Meghan Markle was once celebrated as a refreshing change for Britain’s traditional royal family, but the initial admiration has long faded.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down from their roles as senior royals in 2020 and relocated to California. Now, Meghan is preparing for a major return to public life.
Reports suggest that the mother of two is set to launch her Netflix series and lifestyle brand in 2025. However, after the couple publicly shared their grievances and Meghan, now 43, faced allegations of bullying from palace staff, a royal expert has expressed doubt that she will ever be warmly welcomed back in the UK.
“I don’t think Meghan will ever win over the U.K. public again,” Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine and author of My Mother and I, shared with Fox News Digital.
“Things change very quickly, but I cannot see it happening,” Seward emphasized. “Not in this generation. Maybe there’s a younger generation that Meghan might win over. I know she probably appeals to younger rather than older people.”
“Everyone agrees that Meghan is a gorgeous-looking girl and very stylish… but it doesn’t mean that you like her,” Seward added. “I just think at the moment, people in the U.K. simply don’t like her.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been estranged from the royal family ever since stepping back from their official roles. According to the couple, the decision was driven by unbearable media intrusion and the racist undertones of some British press coverage.
After relocating to California, the pair participated in a highly publicized interview with Oprah Winfrey, which drew an audience of nearly 50 million globally. They also starred in a Netflix docuseries, and Prince Harry published a bestselling memoir, Spare, detailing his challenges with royal life.
Shortly before their interview with Winfrey aired, The Times of London published a report alleging that Meghan had driven away two personal assistants and that staff had been “humiliated” during her time at Kensington Palace.
Meghan’s legal team denied the accusations. At the time, her spokesperson described the claims as the “latest attack on her character.”
Between the controversies and their struggles with royal life in the public eye, their popularity in the U.K. has drastically declined.
“I think sadly in the U.K. they are really not liked, especially Meghan,” Seward shared. “People see her as a girl [who] took her husband away from his family, and she’s a girl [who] abandoned her own family. Not all of it, obviously not, but her father. And now, she’s persuaded Harry to abandon his father, and he dissed his own family in his autobiography. He didn’t have to do that.”
Seward went on to say, “I think people really have a very, very low opinion of the Sussexes. I think there is a big fondness for Harry still. I think people feel that he’s totally manipulated by his wife, which we don’t know, but I think people feel that.”
“At the moment, people are just not interested in them here, but they’re interested in reading about their demise… They’re not interested in perhaps reading about how well they might be doing. We never hear if they’re doing well because we only hear about the bad things they do.”
“People are fickle, and it could all change,” Seward added.
In June 2023, Buckingham Palace revealed it had conducted an investigation into how staff managed allegations of bullying.
Palace officials stated that the findings from the independent review would remain confidential to protect the identities of those involved. As a result of the review, the palace announced updates to its human resources policy but declined to specify the nature of the changes.
This was not the first time Meghan faced intense scrutiny from the British media.
When Harry, now 40, started dating Meghan, the former Suits actress was criticized by U.K. tabloids for seemingly trivial matters, from eating avocados to wearing dark nail polish. Nevertheless, some observers noted that Meghan was far from the first royal to endure harsh treatment from the press.
The relationship between the media and the royal family has long been characterized as intense and often toxic.
Princess Diana, Harry’s mother, was relentlessly followed by paparazzi throughout her life. When she and the former Prince Charles openly admitted that their marriage was struggling, her private life became a topic of public consumption.
Diana tragically lost her life in a car accident in Paris in 1997 while being chased by photographers. She was 36 years old at the time. Harry later expressed his concern, saying he feared “history repeating itself.”
“I lost my mother, and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces,” shared the father of two.
Kate Middleton faced years of scrutiny before assuming the title of Princess of Wales. Critics accused her of being lazy due to the lack of a full-time job and even nicknamed her “Waity Katy” for appearing to wait for Prince William’s proposal. Over time, however, she has been celebrated for embodying the future of the British monarchy.
Meanwhile, the Sussexes remained in the spotlight as they attempted to shape their own narrative. Their series of tell-all interviews elicited mixed reactions, with some expressing sympathy while others voiced criticism. Many continue to speculate whether Meghan can regain public favor by building a successful brand in the United States.
According to Page Six, Meghan is set to debut a Netflix series focused on “cooking, gardening and entertaining” in “early 2025.” Additionally, she plans to launch her lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard. Sources revealed that some team members from Archewell, the foundation established by Meghan and Harry, are contributing to the project.
“As far as Meghan being quiet, she’s been in the background working on her entrepreneurial efforts,” an industry insider told the outlet.
MEGHAN MARKLE WILL NEVER WIN OVER UK PUBLIC AGAIN, AUTHOR CLAIMS
“Both the Netflix project and her brand will come out within the same timeline in the New Year,” a source stated. “It’s going to be a good year for Meghan specifically, she’s spent the majority of the year doing work behind the scenes to launch a project in the first few months of 2025.”
According to someone familiar with the couple, “they are going to be criticized no matter what.”
“When they’re together, there’s headlines that Meghan is too controlling or trying to be the star of the show,” the source added.
Kinsey Schofield, host of the “To Di For Daily” podcast, told Fox News Digital that it will take more than a celebrity-branded jam to improve Meghan Markle’s image.
“I don’t think anyone is looking at American Riviera Orchard thinking that this is going to be a home run,” Schofield stated. “Everything with these two is so messy. But Crisis Management Meg is a crucial step in her attempt at flying solo. There is also one key ingredient needed to excel in personality-driven television – an authentic personality. And I think that is something that Meghan Markle lacks.”
“How many times are we going to hear the words ‘Meghan Markle rebrand’ or ‘Meghan Markle comeback’?” Schofield argued. “Peak Meghan was May 19, 2018 – the day she married Prince Harry. And there’s no comeback from March 7, 2021 – the day her interview with Oprah Winfrey aired.”
“I don’t think Meghan will ever be as popular as she once was, and she only has herself to blame,” Schofield added.