Prince Harry & Meghan Markle may have established a new life in the US, but it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Far from it, in fact; the allegations against the Royal Family have not only kept them in the spotlight, but have also resulted in repeated backlash from commenters and experts who have criticized their outbursts.
The Sussexes have ventured into several businesses – some more successful than others – but it’s their private life that has always been of most interest to the public. A shock new claim about their marriage not working was made just days ago, and now one royal expert has delivered a devastating verdict on Meghan Markle.
Renowned royal author Tina Brown claims that Prince Harry has become a “lamb to the slaughter” due to the actions of his wife – and says that all of her ideas are “total crap”.
Harry and Meghan’s move to the US meant a new life, far away from everything related to the royal duties they – or at least Harry – had performed for many years.
Prince Harry & Meghan Markle
Leaving the Royal Family was a huge decision for the then-family of three, but they embraced it. Since then, Harry and Meghan have welcomed their daughter, Princess Lililbet, who turned three only weeks ago.
While the couple has repeatedly expressed a desire to live a more private life, the many accusations they’ve leveled against the Royal Family were made clear in their now-infamous Oprah Winfrey interview, Netflix series, other interviews, and, foremost, Harry’s tell-all memoir, Spare.
Harry and Meghan have also started several business ventures, and in Meghan’s case, developed the lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchid. It was launched earlier this year, though the initial reception was not quite what the Duchess had expected.
Back in April, meanwhile, she was criticized for stealing the spotlight as a new flavor of the jam was made public mere hours before Kate Middleton’s return to royal life at the Trooping the Colour.
Sadly, the jam was mocked, not only for tasting average but also for its astronomical price tag.
Meghan Markle branded “sensitive about any criticism” by royal expert
According to royal expert Tom Quinn, Meghan was left in tears over the “unfair criticism” she received.
“The one fly in the ointment is Meghan’s new internet brand, America Riviera Orchard. Meghan was in tears when the brand launched, and her new jam was widely mocked for being expensive and nothing special,” he told the Mirror in May.
“She has reached the point now where she thinks that anything and everything she does will be unfairly criticized. Like her husband, she feels that people are unfairly picking on her – she cannot understand why people don’t admire her work.”
The royal expert added: “She is especially sensitive about any criticism of her luxurious lifestyle in the US – from her point of view this is something to be admired not criticized.”
As per the initial trademark application made in February, American Riviera Orchard has plans on selling home decor and kitchen items – such as cutlery and napkins–and even cookbooks, as per Harpers Bazaar.
Moreover, the trademark states that the company also will offer “jellies, jams, marmalades, fruit preserves, edible oils and fats, and preserves, vegetable-based spreads, legume-based spreads, nut-based spreads, garlic-based spreads, sesame-based spreads, dairy-based spreads, nut butters, fruit butters.”
Another trademark application from March 9 revealed American Riviera will also branch out into selling cosmetic products, wallpaper, yoga equipment, and even gardening gear.
Royal author says Meghan Markle “has the worst judgment of anyone in the entire world.”
Although Meghan Markle has a very ambitious plan, not everyone is convinced that she will succeed.
Royal expert Tina Brown – author of best-selling royal biographies The Diana Chronicles and The Palace Papers – appeared on The Ankler podcast, and gave a brutal verdict on both Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s post-royal careers.
“In England, they’re going to constantly make a career out of trashing Harry. But actually, the thing about Harry is he’s very good at being Prince Harry,” Brown said.
“That’s the tragedy of all of this, is that he is the most talented member of the Royal Family, without doubt, in terms of being a prince, which is all he does know how to do… he’s really sort of flawless at it.”
The royal expert and author was a friend of Princess Diana. The two had lunch together just a few weeks before Harry and William’s mother tragically passed away.
When speaking about Meghan, Brown didn’t exactly hold back on her criticism. In fact, she basically claimed that the Duchess has never had a good idea.
“I think [Prince Harry] is pretty much in the thrall of Meghan. The trouble with Meghan is that she has the worst judgment of anyone in the entire world. She’s flawless about getting it all wrong… She really is.”
Brown added: “She’s a perfectionist about getting it all wrong… Her issue is that she doesn’t listen… She has all these people, asks them their opinion, and then doesn’t follow it. She does what she wants to do. And all of her ideas are total crap, unfortunately.”
“Harry is the lamb to the slaughter”
As mentioned previously, Harry and Meghan have been lashing out against the Royal Family for a number of years. This all began with their infamous Oprah Winfrey interview, and by the time Harry’s memoir, Spare, was released, the royals appeared to have had enough.
King Charles evicted the Sussexes from Frogmore Cottage just days after Spare‘s publication, while Prince William is reportedly not interested in talking or making amends with his brother.
Whose fault it is that the situation has escalated to where it is now doesn’t really matter. Brown, though, told The Ankler podcast that Prince Harry is “blindly” following his wife.
“(Harry is) the lamb to the slaughter in this situation,” Brown concluded. “He was terribly impressed by Meghan. He thought that she knew all, she persuaded him that she was the savvy Hollywood wheeler-dealer who could come in and make them stars and all the rest of it. And he just sort of blindly followed her like a child, really.”
Harry’s tell-all memoir was the last straw for the Royal Family. Rumors about the Duke possibly releasing another book after his father’s death have circulated, and Harry himself admitted that he had to cut almost half the content from the first draft of Spare, meaning that there’s plenty of content that hasn’t reached the public.
However, it appears that Prince Harry isn’t the only one who has more to say about the royal experience. According to royal expert Jennie Bond, Meghan Markle has a “weapon in her back pocket” that she could use to get her “revenge” against the royals.
Meghan Markle plans “revenge” on the Royal Family?
During her time as a senior working member of the Royal Family, Meghan Markle reportedly kept a personal diary.
In her interview with The Cut in 2023, the Duchess opened up about her and Prince Harry’s new life in California after their royal exit. Meghan revealed that she wasn’t required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement when she and Harry left the monarchy, while also recalling the finding of her journal at Frogmore Cottage.
“You go back, and you open drawers, and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh. This is what I was writing in my journal there,” Meghan said.
Speaking on True Royalty TV’s The Royal Beat, expert Roya Nikkhah explained that there were signs of “thinly veiled threats” in Meghan’s The Cut interview.
“The thinly veiled threats that came in [Meghan’s interview with The Cut] …I think [she] probably hopes it does [feel threatening] to the Royal Family… [But] I think there’s a lot of eye-rolling, going, ‘We’re used to this by now’… [But] that phrase, ‘I have a lot to say until I don’t’ and, ‘I’ve never signed anything that restricts me from talking’… there was a very strong inference there,” Nikkah said.
The royal editor added: “And, of course, the reminder that she keeps a journal, and [her] revelation that, ‘when we came back to Windsor, to Frogmore Cottage for the Jubilee, I rediscovered my journal that I’d left there’ – I was astonished to discover that she had left a highly private diary behind in Windsor, rather than taking it back.
“She’s mentioned a couple of times in the last year or two that she kept a journal, and I think there is a very strong inference that Meghan could write her own memoir,” Nikkah concluded.
“A potential weapon in her back pocket”
Although there haven’t been any talks about Meghan releasing her own book relating to her experiences within the Royal Family, the fact that she yet has her memoir from that time of her life could, according to royal expert Jennie Bond, suggest that exposing it could possibly be “in her back pocket.”
“It’s more than two years since she gave that interview, and she has steered clear of controversy about the Royal Family since,” she told OK!.
“Obviously the journal she mentioned will remain a potential weapon in her back pocket if she ever feels the need to seek some sort of revenge. But she has behaved with discretion and dignity ever since Oprah and the documentary series.”
Bond continued: “I think she is looking forwards, not backwards and is moving on with her life. So I don’t think we should be raising false alarms about any potential memoir.”
