Since the Prince Harry appeared alone in public at benefit events in New York and London and during the trip to Lesotho, between the end of September and the beginning of October 2024, the media went wild with speculations that the prince and Meghan Markle they would be divorcing. According to the sources, this would be a lie, the separation between the two would only be professional, a way to divide commitments and be able to participate in a greater number of public appointments. The rumors, despite this relatively convincing explanation, have not stopped. There are even those who claim that the Sussexes have already turned to a lawyer.
Three trips and a red dress
Last September 24, Prince Harry was in New York for events on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly’s High-Level General Debate and Climate Week. On 30 September he moved to London for the WellChild Awards and twenty-four hours later he was already in Lesotho to closely follow the initiatives of “Sentebale”, the foundation he created in 2006 together with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho. Almost simultaneously, on 5 October 2024, Meghan Markle showed off an elegant red Caroline Herrera dress (already worn in 2021, but now modified to make it more glamorous) at the 2024 Children’s Hospital Gala at JW Marriott Los Angeles Live. This was enough to make the tabloids think that the two were at odds. Proof of this would be the scarlet dress, which the duchess would have worn as a sort of “revenge dress” in Lady Diana style, to show Harry what he would have missed with the alleged separation.
“Separate Lives”
From summer 2023 Harry And Meghan they would have separated their brands: each would focus on specific areas that they particularly care about, for example the lifestyle for the duchess, the projects in Africa and the polo for the duke, leaving, however, some meeting points such as the theme of mental health . As if the two were intersecting sets. United or separated, the backbone of their initiatives would still remain charity. This would be a purely professional choice, friends of the couple stressed. The explanation, however, did not convince the experts. Not entirely, at least, especially because the sources tell a different story. One of these revealed to RadarOnline: “Harry and Meghan live separate lives… They have drifted apart for a while, given Harry’s desire to return to the United Kingdom, where his old friends are and given the hope of returning to the comfortable fold of the royal family, putting a strain on the wedding. He hates the attempts made to achieve success with Netflix and Spotify… for which they were ultimately ridiculed and he begins to miss England.”
Has the legal battle just begun?
One of the reasons for the alleged separation it would be Harry’s supposed unhappiness in London. A perennial apathy and dissatisfaction that many experts have spoken about in recent weeks. The dukes would have “a plan”the RadarOnline insider specified: each living and working on their own and, at the same time, trying to save the marriage, in the hope that the distance will help them understand what they really want. “Harry loved going to the pub and playing sports with friends and the life Meghan wants to lead in Los Angeles couldn’t be further from that and would seem alien to any English aristocrat as it’s all about juice and yoga.” The source is convinced: “(The prince’s) plans to continue his activities and tours away from Meghan are the first sign that the two are basically trying to live apart for a period while (they) try to sort things out.”
At war for custody of their children
Prince Harry would not have expected a similar situation and would not know how to deal with it. He and Meghan, it seems, would like different things. Perhaps the duke is starting to wonder if the long-desired independence from Crown Britain did not turn out to be a colossal failure. A source revealed in this regard to RadarOnline, quoted by Geo.tv: “(Meghan’s) promises are increasingly less convincing and their popularity is at an all-time low in Britain and the United States.” Celebrities don’t seem that interested in them anymore, no one would compete to work with the dukes and even all of this could “set the stage for a bitter divorce and child custody war.”
“Meghan wants to be a superstar”
According to rumors, what gave the final blow to the marriage, in addition to Harry’s unhappiness, was Meghan’s unpopularity. The Duchess could not stand the fact that she was unable to win the hearts of the English and Americans, as Kate Middleton did And Lady Diana. She wouldn’t even be able to understand what wouldn’t have worked, from a media point of view, between her and Harry, why the public doesn’t love them as much as the Princes of Wales. The United States, however, remains his home, while the United Kingdom would become an enemy. All this, added to the feud with the Windsors, would have convinced Meghan never to set foot in London again. “(The Duchess) is determined to become an international superstar and I cannot imagine her ever returning, of her own free will, to Harry’s hated homeland.”said GB News presenter Nana Akua, quoted by Geo.tv.
The Duchess against the United Kingdom
The issues regarding the lack of success and Meghan’s desire to stay as far away from London as possible are closely linked: the first could be the cause of the second. However, more duchess persists in wanting to erase Harry’s homeland from memory, the more the English resentment towards the couple increases. In short, a vicious circle that Meghan herself is fueling. In any case, royal experts Jennie Bond and Arthur Edwards, while recognizing the problem of Meghan’s popularity, are very cautious in hypothesizing a separation of the Sussexes. “Meghan is not popular. She doesn’t want to come back and somehow (she and Harry) are going their separate ways.” Bond said. Edwards retorted: “I don’t think people think much of her. I think (Meghan) is struggling to gain popularity in the UK and it seems like (she and Harry) are doing things separately.”
“A trap”
In reality, unpopularity, the separation of careers, Meghan’s alleged desire to forget about the existence of the United Kingdom, Harry’s solo travels and even a possible marital crisis do not necessarily imply that the Duke wants a divorce (the same goes for the duchess). Not only that: even if the rumors of an imminent separation prove true, Harry’s return from royal family it would not be a logical consequence. The two facts may not be related to each other. Jennie Bond commented: “The point, in my opinion, is that Harry doesn’t want to go back (to London). He considers it a trap. He still thinks that his father and brother are trapped and that he is finding his way…I hope and believe that Harry is happy.” While Meghan, very simply, “He has an independent style and way of life…that doesn’t resonate with the people of the UK.”
A crisis that started in 2023?
To be honest, the rumors about Harry and Meghan’s separation were already circulating at the beginning of 2023: in January the German magazine Frau Aktuell spoke of a serious quarrel of the couple, which would have taken place in Montecito. The following month it was speculated that the duchess was writing a vitriolic autobiography against the royal family and Charles had tried to stop her by offering her £50 million. In May 2023 the Sun claimed the prince was spending a lot of time alone at the luxury San Vincente Bungalow resort. In the summer of the same year, rumors began to spread that Harry was looking for a house in London. None of this, however, has ever been confirmed.
The “Christmas 2024” question
Who knows if the upcoming holidays will be able to help us understand something more about the real “state of health” of the Sussexes’ marriage. In September 2024, in fact, the Express assured that the dukes would receive an invitation from Charles Spencer (Harry’s maternal uncle) to spend the holidays at Althorp House, the house where Lady Diana spent her childhood. For Meghan it would be the first trip to London after two years (the last time dates back to September 2022, on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. It is useless to take into account Meghan’s landing at Heathrow before leaving with Harry for Africa, the last May, because the Duchess did not set foot outside the airport).
It is not yet clear, however, whether i Sussex they will accept Count Spencer’s invitation, let alone whether the Duchess has this desire to return to Great Britain. The conditions do not seem to be the best. Indeed, this invitation, according to some sources, would have become a further cause of friction between the couple.