The lives of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have returned to some semblance of normality after they returned to the US from the Queen’s funeral.
Harry has his projects, while Meghan focuses on her podcast, Archetypes. Now, it’s not the only thing fans – and the Royal Family – are probably keeping a very close eye on, but later this year, Harry’s biography looks likely to be released. In its pages might be found some new bombshells about the royals.
Though Harry and Meghan are busy starting up their new projects in the US, things haven’t got perfectly to plan. Their Netflix deal has been controversial, and according to a royal expert, Meghan is fumbling in the dark.
While Harry will always have the iconic status of being a royal and the legacy of the Invictus Games, Meghan is being forced to create her brand – and, if reports, are to be believed, she’s been issued a warning.
Meghan and Harry both attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, despite the alleged ongoing feud between the couple and the rest of the Royal Family. Though Meghan – who didn’t travel with Harry to Balmoral when the Queen passed at the Scottish estate – was just another family member, the media interest surrounding her during the funeral was immense.
Meghan Markle & Harry
Meghan beautifully honored the Queen during the burial ceremony, wearing the pearl and diamond earrings the Queen gave her during their first joint engagement in 2018.
Ever since Queen Victoria’s time – it’s been a mourning tradition within the royal family to wear pearls.
In the infamous 2021 Oprah interview, Meghan spoke dearly about the Queen and how she had treated her during their first engagement.
“The Queen, for example, has always been wonderful to me. I mean, we had one of our first joint engagements together,” Meghan said.
“She asked me to join her, and I went on the train. And we had breakfast together that morning and she gave me a beautiful gift and I just really loved being in her company, and I know we were in the car—Yeah, she gave me some beautiful pearl earrings and a matching necklace—and we were in the car going between engagements.”
Meghan added: “And she has a blanket that sits across her, her knees, for warmth and it was chilly and she was like, Meghan, come on, and put it over my knees as well.”
Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle both followed royal protocol with their clothing. However, many royal fans reacted that Meghan seemed to break a specific royal tradition.
Did Meghan break royal tradition at funeral?
It’s reportedly been tradition – though not mandatory – that the royal women wear a mourning veil. Kate, Camilla – the Queen Consort – and Princess Sophie were among several women sporting a veil, together with the traditional black hat.
However, Meghan Markle and young Princess Charlotte decided not to wear the veil.
The Duchess was also seen wiping tears from her face after the state funeral, with makeup visibly seen on one of her black gloves.
Meghan was pictured standing with William and Kate’s two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, while waiting for their car after the state funeral. At one point, Charlotte turned around and met Meghan’s glance, who looked down and gave the young princess a lovely, comforting smile.
As mentioned, several Royal Family members cried as they said farewell to Queen Elizabeth. But apparently, Meghan’s tears left one television personality quite upset.
Today’s funeral coverage of the Queen’s funeral was led by anchor Karl Stefanovic, who decided to poke fun at Meghan after pictures of her crying were published.
Accused of fake crying
He said they were open to interpretation, implying that pictures of Meghan wiping the tears from her face were perhaps misleading.
“There’s been lots of photos around and interpretations of photos and reading into photos [meanings] that may or may not be true,” Stefanovic said.
“‘There’s a couple of Meghan, um, with a tear running down her face – apparently – and also even one of Princess Charlotte that everyone was saying she was crying, and we don’t know if it was true or not.”
Not long after the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, Harry and Meghan headed back home to their house in Montecito, California. Though tensions between the couple and the Royal Family have been high over the last few years, this time, there was a simple reason behind their swift departure.
Harry and Meghan’s two children, Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1, stayed in the US while their parents were in Britain. It should go without saying that the couple greatly missed their kids.
“Meghan and Harry are preparing to return to Montecito almost immediately after the funeral [on Monday], where they’ll be reunited with Archie and Lilibet after being separated for over two weeks,” a source told US Weekly.
“[It’s] the longest amount of time they’ve been apart from their children.”
Harry & Meghan – projects, podcast, charity
“They’ve missed the kids like crazy and have been FaceTiming them every day, but can’t wait to see and hold them again after a poignant few weeks,” the source added.
As for now, it’s safe to assume that Harry and Meghan are getting their lives back on track.
For Meghan, that includes releasing episodes of her new podcast, Archetypes, on Spotify.
Indeed, at first, she and Harry were supposed to produce plenty of content for Spotify, whom they signed a lucrative deal with 2020. However, “only one” podcast, a holiday special produced by Archewell Audio and Spotify’s Gimlet, was released in 2020.
But now, Meghan is back with her new podcast, Archetypes, described as a podcast where “we investigate, dissect, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back.”
The Duchess posted the first show of her new weekly program just recently, though she decided to postpone some episodes to honor the official mourning period for Her Majesty.
Now, though, it’s out for the public to hear.
Meghan lashed out on Hollywood stars
It should come as little surprise, then, that Meghan finds herself as a big talking point, this time due to her criticism of the representation of Asian women in Hollywood productions.
On her podcast, Meghan, alongside guest journalist Lisa Lind and comedian Margaret Cho, spoke about the stereotype known as the “Dragon Lady,” wherein female members from the Asian community are shown as “sexually” cold and threatening towards masculinity.
As reported by Express, the term was first mentioned in the 1930s, used to describe Asian women who were “strong, sexual, deceitful, and domineering.”
Meghan took a swing at Hollywood actor Mike Myers – famous for the Austin Powers films – and director Quentin Tarantino, especially over his portrayal of Asian women in his movie Kill Bill. She said they portrayed Asian women in a very stereotypical way, presenting caricatures of women of Asian descent.
“Movies like Austin Powers and Kill Bill presented these characters of Asian women as oftentimes over-sexualized or aggressive,” Markle said on her podcast.
“‘The Dragon Lady, the East Asian temptress whose mysterious foreign allure is scripted as both tantalizing and deadly This has seeped into a lot of our entertainment. But this toxic stereotyping of women of Asian descent, it doesn’t just end once the credits roll.”
Nonprofit organization ‘Archewell’
Besides the Spotify and Netflix deals, Harry and Meghan also try giving back to the community the best way they can. In 2020, the couple launched the nonprofit organization Archewell, whose name is a nod to their son, Archie.
It’s described as a nonprofit that “drives systematic cultural change across all communities.” Upon its launch, a message from Harry and Meghan was posted on its website.
“I am my mother’s son. And I am our son’s mother. Together we bring you Archewell. We believe in the best of humanity. Because we have seen the best of humanity. We have experienced compassion and kindness, from our mothers and strangers alike. In the face of fear, struggle and pain, it can be easy to lose sight of this. Together, we can choose courage, healing, and connection. Together, we can choose to put compassion in action. We invite you to join us. As we work to build a better world, one act of compassion at a time,” the message read.
Previously, Harry founded the Invictus Games, an international sporting event for “wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women”. Held for the first time in 2014, the 2022 Invictus Games was held in the Netherlands in April.
Earlier this year, Harry’s foundation also teamed up with the mental health firm BetterUp, which Harry is involved in as well.
Plan to hand out $1 million
“At its heart, the Invictus Games is about empowering every single person around the world. It’s a worldwide display of resilience, determination, and community for which each of us can draw inspiration,” Harry said in a statement.”
“I couldn’t think of a better new partner for the Invictus Games Foundation than the mental fitness platform BetterUp. The mind is like a muscle: it needs to be honed, trained, rehabbed, and coached. The men and women I served with understand this, the Invictus community knows this, and now the world is beginning to see it too.”
Not long ago, the couple also announced a new partnership with the Ving Project, promoting youth philanthropy amongst women.
They plan to give out $1 million and encourage teens between the ages of 14 and 18 to nominate women who have inspired them and “defied life’s hardships.”
So Harry has his royal legacy, as well as the Invictus Games. Meghan, meanwhile, is working hard on her podcast. Yet still, royal expert and former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown, recently attempted to warn Meghan about the danger of not finding her own thing.
Meghan issued warning to find her passion
During an appearance at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, Brown said that Meghan needs to find her passion in life and start building a brand on something she cares about.
“I think Meghan does really need to find the thing she cares about the most and develop her own sort of brand that isn’t just a grievance brand, that is actually something we recognize as hers,” Brown said.
“It’s hard to find that, and I think she hasn’t yet found that but I think she could if she rows back from focusing always on what didn’t work.”
Moreover, Brown decided to issue a warning to Meghan, adding: “It’s much harder than it looks.”
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