Opinion: The humiliating question about Harry and Meghan on everyone’s lips
Ever since the Sussexes’ camera-shy antics threatened to overshadow ‘momager’ matriarch Kris Jenner ‘s big birthday and put a few rhinoplastied noses out of joint, the big question on many an inflated lip is can the Duke and Duchess really afford to make any more Hollywood enemies? You see, just as Meghan’s decidedly beige festive edition of ‘With Love’ on Netflix dropped to widespread indifference earlier this month, she and husband Harry have never looked more out in the cold. Take sofa buddy and sympathetic-ear Oprah Winfrey.
She may have endorsed Meghan’s latest ‘fruit spread’ but the connection seems a whole lot looser than the heady days of the couple’s tell-all/whinge-fest interview with her back in 2021. Then there’s the friendship with Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia De Rossi which seems, publicly at least, to have fizzled since the former chat show queen swapped Montecito for the cozy charm of the Cotswolds in the UK – so Meghan will be in no rush to visit her then… And remember those notably ‘lowkey’ 44th birthday celebrations for the Duchess back in August?
It’s a potential exodus in evidence on Meghan’s much maligned Netflix show, apparently reliant on D-list cheerleaders to go through the motions over floral-infused ice cubes and linen place settings in her borrowed California kitchen. Remember when the format seemed all set to showcase two of the perennial social climber’s great loves: hosting tips and her uber-rich famous cronies? Yet the anticipated ‘names’ didn’t materialize. Instead, we’ve had cyberbully Chrissy Teigen on day release from Siberia following the backlash from her online trolling of reality star Courtney Stodden (Teigen has since apologized) and acquaintances like Mindy Kaling – who made the mistake of referring to Meghan Markle as Meghan Markle: ‘YOU KNOW I’M SUSSEX NOW!’
Yes, do keep up Mindy. Oh, and not to forget payrolled Daniel Martin – the Duchess’s makeup artist whose only significant revelation remains the product breakdown of Meghan’s wedding makeup. All of which follows the reportedly icy reception that marred the couple’s date night at Dodger Stadium last month. Sitting in prime seats in front of sports legend Magic Johnson, groans and jeers allegedly rang out as their faces appeared on the giant screen. Seems the Dodgers weren’t the only losers that night.
But perhaps the saddest display came shortly after. Harry looking bored and lonely sat in the couple’s empty home cinema watching the World Series final. Meanwhile, in the seemingly staged footage, Meghan flexed her performance skills with mate Kelly Mckee Zajfen in shrieking celebration as her team won. Contrast it all with the Duke’s seemingly happier mood on his last flying visit to the UK in September. The 41-year-old appeared like the popular prince of old, with purpose and enthusiasm as he caught up with his father and charities close to his heart.
And while his wife has washed her hands of England, Harry seems more and more intent on reconnecting with his roots and maybe some old friends. Behind the tight smiles and the doors of their Montecito mansion, this is all undoubtedly a loss of face for the couple. The early post-Megxit buzz and Hollywood good will that surrounded the pair has long crumbled in a whirl of egos and bad publicity.
Certainly, it will take more than Meghan’s just-dropped cover puff-piece with Harper’s Bazaar to put a different spin on things. Referring to the Duchess’s ‘tight-knit circle’ – that’s one way of putting it – we get the obligatory name drop: ‘Meghan tells me that she’ll be having lunch soon with Gloria Steinem, or Glo, as she calls her.’
And there’s a quote from one of her few remaining mega-mates, Serena Williams, on their friendship: ‘We love a good mimosa. We could talk for a hundred hours, and it feels like 10 minutes go by, and it’s like we never stop smiling.’ No doubt, Meghan will soon be dusting off her calligraphy pen ready for the Christmas card list. Only his year, I think she’ll be using a lot less ink.
