It’s been 5 years since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as working royals and relocated to North America.
After a quick stint in Canada, the couple settled in California, the place they’ve made a everlasting residence for themselves and their two kids within the posh Santa Barbara neighborhood of Montecito.
However whereas the Sussexes’ lives may appear excellent on the skin, their try and rebrand themselves as American media moguls has met with one setback after one other.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex arrive on the United Nations Headquarters on July 18, 2022 in New York Metropolis. (Photograph by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Photographs)
Half a Decade because the Duke and Duchess of California
In actual fact, in current months, the state of affairs has deteriorated to the purpose that followers and critics alike started to invest that Harry and Meghan would transfer again to the UK.
It appears as if there are not any rapid plans to drag up stakes.
However at this level, even the couple’s most ardent defenders are admitting that they’ve encountered some critical hurdles on their path to changing into media moguls.
Britain’s Prince Harry (L), Duke of Sussex, and Britain’s Meghan (R), Duchess of Sussex, meet with kids throughout their go to on the Lightway Academy in Abuja on Might 10, 2024 as they go to Nigeria as a part of celebrations of Invictus Video games anniversary. (Photograph by KOLA SULAIMON/AFP through Getty Photographs)
As we method the primary milestone anniversary of the couple’s time in America, Vainness Truthful has taken a deep-dive take a look at Harry and Meghan’s half-decade in SoCal. And it’s secure to say that issues haven’t gone in accordance with plan.
The outlet didn’t communicate with Harry and Meghan for the piece it printed at this time. However it did interview quite a few sources who labored with the couple on media initiatives throughout their years within the US.
The Podcast Flop
One of many Sussexes’ most high-profile failures was the cancelation of Meghan’s podcast after only one season.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the closing ceremony of the Invictus Video games Düsseldorf 2023 at Merkur Spiel-Area on September 16, 2023 in Duesseldorf, Germany. (Photograph by Chris Jackson/Getty Photographs for the Invictus Video games Basis)
Insiders make it sound as if the venture was doomed from the beginning.
“They had this idea to do a podcast because they knew celebrities did them,” a supply recognized as a former Spotify tells the outlet, including that Harry and Meghan “didn’t do what celebrities do on podcasts, which is turn on the mic and talk. They wanted a big theme that would explain the world, but they had no ideas.”
Harry had an concept by which he would interview “sociopaths” like Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Mark Zuckerberg. (Zuck most likely isn’t thrilled to be lumped in with that group!)
“I have very bad childhood trauma. Obviously. My mother was essentially murdered. What is it about me that didn’t make me one of these bad guys?” Harry allegedly requested.
It was a provocative concept that didn’t come to go for apparent logistical causes.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend a Inventive Industries and Enterprise Reception on October 02, 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photograph by Chris Jackson/Getty Photographs)
And it appears that evidently after that premise fell flat, Harry kind of simply checked out of the podcast course of.
“I just felt like he kind of didn’t want to be there doing that at this time…. My expectation was ‘charming receiving line.’ And it was clear he wasn’t that person. At least that day,” says one supply.
“Didn’t Spotify pay you a lot of money to do this?” one other insider puzzled.
“He looks like the kind of guy who would, frankly, happily work for charities for the rest of his life and would be very happy if Meghan made all the money and he didn’t need to.”
Preserving Up Appearances
The most well-liked trendy podcasts function hosts who depart no query about whether or not they’re presenting their genuine selves.
They dabble in edgy humor and sizzling takes, and the listener feels extra like they’re hanging out with a pot-stirring good friend than listening to a elegant media venture. However apparently, Meghan is just not a fan of that degree of candor.
One insider says that there was a plan for her to say “b-tch” on an episode that may focus on using the phrase.
“You hear it all the time,” the supply remembers Meghan saying.
Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle throughout an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace on November 27, 2017 in London, England. (Photograph by Chris Jackson/Chris Jackson/Getty Photographs)
In the long run, nevertheless, the duchess performed issues secure by referring to it solely as “the B-word.”
One other episode was to be titled “Slut,” and would deal with a dialogue of the methods by which “trans women’s sexuality is used against them.”
Meghan determined to retitle the episode “Human, Being,” and it was “completely reimagined late in production,” the supply claims.
“Every episode got more and more watered down and further away from actual conversation,” says the insider.
“I think the whole world was waiting for her to be that person, and then she never jumped,” says a unique supply. “Diana walked amongst land mines. Meghan couldn’t even say the word slut.”
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex go to One World Observatory at One World Observatory on September 23, 2021 in New York Metropolis. (Photograph by Roy Rochlin/Getty Photographs)
That may be why some of us at Spotify wound up feeling as if they hadn’t gotten their cash’s price.
Sports activities media character and Spotify exec Invoice Simmons was notably harsh in his feedback on the state of affairs.
“’The F-cking Grifters.’ That’s the podcast we should have launched with them,” Simmons stated on his personal podcast.
“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-ck them. The grifters.”
Evidently, it feels like Meghan and Harry received’t be hanging one other take care of Spotify anytime quickly.
