The Ex Factor

Meghan Markle’s romance becomes fodder for her ex’s new TV show — and it’s causing a stir at the palace

Meghan Markle’s ex-husband turns their divorce into TV show fodder, causing drama with the royal family.

Af ter nearly 16 months of dating, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry finally made their first official public appearance together at Harry’s Invictus Games in Toronto. As the couple walked hand in hand into an event on Sept. 25, the world swooned and royal watchers speculated an engagement announcement was imminent. “Being seen at an official event, Meghan is now within the inner circle and clearly a future bride,” royal expert Phil Dampier explains to Life & Style. “She is on the verge of becoming Harry’s fiancée.”

But Meghan’s ex-husband, Trevor Engelson, has unwittingly thrown a wrench into those plans. Fox recently signed a deal with the TV producer, who was married to Meghan from 2011 to 2013, for a comedy series he’s developing. The premise? A man’s divorce gets complicated… when his ex-wife marries a member of the royal family! Needless to say, Queen Elizabeth II is not amused. “Those who advise the queen fear this will open the floodgates for others to sell stories or cash in on Meghan’s past,” says an insider. “This is the last thing they wanted. An engagement announcement was due any day, but this could delay that until they decide how to handle the damage.”

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The idea for the series reportedly came when Trevor, 40, and fellow producer Dan Farah had a casual chat about what would’ve happened if he and Meghan, 36, had had kids and he’d had to share custody with the royals. They teamed up with Modern Family executive producer Danny Zuker and pitched the show to Fox, which promptly bought it.

This fictionalized account of Meghan’s divorce couldn’t come at a worse time. While Harry, 33, was set to follow royal protocol and ask his grandmother for permission to marry the Suits star, “Some of the queen’s advisers think Meghan is not the right material to be a princess, and stories like this give them ammunition,” notes a source. “She knows Harry loves Meghan, but the queen must protect the monarchy.”

Meghan’s ex isn’t the only person from her life causing royal headaches. Her half-sister, Samantha Grant, has given interviews in the past calling the actress “selfish,” while her half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., made headlines for allegedly pointing a gun at his girlfriend during a drunken altercation in January.

Though Harry adores his 91-year-old grandma, he’s been known to break protocol before, and no one doubts he would marry Meghan even if Elizabeth forbade it. But the star’s past certainly won’t make it an easy life. “Harry must be prepared,” notes Dampier, “for more dirty laundry to come out.” So far, that’s not scaring him off. “At the end of the day,” Meghan recently said, “[we] are really happy and in love.”