In perhaps the longest dance of hokey pokey weâve ever witnessed, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle continue to puzzle their fans and critics alike with one question: Are they in? Or are they out⌠of royal life?
After stepping down as senior working royals in January 2020, the Sussexes have continued to pursue âquasi royalâ tours to Colombia and Nigeria and have had no qualms in continuing to make millions in profit from their royal monikers.
In fact, despite Meghanâs life as a working royal lasting just 20 months following her May 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, the Duchess of Sussex has adopted âSussexâ as her last name; goes by the name âMeghan, the Duchess of Sussexâ in both her business endeavours and social media and has created an official monogram, which consists of an âMâ topped with a crown.
And Meghan, 44 and Harry, 41, hit headlines again earlier this week when celebrity psychologist Angela Pearl shared a letter, embellished with the regal monogram as part of the letterhead that the Sussexes had sent to her.
In the letter, included in a since deleted social media post, the Sussexes thank Australian-based Angela for her participation at an unknown event, adding that they are âlook[ing] to visit Australia againâ.
Now a source tells us how, in the midst of their ongoing royal feud, the couple are making their tour a âpriorityâ for next year.
An insider tells us, âThey have been wanting to go back to Australia for a while now, theyâd love to take Archie and Lily. Itâs a place that holds a lot of special memories for them, it was the first royal tour they ever did and Meghan was pregnant with Archie when they were there, so taking the kids back would be very meaningful.
âAnd, itâs such a gorgeous place, who doesnât want to go? The only issue is finding the time in their schedules. But they are saying itâs a priority for next year, ideally in the first quarter.â
Prince Williamâs seething as Prince Harry & Meghan Markle use royal titles for perks
Meghan and Harry first visited the country back in 2018, and used the occasion to announce Meghanâs pregnancy with Archie, now six.
But while they were met with adulation, Australian news outlets have reported that the couple may face a much chillier reception this time around. Not only has their popularity been dwindling globally, as per numerous polls, but former Vanity Fair editor and royal author Tina Brown later revealed how Meghan had âhatedâ the tour, and not understood the âpoint of itâ.
Another royal author and the former royal correspondent for The Times, Valentine Low, also alleged that Meghan commented, âI canât believe Iâm not getting paid for thisâ during their visit.
And now a source tells us that Prince William himself â who is reported to remain âfuriousâ over the Sussexesâ monetisation of their royal status â is at the forefront of ensuring that any âfraudulentâ tour made by Meghan and Harry is not a success.
âNo doubt they will be treated like visiting royalty and that is not sitting well with William, he is seething,â the insider says.
âHe sees that kind of thing as fraudulent and now that heâs aware they are planning this trip down under he will be reaching out to all his contacts there to let his feelings be known, you can count on that.
âHe doesnât see it as being vindictive, heâs just protecting the interests of the Crown. Heâs sure thatâs why they want to do this trip now, while they can still use their titles and get all those perks.
The brothersâ latest âfeudâ comes just a week after it was reported that William and the Royal Family had been âsurprisedâ by Harryâs visit to Canada, which his team insist they were made aware of.
Making matters a whole lot worse, Harryâs trip came at the exact same time that William landed in Brazil to host the Earthshot Prize â meaning any publicity given to Harry overshadowed all of the hard work William had put into his eco-initiative.
âWilliam, along with the whole staff on the palace comms team, was left enraged last week,â the source tells us now.
âMeanwhile Harry doesnât understand. He finds it pretty sad that his brother is taking issue with him supporting soldiers, people who have fought for the Commonwealth.â
But after the very public stripping of the titles of Harryâs disgraced uncle, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, last month, weâve previously reported that Harry could be on borrowed time when it comes to keeping his own royal status.
Prince Williamâs seething as Prince Harry & Meghan Markle use royal titles for perks
While the letter released via Buckingham Palace was written on behalf of King Charles, William is widely reported to have been pivotal to the harsh stance that was taken.
And the source warns that if Harry continues to rile his brother, he could soon be facing the same fate.
They tell us, âHarry and Meghanâs actions have now all just inflamed things more and made William more resolute in his plan to strip them of their titles. His brother and step-sister are no longer royals as far as William is concerned and as soon as he can pull it off they wonât have their titles.â
Meanwhile weâre told that the palaceâs reaction to his trip has âspurredâ Harry on to continue these visits and âpush back when William tries to assert controlâ â a decision, the source adds, that is wholly supported by Meghan, who has already put the cogs in motion to use the trip to further promote her own endeavours.
âNo doubt Meghan will be all for it as well, sheâs always behind Harry standing up to his family and especially to his brother, sheâll be encouraging this independence,â the insider says.
âSheâs also got her own reasons for wanting to visit Australia. Sheâs looking to expand her sales internationally and sheâll be applying for all sorts of trademarks in Australia if she hasnât already.
‘Ideally she would like to launch there soon, so making the trip and building up excitement is crucial. Sheâs already started reaching out to contacts there, she wants to get introduced to the right people â she’s very strategic.â
However, it doesnât stop there. After schmoozing with the A-listers at Kris Jennerâs 70th birthday party last weekend, the source says that Harry is planning to launch a major charm offensive on one Australian celebrity family in particular â even if it means stepping on Williamâs toes.
âHarry has a list of contacts he wants to hit up, and in particular the Irwins. He doesnât care one bit that William has roped keen environmentalist Robert [Irwin] into working on his charity; he wonât let that stop him from paying the family a visit,â the insider says.
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