When they quit royal life for Hollywood, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry couldn’t wait to start afresh and make the most of the many lucrative opportunities that came their way. However, things haven’t quite worked out the way that they planned as the current coronavirus pandemic has meant that, like the rest of us, they have been stuck inside, unable to work.
They have also found themselves facing a huge amount of criticism for “abandoning” the UK when they could have done so much to help here, as other members of the royal family have been doing. Now, it seems they are realising they may have made a big mistake.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle relationship timeline - Grazia
1 of 17July 2016: Meghan And Harry Meet
So when did the future Duke and Duchess of Sussex meet? Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were introduced by a mutual friend in July 2016, originally thought to be Markus Anderson (also the director of Soho house) but who was later confirmed to be Violet von Westenholz. Meghan said in an interview that before she met the Harry she didn't know much about him 'the only thing that I had asked [our mutual friend] was, 'Well is he nice?'. According to Harry he knew Meghan was The One from 'the very first time we met.' after only two dates Harry asked Meghan to accompany him on a trip to Botswana.
2 of 17October - November 2016: Kensington Palace's Statement
In October 2016 that the Express became the first newspaper to publish news that Prince Harry had a new girlfriend. However just a month later, Kensington Palace released a statement condemning the 'wave of abuse and harassment' faced by Meghan. The unprecedented statement, which referred to Meghan as Harry's girlfriend for the first time, emphasized that Prince Harry was 'worried about Ms. Markle's safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her.' It continued 'It is not right that a few months into a relationship with him that Ms. Markle should be subjected to such a storm.' The palace were also forced to address speculation that Prince William was unhappy with Harry for confirming the relationship too soon, stating 'The Duke of Cambridge absolutely understands the situation concerning privacy and supports the need for Prince Harry to support those closest to him.'
3 of 17December - February 2017: Things Get More Serious
Early in December 2017 Meghan was confirmed as the most Googled actress of 2016. In the same month, the couple were photographed together for the first time in London, shopping for a Christmas tree at the Pines and Needles store and attending a performance of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. By January 2017 a source told US weekly that Harry had introduced Meghan to Kate and Prince Charlotte and that the 'meeting went well'. Meanwhile a source told The Sun that Meghan had 'virtually moved in' with Prince Harry to his cottage on the Kensington Palace estate.
4 of 17March - May 2017: Meghan Attends Weddings With Harry
By March things were openly getting pretty serious between the two: Meghan accompanied Harry to Jamaica for a wedding for the first time (his friend's Tom 'Skippy' Inskip to Lara Hughes-Young). On April the 7th Meghan announced that she was closing down her lifestyle blog The Tig writing 'What began as a passion project (my little engine that could) evolved into an amazing community of inspiration, support, fun and frivolity. You've made my days brighter and filled this experience with so much joy.' In May, Meghan and Harry attended their first public event together at the Polo in Coworth Park (where they also engaged in some PDA). Later in May Prince Harry was seen driving Meghan to the reception of Pippa Middleton and James Matthew's wedding.
5 of 17September 2017: The First Official Public Appearance
Welcome to Meghan the style Icon: at the opening of Prince Harry's Invictus Games in September Meghan wore a maroon midi dress with a pleated chiffon skirt by one of her favourite Canadian brands, Aritzia with a burgundy biker jacket by Mackage. The next day the couple were photographed sitting together at the wheelchair tennis and 'broke with royal protocol' by holding hands and kissing at the closing ceremony. On the 5th of September In an interview with Vanity Fair, Meghan stated: 'We're a couple. We're in love. I'm sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories to tell, but I hope what people understand is that this is our time.'
6 of 17September-November 2017: Meghan Leaves Behind Rachel Zane
Late 2017 we saw the end of everyone's favourite legal powerhouse Rachel Zane (sob). In November 2017, shortly after Meghan met the Queen, the actress was reported to be leaving her role in Suits after seven seasons.
7 of 17November 2017: The Engagement
After months of speculation, Prince Charles announced the engagement of his younger son Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after 15 months of dating On November 27th 2017 . The engagement ring, said to be designed by Harry, is made of two stones that belonged to Princess Diana. The couple later appeared at a photocall, with Markle wearing a white dress coat by Canadian brand Line The Label (whose website subsequently crashed). When asked by waiting photographers if the proposal was romantic, Harry joked 'of course!' Speaking about his late mother, Princess Diana, Harry said 'I think they'd be thick as thieves. She would be over the moon, jumping up and down, so excited for me... It's days like today when I really miss having her around and miss being able to share the happy news. With the ring, I'm sure she's with us, jumping up and down somewhere else.' it was announced that the wedding would take place on May the 19th, 2018.
8 of 17December 2017: The Fab Four
In December 2017 Meghan, Harry, Kate and William were photographed together attending the Christmas service at Sandringham. Pictures of the two couples earned them the title 'The Fab Four'. Meanwhile in the following months Meghan earned a reputation for breaking royal protocol on official visits by hugging fans of the couple and kissing them on the cheek.
9 of 17February 2018: Kate And Meghan Appear In Public Together
In February 2018, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle had their first royal engagement together for the Royal Foundation Forum with Prince Harry and Prince William. Harry stated of the two couples 'We have different opinions and they work really well [together]. Working as family does have its challenges; of course it does. The fact that everybody is laughing shows they know exactly what's it like… But we are stuck together for the rest of our lives.'
10 of 17May 2018: The Lead Up To The Wedding
In the lead-up to the wedding it was confirmed 2,640 people would be invited to the grounds of Windsor Palace to watch the royal wedding. Photos of Meghan and Harry's wedding invitations were released, bearing Harry's legal name 'Henry'. Meghan and Harry made a number of public appearances together including to the Invictus game tryouts in April and attend the Queen's birthday at the Royal Albert Hall. Meghan's final episode of Suits is also aired, marking the official end of her acting career.
11 of 17May 2018: Meghan's Family Drama Begins
On May the 14th, three days before the wedding Meghan's father, Thomas Markle sr. who was confirmed to walk Meghan down the aisle pulled out, following an embarrassing incident in which he staged paid paparazzi photos. Thomas Markle later suffered a heart attack, and his son Thomas Markle Jr. penned an unflattering open letter to Harry criticizing Meghan and encouraging him to pull out of the wedding. The day before the wedding, Kensington Palace announced Prince Charles would walk Meghan down the aisle, stating 'The Prince of Wales is pleased to be able to welcome Ms. Markle to The Royal Family in this way.'
12 of 17May 2018: The Royal Wedding
Meghan and Harry wed on the 19th of May for a combined audience of 11.5 million people who tuned in to watch the ceremony. Meghan's gown was made by Clare Waight Keller, artistic director of the fashion house Givenchy which she later changed for a silk crepe dress by Stella McCartney. Her mother Doria Ragland attended the ceremony along with a host of celebrities including Meghan's former Suits cast and her close friends, George and Amal Clooney.
13 of 17May - October 2018: Married Life
Throughout May of 2018 Harry and Meghan made their first official appearances as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. For her inaugural attendance to the Trooping of the Colour Meghan wore an off-the-shoulder dress, reportedly breaking royal protocal. In the following months the newlyweds made a number of public appearances including to Ireland to meet the country's officials. They also took a rumoured trip to visit George and Amal Clooney in Lake Como.
14 of 17October 2018: The Royal Baby Announcement
Speculation began during Princess Eugenie's wedding that Meghan was pregnant owing to her loose coat. The rumours were confirmed when Kensington Palace announced on the 15th of October 2018 that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were expecting a child. The announcement also coincided with the first day of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's official tour.
15 of 17October 2018: Meghan And Harry's First Royal Tour
In October Meghan and Harry departed for their 16-day Autumn royal tour visiting Australia, Tonga, Fiji and New Zealand (obviously featuring some serious style moments from the newly-appointed Duchess of Sussex/Style). By November, sources were telling news outlets that the couple were preparing to move to Frogmore cottage in Windsor in 2019. The couple spent the anniversary of their engagement, November the 27th apart, due to Harry being in Zambia.
16 of 17November 2018 - Present: Feud Rumours
As Meghan and Harry embarked on life as newlyweds there was less plainsailing, as controversy continued to follow closely on their heels. Meghan's family have continued to be the subject of unflattering media headlines and Thomas Markle gave interviews to the media about his distanced relationship with his daughter. Meanwhile Samantha Markle (Meghan's half sister, who also claims to be penning a book about the Duchess) was put on a fixated persons list after showing up at Kensington palace in January. Rumours of a froideur between Meghan and Kate were sparked shortly after Meghan and Harry's nuptials by reports that Meghan reduced Kate 'to tears' during challenging dress fittings with Princess Charlotte. In February, Thomas Markle leaks a handwritten letter from Meghan to the media in response to friends of the Duchess defending her in an interview and following numerous staff changes, rumours arise that Meghan and Harry's staff refer to Meghan by the nickname 'The difficult Duchess'.
17 of 17March 2019: The Royal Households Split
In March 2019 it was confirmed that the Sussex and Cambridge's 'royal households' will split, meaning the couples will no longer share staff. Royal spokespersons confirm that Kate and William's staff team will stay in Kensington Palace while Meghan and Harry's staff will be based in Buckingham Palace, reflecting the location of their new residence of Frogmore cottage in Windsor. Representatives are quick to confirm this is a planned move, and not due to rumors of growing tensions between the couples.
“Meghan and Harry always felt it was right for them to quit the royal family and start a new life in Meghan’s native Los Angeles,” our source says. “It has all been carefully planned out, and they wanted to capitalise on their new-found freedom in America by taking up speaking opportunities and highly-paid endorsements, and for Meghan to get her acting career back on track. But it really couldn’t have come at a worse time and now they regret doing it when they did.
“Obviously, they couldn’t forsee what would happen with the world, but they can’t take up the many opportunities that were promised to them, and there is a lot of ill-feeling towards them in the UK because of the way they have handled this. They can’t help but feel that it would have been better to have waited a couple of years. They regret the way it’s all happened.”
The couple – who married two years ago and celebrated son Archie’s first birthday last week – announced in January that they would be leaving their positions as senior royals and splitting their time between the UK and Canada. Their last official duty in the UK was at the start of March.
It was then revealed that the couple had flown from Canada – a commonwealth country – to LA by private jet, before the US borders were closed due to the Covid-19 lockdown. When they quit, they said they wanted to become financially independent, although they would still be relying on money from Prince Charles. But now they will be finding hard to make their own money as everything in Hollywood is shut indefinitely.
They were also dealt another blow this month, when it was revealed Meghan had lost the first round of a lengthy legal battle with the Mail On Sunday, after the judge threw out parts of her claim for breach of privacy and copyright. It was also claimed she would have to pay costs – and there could be more costs if she loses the case.
“Charles won’t be providing money forever, and the plain truth is that there isn’t as much work around for Harry and Meghan as they thought there would be to justify their current lifestyles,” we’re told. “Lockdown has meant limited public speaking opportunities, movie studios have been tightening purse strings like crazy, and the cash flow situation isn’t good at all. Besides the day-to-day living expenses, they’re now staring down the barrel of a legal bill that could easily top a quarter of a million, and there’s a major panic about where they’ll find all this money. Obviously, they are not broke, but they need a considerable income to fund their lifestyle.”
They are currently eyeing up a $13million, six-bedroom mansion in LA – complete with a “granny annexe” for Meghan’s mum Doria to live in – and are also paying back £2.5million of taxpayer’s money for renovating their UK home, which they no longer have use of. They also have to pay for their own security after President Trump made it clear the US wouldn’t pay – although, to be fair, they didn’t ask the country to help.
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“Besides all the costs incurred by their new American way of life, they’ve still got the renovation charges from Frogmore Cottage to pay back. They’re well aware that people in Britain are watching them like hawks, so it would be a disastrous PR move to delay any of those payments,” our source adds. “Harry and Meghan are both incredibly proud people by nature, and they are adamant that they’ll fend for themselves and prove critics wrong. They have got a lot of irons in a lot of lucrative fires, but the issue is that the business world has virtually ground to a halt during the pandemic. That means opportunities to make cash right away are limited, to say the least.”
However, they are confident that they can overcome this blip. Last week, they released a video of Meghan reading a story to Archie to celebrate his first birthday and to help raise money for Save The Children. She looked relaxed being back in LA – where her and Harry have helped deliver food parcels to the vulnerable – and we’re told she is confident this is the right decision for them. Plus, they have the release of their biography, Finding Freedom, soon.
“Meghan accepts that the timing couldn’t have been worse, but she feels that if they didn’t quit when they did, then they would never have done,” our source explains. “It’s been a very stressful few months for them, but she knows that once things are back to normal, she and Harry will be in demand and can make the most of everything offered to them without any restrictions holding them back. At times, Harry has thought it may be easier to go back to what he knows, but they are much more relaxed out in America and he knows this is where Meghan is happiest. His family’s happiness is the most important thing to him.”