Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are said to be surprised at the backlash they’ve received following successive revelations.
Several royal experts said the sympathy many expressed for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex quickly waned as the couple chose to speak out on several occasions.
The couple have been voicing their dissatisfaction with the British monarchy since they stepped down as senior members of the royal family in 2020 and moved to California, where they now live with their two young children.
Meghan Markle cries as she sits next to Prince Harry in the trailer for their Netflix documentary Harry and Meghan. (Netflix)
In December, the couple released a six-part Netflix documentary series titled Harry and Meghan detailing their decision to start a new life in the US. Then in January, Harry’s explosive memoir Spare One hit the bookshelves, revealing personal emotional turmoil and bitterness. family grievances.
Spare was published on 10 January. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
Harry, 38, has previously spoken of his estrangement from his father King Charles III and older brother Prince William since he left the UK.
“I really think Harry and Meghan were expecting more support from Hollywood than they’ve received recently,” Kinsey Schofield, host of the “To Di For Daily” podcast, told Fox News Digital. “Without a doubt, having Tyler Perry by your side makes you feel like a force to be reckoned with.”
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced that they will step down as senior members of the royal family in 2020. (Chris Jackson)
“I think Harry and Meghan had an amazing opportunity to rise up and become Hollywood royalty, but their propriety makes people think twice about the association,” Schofield shared.
Television presenter Nick Ede, who claimed to have been friends with Markle years before she met the British prince, recently claimed the couple didn’t realize they wouldn’t be known as “Hollywood royalty” when they moved to California.
“They’re actually pretty far down that hierarchy,” Ede told the British Express. “And I think that was the problem with them, in the sense that they retired. I think it’s because you forgot that in Hollywood, the royal family is not someone with a title. This is J Lo, this is Sharon Stone, this is Beyoncé, this is Kardashian. This is their royal family.”
Nick Ede claims he became friends with Meghan Markle years before she met the British prince. (Cedric Ribeiro/Getty Images for the Global Gift Gala)
However, some royal experts disagree. They noted that as long as the Sussexes hold royal titles, their Hollywood brilliance will continue to shine.
“I highly doubt that Harry and Meghan are wringing their hands worrying about being overshadowed by people like Beyoncé and Kardashian,” Christopher Andersen, author of The King, told Fox News Digital.
“The Duke and Duchess occupy a unique place in the celebrity universe, bringing a much-needed touch of class and even history to what would otherwise be translucently superficial,” he explained. “We are talking not only about the son and daughter-in-law of the King of England, but also about one of the heirs of the mystery and enduring charm of Princess Diana. Ongoing disputes – break with William and [his wife] Kate, the hoopla around Harry’s memoirs, Charles’s worries about whether his own son should attend the coronation – all this makes the Sussexes even more attractive to the Hollywood public.
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Several royal experts have said that as long as Meghan Markle and Prince Harry retain their royal titles, Hollywood will continue to admire them. (Samir Hussain/Samir Hussain/WireImage)
“Trust me, the biggest stars will tip their grandmothers over to be photographed next to Harry and Meghan on the red carpet,” Andersen continued. “In over half a century of writing about some of our biggest cultural icons, I’ve learned that celebrities in particular love to bask in the reflection of other celebrities’ glory. Bottom line: unless William and Kate also decide to give up and move to Los Angeles with their kids, Harry and Meghan stand no chance of losing their collective brilliance.”
“There is simply no one like them on this side of the Atlantic,” Andersen added.
However, one royal commentator believes that Ede is cashing in on his claims. Royal expert Shannon Felton Spence told Fox News Digital that the Sussexes are destined to follow in the footsteps of Harry’s ancestor, Edward VIII. An uncle of Queen Elizabeth II abdicated the British throne to marry an American divorcee, Wallis Simpson, in 1937. Royal expert Hugo Vickers previously said “both men seemed to radiate sadness after severing their ties with the royal family,” according to the UK Times.
Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII, Duke and Duchess of Windsor, arrive for the premiere of The King’s Story, which chronicles the Duke’s days as Edward VIII of Britain and ends with his abdication to marry Simpson. (Getty images)
“Nick is absolutely right,” said Felton Spence. “They had a huge miscalculation about how important they are to the world and the royal family. COVID also crushed their “launch” plans and effectively froze them in limbo for two years. You think that someone who grew up in this industry would have a better understanding of how it works. Learn from history or you are bound to repeat it.”
“After doing a little research, they would understand that they are obliged to repeat the journey of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor,” she shared. “They have spent their entire lives as vagabonds, relying on their royal association and the hospitality of wealthy friends. And he was a king! The royal family brand is incomparable. It relies solely on the secrecy and diplomatic duties of a dignitary. exactly the opposite. They don’t translate.”
Kate Middleton and Prince William made a splash at the recent BAFTAs despite the stellar crowd. (Chris Jackson)
“Look at BAFTA,” she pointed out. “Celebrities seek the exclusivity of the royal family. Not vice versa. I mean, being rejected by Hollywood is a bit harsh. They’re not going to be on the top list like they thought.”
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Dominic West, who played Prince Charles in the Netflix series The Crown, meets the future king at The Prince’s Trust event in London in 2014. (Jeff Pugh – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Schofield noted that it is the couple’s royal titles that give them enduring appeal in Hollywood. Markle, who starred in the legal drama Suits, became the Duchess of Sussex when she married Harry in 2018.
And Hollywood, according to her, will not give up its passion for the royal family anytime soon.
Prince William and Kate Middleton, along with Tom Cruise, attend the performance of the royal film “Top Gun: Maverick” at Leicester Square on May 19, 2022 in London. (Samir Hussein/WireImage)
“The royal family is still very much loved and respected throughout Hollywood,” she explained. “Idris Elba (who happened to be at DJ Harry’s wedding) will tell you that King Charles helped launch his career. Actor David Oyelowo also praises the royal prince’s foundation. The star of The Crown, Dominic West, especially admires the sovereign! admitted that she was “lost in the eyes of Prince William” at the premiere of Top Gun: Maverick. Google images of Reese Witherspoon and Kate Middleton at a fundraiser in Los Angeles and Reese’s heart is about to jump out of her chest. She’s so excited to be there! She later wrote in her memoir, Whiskey in a Cup, that she had fallen under the “spell” of the Princess of Wales.
Kate Middleton meets (left to right) Kristin Gore, Reese Witherspoon and Jessica de Rothschild at the Tusk Trust USA Patron Circle Reception on July 10, 2011 in Beverly Hills, California. (Chris Jackson – Poole/Getty Images)
All eyes are on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for a different reason. It is currently unknown if they will attend the coronation of King Charles III in May. Father Harry and his wife Camilla, Queen Consort, will be crowned on May 6 at Westminster Abbey.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex performed for the first time in front of Oprah Winfrey in 2021. (Harpo Productions/Joe Pugliese via Getty Images)
Royal experts are wondering if Hollywood will still be enamored with the Sussexes if they don’t show up, and what that will mean for their brand’s future in Hollywood.
“I’m sure they’re nice to have at a party,” said Felton Spence. “[Meghan] smart and handsome, he is Prince Harry. Again, they can refer to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Parties of rich people and articles about fashion in magazines. The question is, will they have enough… [The] the coronation is the last once-in-a-lifetime event before William’s coronation, which, God willing, is still many years away. They’ve lost their cool factor. And if they are not photographed at the coronation, it is gone forever.”
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King Charles III and his wife Camilla, queen consort, will be crowned on 6 May. (Alastair Grant – WPA Pool)
“In my estimation, in mid-December 2022, after the release of the documentary, they had everything they wanted,” she shared. “The sympathy of the American public was completely on their side, their brand was on the rise again. Finally, they told “their story”, although they already tried to do it with Oprah … [But their popularity] completely failed three weeks later with the book. I have never seen anything as impressive as the rise and fall of their popularity in America over a 20 day period.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
