A TALE OF TWO WORLDS
She’s happily married to her British prince – but Meghan is said to be desperately homesick for America
SPARE a thought for the Duchess of Sussex. Ever since she exploded onto the scene as the glossy beauty who’d won the heart of a once-wayward prince, she’s been expected to embrace a life that was very different to everything she knew.
Spontaneity went out of the window. Protocol reigned. Rules had to be followed to the letter. Wardrobes had to be watered down. Etiquette had to be learnt and relations fostered with people she had little in common with.
When she became a mom to Archie, the public wanted her to parade the tot for all to see – and when she refused, she was all but drawn and quartered.
Seldom has the phrase “caught between two worlds” been more apt – and never has it been more evident than in recent weeks.
Former Suits actress Meghan, who became one of the most famous women in the world after Prince Harry fell hook, line and sinker for her, may be a British royal but at heart she remains an American.
And negotiating the tricky waters that span the different realities is no small feat. Yet you have to hand it to Meghan: no matter how maligned she may be in the media, no matter how much criticism she may receive from the public, she seems determined to do things her way.
That includes refusing to cut the ties to her homeland. She wants to make her mark as a member of The Firm, British royal commentator Rob Shuter says, but she’s torn between doing the right thing and shunning the life she’s always known. “Meghan loves her royal life, she loves being a mom, but it’s just not enough for her. She wants to make a difference in the world, and she doesn’t just want to turn up to royal events and shake hands with the crowd,” Shuter says.
As Meghan and Harry prepare to embark on their first official tour of Southern Africa, evidence is growing that the woman who grew up in the California sunshine is yearning more and more for her homeland.
Is it ruffling feathers? You bet. Does she mind? Well, maybe – but if we know one thing about Meghan, it’s that she has a will of her own. Meghan has come in for a fresh battering recently. It seems everything she does screams Hollywood entitlement and not royal consort, critics say. This includes everything from hiring countless PRs to manage her embattled image to accepting private jets from showbiz pals such as Elton John and her over-the-top privacy demands.
Her controversial stint as a guest editor of British Vogue magazine as well as her recent foray into fashion – albeit a range for charity – also proves she has ambitions far beyond Buckingham Palace, they add.
The fact that she’s also said to be “desperately homesick” for the US hasn’t done much to stem the tide of discontent.
Meghan surprised everyone when she
flew solo to New York recently to cheer on her close pal Serena Williams at the US Open final – shortly after snubbing an invitation from the queen to join Her Majesty on her annual summer break at Balmoral Castle.
The British public were enraged. How dare she pass on family time, especially as the queen has spent precious little time with baby Archie so far?
But according to the duchess’ spokesperson, she and Harry were “too busy” and felt their four-month-old son was “too young” for the Balmoral get-together. This despite the fact that he travelled with his parents to Ibiza and France last month to celebrate his mother’s 38th birthday.
Meghan apparently used her weekend away to attend a yoga class with her fashion designer pal Misha Nonoo and visit long-time make-up artist friend Daniel Martin for his birthday.
“Was she being selfish?” an insider asks. “Or was she enjoying a much-needed break as a new mom?”
TEAM MEGHAN
According to senior royal sources, Meghan wants to surround herself with a team that isn’t bogged down by tradition. Instead of going with the palace’s trusty team of advisers, she’s opted to keep her crew from her days as an actress.
When it comes to all things legal, business and financial, she calls on Hollywood agent Nick Collins, business manager Andrew Meyer and Beverly Hills-based attorney Rick Genow – all who’ve been advising her for years.
What’s especially concerning for the palace is that they’re playing a big part in ongoing projects, such as negotiating a children’s book deal for the duchess.
“As a full-time member of the royal family, it would be the expectation for that type of work to be exclusively handled by palace staff, who balance individual desire over what’s right for the wider institution,” a senior royal insider explains.
But according to sources she “wants her own team to help her and Harry work on projects they’re passionate about”.
In another break from protocol, she’s hired a top crisis-management PR firm – again from America – to improve her public image following a series of damaging controversies, including her estranged relationship with her father, Thomas Markle, as well as the hypocrisy jibes she faced after she and Harry took four private jets in 11 days while claiming to be eco-warriors.
“Meghan is concerned the public is turning on her,” a source told the UK’s The Sun.
Enter Sunshine Sachs, a top US crisis-management firm whose clients include A-listers Ben Affleck, Leonardo DiCaprio, J Lo and Natalie Portman.
It’s helped smooth over many reputation-damaging dramas, from Justin Timberlake’s “Nipplegate” scandal with Janet Jackson to Ben Affleck’s divorce from Jennifer Garner and stints in rehab.
Yet for all its glittering reputation, the New York-based firm has also found itself in murkier waters. It was in Harvey Weinstein’s corner when the movie mogul was first publicly accused of sexually abusing women, issuing strenuous denials on the disgraced producer’s behalf.
Its founder, Ken Sunshine (71), was also once described by The New York Times as employing “bare-knuckle tactics” in his dealings with the media and his determination to protect his high-paying A-list clients. One accusation was that he hired people to edit the Wikipedia pages of clients to remove negative comments.
Little wonder a leading British publicist describes him as “a wily old fox”.
Meghan was a client of Sunshine Sachs during her Suits days and is pals with Keleigh Thomas Morgan, who runs its Los Angeles office.
While the official line is that Sunshine Sachs will mainly focus on publicising the Sussexes’ newly formed Sussex Royal Foundation in the US, it’s clear the firm is more than that.
“Senior palace courtiers have been left bemused over the past few months that the couple have been ignoring advice from their own highly professional team and will instead listen to outsiders in Hollywood.
“But Meghan trusts Keleigh, who got a prime seat at her wedding and whom she’s known for years,” the source reveals.
HOME IS WHERE THE SUPPORT IS
Meghan reportedly privately sought advice for weeks from Sunshine Sachs before deciding to officially hire them for the launch of her Vogue magazine guest edit last month.
“Even though it was the UK version of the mag, she wanted maximum coverage in America, which is the country she really cares about in terms of the media,”
the source adds. “She was incredibly hands-on with the strategy and in one meeting told the staff, ‘I want to break the internet’.”
Among Sunshine Sachs’ top priorities will be handling the supposedly strained relationship between the Sussexes and Cambridges, which Meghan is said to be worried about – especially after the two couples formally disbanded their joint foundation, the Royal Foundation, earlier this year.
She also reportedly poached Natalie Campbell – a top aide from the Royal Foundation – to help her with her Sussex Royal Foundation.
British PR expert Mark Borkowski says it’s clear Meghan is trying to build a global brand and warns that American PRs “don’t get charm”.
“They get size and power. They don’t understand the world outside America.”
He compares Meghan’s “more aggressive” approach to Princess Diana’s gentler way.
“She achieved far more through charming journalists over lunch at Kensington Palace,” he says.
“You can’t hire a PR company to represent the royal family. The relationship between the royals and the public is something that’s beyond spin,” another prominent industry player in the UK says.
CROSSING THE POND?
There’s been much talk lately of Harry and Meghan looking to relocate to America.
According to royal expert Emily Andrews, the move could be “for both personal and work reasons”.
Meghan is apparently keen to expand Sussex Royal in the US and she’s also said to be hankering for home.
“It’s not so much a case of ‘if ’ but ‘when’ they relocate,” a source close to Meghan says.
“It’s an open secret. Meghan is homesick. Her mother, Doria [Ragland], and most of her friends live in America and the couple both want Doria to have a close relationship with Archie.
“Interestingly, it seems to be Harry who’s the driving force behind the plans. He’s becoming increasingly angry about the way he perceives the couple are being treated in Britain and wants to escape for a while.”
It’s been rumoured they’re eyeing out Malibu, the celebrity enclave on the shores of the Pacific Ocean just outside Los Angeles. Café owner Edmund Fry (79), who first met Meghan when he taught her royal etiquette at his English tearoom in Los Angeles, says he’s heard her LA business friends are already scouting for potential places.
“It’s possible to live stress-free and out of the glare of publicity here,” he adds. “LA and California are so huge it’s relatively easy to escape to places with your family and just blend in with everyone.”
Robert Jobson, royal editor for the UK’s Evening Standard agrees. “I wouldn’t be surprised by a move. They’ve had a tough time recently in the media.”
LA-based British publicist Kate Morgan says the Sussexes are hugely popular in America. “Royals have a very strong fan base here in the US. You can’t even pick up a loaf of bread without seeing the couple, especially Meghan, on the cover of a magazine – and the coverage is 95% positive.”
Vanity Fair’s royal editor Katie Nicholl concurs. “Now they have a US publicity team to help coordinate the US arm of their charity, it’s very likely they’ll be spending time in the States. They also really want Archie to experience an American upbringing as much as a British one. After all, he’s half-American.
“But Harry won’t renege on his charity work in the UK, so they’ll be figuring out how to make this work. I’m not convinced they’ll fully move out there. They might consider spending half the year in the US and half the year in England.”
The pair have also reportedly snubbed Prince Charles’ plans to take on an estate in Herefordshire, England, which he’d earmarked for Harry as part of a plan to create an estate near the Welsh border.
However, sources claim that even if Meghan and Harry do relocate to California, it’ll do nothing to thaw relations with her father.
“Even if they’re closer geographically, it’s unlikely Meghan will want to build bridges with Thomas any time soon.
“That ship has sailed.”