Real reason Sussex 'California dream' changed royals forever

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Meghan Markle should opt for a new PR strategy when it comes to her new lifestyle brand, American Rivieria Orchard, an expert tells Daily Express US.

The Duchess of Sussex soft launched her website in March, followed by a rollout of jams to friends and influencers before things went very quiet until this past Saturday - when a new product popped up on social media ahead of Trooping the Colour.

Friends of Meghan have said it was just a coincidence. It is not the first time an American Rivieria Orchard update has come on the same day as a big Royal Family event.

In March, Meghan launched brand just as Prince William arrived at the Diana Legacy Awards in London, where he was due to deliver a speech.

Press Box PR’s Lynn Carratt believes advisers should be telling Meghan to choose different launch days to avoid confusion.

Prince Harry's older brother William celebrated his 42nd birthday today and Princess Kate shared an adorable snap of him with their three children.

In the second picture of the family released in June, all four of them are holding hands as they jump on Holkham beach with huge smiles on their faces.

William, who is next in line to the throne, and his children are all dressed casual, with the new image shot close by to the family's Norfolk home.

Here's nine pertinent points about the photo you might have missed.

King Charles must "feel like he scored an own goal" as he "didn't think about the consequences" when kicking Prince Harry and Meghan Markle out of Frogmore Cottage, a royal commentator has claimed.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were ordered to evict the property in Windsor back in early 2023 after Harry released his bombshell memoir, Spare, in a move which essentially left them with no base in the UK.

Harry and Meghan as well as their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, have not travelled back to the duke's home country as a family since 2022, when they attended the late Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Now royal author Tom Quinn touched down on the King's relationship with his grandchildren and said the monarch's move caused a "huge amount of resentment" from the Sussex camp.

He told the Mirror: "King Charles feels he scored an own goal by kicking Meghan and Harry out of Frogmore cottage – the decision caused a huge amount of resentment - and Charles didn’t really think through what the consequences might be in terms of his grandchildren having no base in the UK

Meghan Markle was "deluded" to think she's a higher social class than David and Victoria Beckham, and was left "irritaed" when she discovered they are richer than her, a bombshell new biography has claimed.

Celebrity biographer Tom Bower has released his tell all, The House of Beckham, detailing the couple's relationship and life in the spotlight.

He claims that Meghan "put on airs" around Victoria because she "felt little in common" with her and due to her status within the Royal Family at the time.

Bower wrote: "In Meghan’s celebrity world, ranking depended on wealth and fame. As a seasoned operator, Meghan deluded herself that her status in the Royal family placed her above Victoria in the social pecking order.

"She was irritated to discover that the Beckhams had considerably more wealth than herself. They owned five homes, had constant access to private jets, invitations to sail on yachts and much more money. And she was soon to be a duchess."

Meghan Markle made a "sad" PR move hours before Princess Kate's appearance at Trooping the Colour, an expert has claimed.

Her and Prince Harry's friend Nacho Figueras posted pictures on his Instagram story of new American Riviera Orchard products - raspberry jam and dog biscuits - just hours before the King's birthday celebrations.

Royal commentator Lizzy Cundy called Meghan's timing "desperate" and "something else".

She told GBN America: "The whole world was watching to see Princess Kate and how incredibly stunning, fragrant and beautiful she looked. We hadn’t seen her for seven months. We’ve been so worried about her.

"The sad thing was that Meghan, four hours before Trooping the Colour, is launching dog biscuits which is really something else.

"Her friend posted about these new dog treats and it was all very Meghan-seque. They were posting four hours before posting King Charles’s official birthday which seems pretty desperate."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been warned there is "zero chance" that they will ever return to being members of the Royal Family.

US journalist and author Christopher Andersen claimed they have "have drifted so far out to sea" that there is "no foreseeable way" in which they could return to royal life.

He told Fox News: "Even if Harry was to throw himself at the king’s feet and beg for forgiveness – which Harry is not about to do – the best he could hope for would be crumbs from the royal table, and the sort of grudging acceptance that is currently being afforded to Harry’s disgraced uncle, Prince Andrew.

"If Harry and Meghan are determined to monetise their titles, then they’ll just be digging that hole deeper and deeper. But if they simply use their California-centric celebrity to build their brand and steer clear of overtly capitalising on the Sussex name and Windsor connection – well, everybody has a right to make a living.

"Even then, there would still be acrimony – and zero chance of Harry getting back into the king’s and William’s good graces."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have made a very "clumsy" PR mistake that invovles Princess Kate, experts have claimed.

The couple's friend Nacho Figueras posted new American Riviera Orchard products - raspberry jam and dog biscuits - to his Instagram story just before Princess Kate appeared at Trooping the colour.

The Mail's Diary editor Richard Eden told the Palace Confidential: "The problem with their [Harry and Meghan's] marketing strategy, is that Meghan's done these publicity stunts essentially, where she sent out goods and encouraged friends and influencers to post about them.

"But you never know when they're going to do it or what they're going to say, so it's completely out of your control. Yes you get good publicity when they 'I've got Meghan's jam' but it's very embarrassing if it's just before Catherine's reappearance at Trooping."

The outlet's royal editor Rebecca English also branded the move "clumsy" and claimed communication is now non-existent.

She said: "It is clumsy. You can't expect them to have known that that announcement was coming because people don't tell them things, because they don't trust them.

"So I don't think they would have known, but again it just shows how Queen Elizabeth was so very wise in saying 'You can't have a half-in half-out job".

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not make a return to life in the UK after leaving the royal family in 2020, an expert has claimed.

Vanity Fair’s royal reporter Erin Vanderhoof shared: "Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, have been without a home base in England since they vacated Frogmore Cottage last summer.

"Despite rumours that Harry’s ongoing legal battle over his security arrangement is a sign that he is interested in a more permanent spot in the country—where he and Meghan both have charitable ties—Vanity Fair can report that the prince is not looking for property in the UK."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's "agenda" has been torn apart by an expert after furious claimes that they were tring to take the spotlight away from Princess Kate.

Hours before Trooping the Colour, Nacho Figueras, a polo player and friend of the couple revealed the latest products he got sent from Meghan's American Riviera Orchard brand - a jar of raspberry jam and dog biscuits.

Royal commentator Kinsey Schofield blasted the couple's timing and said in this week's episode of Heirs & Spares: "Whether this was coincidental or not, they [Harry and Meghan] could have ended the negative headlines or talk of how inappropriate and catty this looks by wishing the King a happy birthday.

King Charles is still hurt by one remark Prince Harry made about Queen Camilla in his memoir Spare, a source has claimed.

The Duke of Sussex called Camilla "the villain" and detailed their strained relationship. He also called her a "wicked stepmother" and "dangerous villain" who "left bodies in the streets".

A source told US Weekly that Queen Camilla is still wary of Harry, which has left Charles feeling "torn" between his wife and son.

The source added that Harry's scathing attacks on Camilla in Spare "still bother" the King more than a year since its release.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are "detoxifying" their brand after a series of attacks on the Royal Family, an expert has claimed.

Royal commentator Jack Royston said the couple's popularity is in America is increasing because of this and the hard work they put in to improve their image.

He said on Newsweek’s Royal Report podcast: "Over the past year and a half, they've been working quite hard to detoxify and they've been doing a reasonably good job of it.

"The tour of Nigeria was fantastic. They did some good positive stuff with the Invictus Games last year.

"You can see it in the polling of American public opinion…Americans are warming to them again. But this very negative streak in their fan base is a hangover from…the era of Royal bombshells.

Prince Harry is eyeing up a "secluded Georgian house" close to King Charles's Highgrove estate, an expert has claimed.

Royal author Tom Quinn claimed the Duke faces a "huge problem" as he has no base in the UK after having been evicted from Frogmore Cottage last year.

He told the Mirror: "Harry has spent a lot of time trying to work out what sort of UK base he might have. He has no experience of living in anything other than well-protected houses that are also well away from the public, so he has a huge problem. Every house he looks at has drawbacks.

"With no chance of returning to any of the houses in the gift of his family, Harry has looked at buying the kind of secluded Georgian house in its own grounds that his father has at Highgrove in Gloucestershire.

"The idea of buying a house close to his father means he will be able to come to the UK for short periods with his children so they can have some kind of a relationship with their cousins and their grandfather".

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Prince Harry made one "unforgivable" mistake on Father's Day as the rift between him and his father King Charles only deepens, an expert has claimed.

Royal commentator Lizzy Cundy slammed the Duke for not sending a public message to King Charles on Father's Day.

She told GB News America: "I thought it was very poignant that Prince William sent this beautiful post. It shows the bond they still have and the respect he has for his father, and there's Harry, very noticeably absent.

"Let's not forget, this is a 75-year-old man suffering with cancer, going on with all his duties, at Trooping the Colour he was stood there in the pouring rain. You just think, 'Wow, this man is absolutely incredible', he is everything Harry isn't.

"Harry just seems to have lost the plot. And how hurtful indeed not to even send a Father's Day message. We don't know if he did it privately. Normally, Harry and Meghan are very vocal, but if they can't post a Father's Day message, that's unforgivable."

Prince Harry's previous scathing remark about Queen Camilla has resurfaced and gone viral on TikTok.

During an interview before the release of his memoir Spare last year, he referred to his stepmother with a harsh two-word remark: "The villain".

He said on 60 Minutes with Anderson Cooper: "She was the villain. "[Camilla] was the third person in the marriage. She need to rehabilitate her image."

He also revealed that both he and Prince William has directly asked their father not to marry Camilla. He said: "We didn't think it was necessary. We thought it was going to cause more harm than good."

Meghan Markle's former Suits co-star has revealed what she and Prince Harry are really like when the cameras are off.

Wendell Pierce, who played Meghan's father on the show, opened up about being in contact with the couple during the Tony Awards last weekend.

He told People magazine: "When [Meghan] came to town, she got an award last year, had a chance to say hello and wish she and Prince Harry well and wish the children well. They look very much in love, and were very happy. That's the most important thing.

"I've gotten to see her just a few times since, and we've been able to reminisce and so it's real, we have fond memories of working together."

Prince Harry and Prince William could be on the brink of mending their strained relationship under the influence of King Charles, an expert has claimed.

Royal author Tom Quinn said the King wants his sons to bend their relationship whether Meghan Markle is involved or not.

He told the Mirror: "King Charles has been putting pressure on Harry to do just this as he is angry that his only relationship with his grandchildren so far is via video calls, which Charles hates.

"William and Kate's children would spend the weekend at Highgrove and Harry's children could then easily pop over from their house nearby.

"This would neatly get round the problem of Meghan she just wouldn't need to be there and the children could be whisked back to the States after a week or two."

Good morning and welcome to our live blog on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Follow along for all the updates on the couple throughout the day.