. But, sadly, things didn’t turn out as expected.
According to royal correspondent Katie Nicholl, Harry and Meghan didn’t start on the right foot by arriving late.
“The meeting with Charles and Camilla was more awkward than their cordial tea with the Queen,” Nichol wrote in an extract of her book, published in Vanity Fair.
Harry “went in with hugs” at meeting with Charles & Camilla
“The Sussexes were late, and Charles had just 15 minutes with his son and daughter-in-law before he had to leave for the Royal Maundy Service at Windsor Castle, where he was standing in for the queen for the very first time.”
“While father and son are said to have greeted each other warmly, there were moments of tension,” she added.
On that note, Harry and Camilla’s relationship has also been notoriously frosty of late, which didn’t make the meeting easier.
“Harry went in with hugs and the best of intentions and said he wanted to clear the air,” a family friend told Nichol.
“He actually suggested that they use a mediator to try and sort things out, which had Charles somewhat bemused and Camilla spluttering into her tea. She told Harry it was ridiculous and that they were a family and would sort it out between themselves.”
When Harry and Meghan left the Royal Family, new business opportunities appeared. They signed big contracts with both Netflix and Spotify – Meghan recently launched her podcast, Archetypes.
Besides the Spotify and Netflix deals, Harry and Meghan are also known for giving back to the community the best way they can. In 2020, the couple launched the nonprofit organization Archewell. The name is a nod to their son, Archie.
Harry & Meghan – work, charity
It is a nonprofit that “drives systematic cultural change across all communities.” Upon its launch, a message from Harry and Meghan was posted on its website.
Previously, Harry also founded the Invictus Games, an international sporting event for “wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and women.”
Earlier this year, Harry’s foundation also teamed up with the mental health firm BetterUp, which Harry is involved in as well.
“At its heart, the Invictus Games is about empowering every single person around the world. It’s a worldwide display of resilience, determination, and community for which each of us can draw inspiration,” Harry said in a statement.”
Moreover, the couple also announced a new partnership with the Ving Project, promoting youth philanthropy amongst women.
They plan to give out $1 million and encourage teens between the ages of 14 and 18 to nominate women who have inspired them and “defied life’s hardships.”
Meghan and Harry currently live in Montecito, California, about two hours from Los Angeles.
Meghan reveals new details about their private life
In a recent interview with Variety, Meghan Markle gave the world an insight into the daily work lives she and Harry lead.
The mother-of-two revealed that she and Harry share an office, and since they work from home, they get significantly more time with their children.
“We’ll never get this time back. I make breakfast, and we get the kids set for the day. We do a lot of joint calls and Zooms, but also try to divide what we can focus our energies on so we can accomplish even more,” Meghan said.
“My husband is on a 24-hour time zone, where half of your life is waking up as the other half is going to sleep. It’s kind of the reverse of what I went through living in the U.K. He’s very good at responding on text. Me, I try to be as fast as possible on email. I’ve always said, if it takes less than five minutes, do it now.”
She added that the two commute together when they travel to Los Angeles. The secret to their success? Snacks.
“It’s funny. People sometimes think we live in Los Angeles, but we’re a good two hours outside of it. We’re commuters. We drove down recently for a day of back-to-back meetings, equipped with chocolate chip cookies the size of my toddler’s head,” Meghan said.
Harry and Meghan might be celebrities and former members of the British Royal Family, but that doesn’t mean they’re not just like you and me: people with regular habits.
Harry & Meghan’s bedtime routine
In the Variety interview, Meghan decided to share a personal side of hers that hasn’t really been disclosed otherwise. That included some lesser-known information about how she and Harry usually spend the night when the kids go to bed.
Do their evenings consist of fancy and expensive dinners at restaurants which they get to via helicopter, with butlers and servants? Well, not really.
“Once we have the kids to bed and have played a little Wordle, or [I have] done my ten minutes of DuoLingo,” Meghan shared.
“After these two things, if we turn on the TV, which is fairly rare, we are like most people with endless, endless, endless searching until you get so tired of searching you end up not watching anything.”
Harry’s upcoming memoir has been a talking point for a long time. Several reports have revealed that his book – published by Penguin Random House – will create new tensions between Harry and Meghan and the rest of the Royal Family.
Some say it will include sections focusing on the rift between Harry and William, and the presently-strained relationship between Harry and his father, now-King Charles.
Harry’s tell-all book has been said to be an “accurate and wholly truthful” account of his life. But painting a negative picture of his family could see he and Meghan get banned from attending his father’s coronation, according to a friend of Camilla’s.
Harry’s new memoir
By all accounts, Charles has a profoundly loving relationship with Camilla, and his protective feelings toward her are strong.
“Almost everything Charles has done over the past 20 years has, in one way or another, been about getting Camilla accepted by the public,” the source, who is anonymous, told The Daily Beast.
“He loves her. He is incredibly protective of her and he couldn’t do it without her. Even the Queen finally accepted that.”
Moreover, the source said that Charles wouldn’t hesitate to cut ties with his youngest son if he had to choose between Harry and Camilla.
“It is one thing for Harry to attack Charles, he can take it on the chin, but if Harry forces him to choose, by laying into Camilla in his book, I have no doubt he will choose Camilla.”
