Are Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Hollywood dreams in jeopardy? | Royals Recap

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Hollywood future, it seems like it could be hanging in the balance still. Charlie, what is the latest that they have going on? Because it seems like a lot has changed in their lives recently, but things that were supposed to come to fruition haven't yet. Yeah, I mean, it's very difficult to pinpoint exactly where all of their projects are in terms of stages of progress. Right. Now... A lot of questions were asked when Harry and Meghan moved back to the UK about why they were choosing to do it. And a number of people, myself included, believed that it was because... They had kind of run short of things to do in Hollywood. I think when they moved to California, they had this massive idea of themselves as, you know, not just Hollywood stars, but like leaders in the industry. They didn't just want to be on the camera. They wanted to be talking about things. They wanted to be power players. They wanted to be directing, producing. I'm pretty sure. You know, if you ask me, Meghan probably had a spot saved on her mantle for a future Oscar. And And never forget when they went to the Lion King premiere and they were trying to bump elbows with all of the execs there. Prince Harry was hustling to get Meghan something at Disney. It was, yeah. But I think the issue is they have all of these ideas. The kind of beginning flames for a few different things have been lit. But then the flames have kind of died down. You know, we've got that project that has been in the works, I'm pretty sure since 2023, Meet Me at the Lake. Yes, Meet Me at the Lake. Which was such an amazing book. But... No one knows where that has gone. No one knows what's happening. We talked about it years, like last year we talked about it because we were saying that it was such a good book and we were actually excited to see what they would do with it. We're still waiting. We are still waiting. There have been whispers of like, oh, maybe a super secret director has been attached. We don't know who. And then they have another movie project that once again, not really much has happened. Now. Page Six spoke to a number of different Hollywood sources who pointed out, like, yes, there has been no forward momentum on any of these projects, lest we forget the untitled polo documentary that they were meant to be producing that was going to reveal the sexy, glamorous side of polo. I personally was really excited about that. Nary a whisper about where that has got to. We haven't heard anything of that. And it was supposed to be a scripted show, so that was going to be a little fun, edgy side to their production company. You know, the thing is, Hollywood can take time, you know? A lot of things get stalled, a lot of projects get shelved, get canned, whatever it is, but... From what I have seen, when Hollywood wants something and wants it really badly, they get it moving. Right. When there's momentum, you would think that Harry and Meghan would have this momentum, especially because Meet Me at the Lake was such a good book from Carley. Then they also bought the rights to The Wedding Date, which they announced in 2025, also a book. So you would think that they're... Power couple mentality and the fact that these are two best-selling books that everybody would want to see the adaptation of, you would think that those would move forward quickly. And look how quickly Netflix moves on other projects. You know, the work that it's doing with Alex Cooper's network on Well, it's like announcement, production, casting. Like when Netflix wants to make something happen and capitalize on interest, Netflix does exactly that. Right. So it remains to be seen, but I think it ties in really interestingly with their move to the UK. It feels as though they didn't really have any hot irons in the fire in California. So it was the perfect time for them to go back to the UK and kind of try their hand at something else. What that is going to be, we don't really know. Megan's been busy releasing dog toys for Christmas. Well, I mean, as we have discussed, we need those dog toys for our dogs. I mean, a $20 plush jam. Uh, fruit spread, I think is what you mean. Oh, so sorry. Right, right. Fruit spread. Um, a little crazy, but I've, I've done crazier for my dog. So haven't we all? I think our girls need them. I think our girls need them. And you know, I think destroyed in two seconds, but we're going to get them. Harry and Meghan are now back in this awkward position of being like faux royals. You know, they're kind of acting like royals. They're doing official engagements. They kind of, they are, you know, they look very much like Acting members of the royal family, but they are not. But they're not. And insiders have said, you know, this is causing some tension with the actual royal family because they're kind of masquerading themselves as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Right. You know, as though the whole blip in California never happened. Right. And I think that they really need to figure out their position. Their team or sources close to them have been very insistent that they aren't trying to steal the spotlight. They're not trying to take any attention away from William and Kate or Charles and Camilla. But at the same time, if you're kind of heading, jetting off to Belgium to kind of visit... about governmental officials and to launch your own charity campaign. It does get a little bit confusing. If you're not someone who's so obsessed with the royals like me and doesn't know every single bit of nitty gritty about any point in time, then you're going to look at this and be like, oh, Kate and William are here. Harry and Meghan are there. It's not going to mean any different. And that means that... Simply by association, what Harry and Meghan do will impact the royal family. That geographical distance between the UK and the US, as silly as it might sound, it really did help. the royal family to kind of put up a bit of a barrier. You know, because if Harry's rolling around Montecito wearing a pair of ripped jeans and a polo shirt, people don't really associate, his necklaces and all that stuff, people don't really associate that with the royals. But when he and Meghan are stepping out in Belgium, he's wearing a suit and tie, she's wearing a very demure royal-esque look. Once again, it really blurs the line between the royals and then the royal family. I don't know, extradited. I don't know what they are like. They're like pseudo royals. And as you said, it's kind of blurring the lines and where are they going to go with this? But they're heading to Brussels next week and it is being framed as their first joint appearance, which is very royal-esque. Even just like the language of how they're going on this trip together and it's their first trip since moving back to the UK. They're going for a charity. It's all... Giving the same thing that they did when they were on the A-team and they chose to step away from the A-team and now they're like making their own team but doing the same things. Well, and the issue that I have to raise, I mean, it is a horrible subject to discuss, but obviously there have been some really, really significant and serious accusations levied against Meghan's dad, Thomas Markle, senior, not only by his own son, but also by other publications by. officials in the Philippines where he was previously living. Again, the closeness of Meghan and Harry to the royal family. And I should caveat this by saying this is the least concerning thing when it comes to child porn allegations. But Meghan and Harry's proximity to the royal family means that the royal family is automatically tainted by association when it comes to the allegations being made against Thomas. So Them now going on their first kind of pseudo royal appearance overseas, it's not only since they moved back to the UK, but also since all of these allegations were aired. Right. 99% sure that the majority of headlines will reference that scandal. Definitely. And it's just, you know, the royal family can't really afford another sexual misconduct scandal. The Prince Andrew situation is still... Sorry, former Prince Andrew situation. It's hard to break these habits. It is. Former Prince Andrew's situation is still lingering like a bad smell over the royal family. You throw the Thomas Markle nightmare into that and it's kind of like... Any distance that they managed, the monarchy managed to get from Meghan and Harry has now gone. It's been eradicated. And it's hard, too, because you can tell she's trying to distance herself from it, understandably, because she doesn't want to be part of it. And she has said in statements that she is horrified by the allegations. But at the same time, it is still her father. So people are still paying attention and watching what is going to come from it and what might happen and what charges might come from it, if any, and how it plays out. She's still going to be at the center of it and they're still going to be referenced as proceedings go along as to what they're also doing. And then she's managing this side of things with this part of her life being under scrutiny. And then she still has as ever, Where she's just like... Crazy stuff happening over here. The second part of my holiday line is launched. Right, right. Like, oh my God, I hate my dad. But my honey. It's, well, and I, you know, another thing I have to point out with regard to Meghan and Harry's return to the UK, with every passing day that goes by that Harry doesn't spend time with Charles or William, it just, it's like they're screaming, screaming through silence, you know? Right. They're basically like, we don't get along. Yes. You know, and... It's more noticeable because previously we could all say, oh, California is so far away from the UK. It is. We would all have trouble getting to and fro as well. But now that they are in very close proximity, it's kind of just waiting around like, okay, and at what point do you see your family when you live in the same area? Is that closer at least? You're speaking as a Brit. The Cotswolds where Meghan and Harry are and Windsor where William and Kate are, not that far apart. They're really not. Eton is even closer. Actually, that's a lie. Don't quote me because my geography is actually terrible. But it's an hour and a half in the car. Right. You know, it's really not difficult. And, you know, to add insult to injury, if you will, William and Harry made even more painfully clear How much their rift is still very much in place when they honored their mother, Princess Diana, by writing letters to the latest recipients of an award that is given out as part of a charitable program named for Diana. And, you know, a lot of the headlines were kind of like, oh, William and Harry come together. And then I read the specifics. Right. And no, they didn't. They sent separate letters. Right. It's so awkward. It would be like, I got married in September. It would be like if I sent my thank you cards and then my husband sent his thank you cards. First of all, it's a lot of additional writing to do. Second of all, it's weird. Very weird. You know? Very weird. And it. Like you said, makes the rift seem even more noticeable and even more distant from each other because you can't come together on one note to these winners or even have any kind of joint accept or, you know, like appreciation for these people that you. Oh, like you're giving us this idea and concept that you are deeply part of your mother's charity, that they have all and they have always been part of it. They've spoken at the award ceremony individually in recent years individually. But now it's like, you can't even come together and say honoring our mother is so important and what you're doing is so important and what you're doing would have been important to her. It's like, I'll say this and I'll say this. Well, that's the thing. It's like what that even says to me is that they can't even bear to speak. Through their aides, right? You know, because I think all it all it would have taken is, you know, the people who work for them mock up a letter, etc, etc. And I'm just imagining very much in my brain. I don't know that this happened. But I am imagining like, whose name comes first, whose signature is bigger, who makes the most touching reference to their mother. I think the issue is, is that everyone who is in Either of their inner circles knows that any kind of conversation like that is just going to lead to arguments, upset, and so they don't even bother. That's kind of what this says to me is, you know, this isn't a case of like, oh, we couldn't agree on what was the right thing to say in a joint statement. What this says to me is that they were like, oh, we're not even going to bother trying. Yeah, because we know that it's not going to be possible. Right. It's not going to be possible. And then what happens when they do have to appear at the same thing? I mean, eventually you would think we would come to a moment in time where like. It's the king's birthday. What are they going to do? They're not going to see each other. They're not going to be invited. Previously, it was like, oh, he was invited, but they couldn't make it. Well, we believed that when they were in California. I don't know if I'm going to believe that anymore. You couldn't make your weekend free. Right. And we already know that they're making their own Christmas plans because they are not going to be invited to the royal family's kind of big annual Christmas gathering. Do you think they'll go to the church for the mass? Not at all. No, I don't think they'll be invited because that. Yes. And again, we get to that kind of really difficult balance between the royal family is a family, but the royal family is a business. It's not called the firm for nothing. So we get to that really tricky territory of like, yes, that outing to the church is a family occasion. But Andrew was ousted from it, and rightly so. And I think, you know, the royal family, in my opinion, I don't want any family to be broken. I think it is awful that William and Harry are in the position that they are in now. But I think the royal family has to really draw the line. They cannot. have, you know, it goes back to the first days after Megxit. We heard that it was the queen who said you're either in or you're out. There's no half in, half out. Can't have your cake and eat it too. And I think that that same ethos really needs to be carried forward. You're either with us or you're not. You know, it's like if you have a family business that you're running, great. Okay. If you don't want to work for us, you can't be in the board meetings. That's kind That's kind of where we're at. So no, I would be very, very... Very surprised if they are there. And if they're hoping to be, they better be putting in some serious graft in the next few weeks. Because from what I've seen, there has been no opening of arms to welcome them back. I think it's been more of a slamming of the door, to be completely honest. And even their move back to Montecito was such a surprise because it didn't really seem like they gave any hints that they were looking to go back to the UK. In fact, they made it seem... Very certain that they would not be going back there and that Harry was loving California and their kids were growing up in their beautiful home there, which they still have. But now it seems like they're doubling down on staying in the UK because they just moved into one of their pals house. They were on their property in their guest home of some sort. So they were living they were living in one. I mean. You know, this is a very wealthy pal. If you come and hang at my house, Meghan and Harry, at best you're getting an air mattress in the spare room. Right. But this is obviously a very wealthy friend who has, you know, an estate rather than a house. They were living in one property on the estate and they have now recently moved into another property on the estate. This is also interesting to me because I think if it suggests It suggests that the move back was slightly... I was going to say hasty, sort of on a whim feeling, you know, because I think especially when you have two young children who are in school, you don't really want to be living out of boxes. We've all done it, but that's not really what you it's not your vibe and changing their school sort of abruptly. Yeah, they're not really little tiny babies anymore. They're older. They're in school. They probably have an established group of friends. And now imagine having to be the new kid at school twice in the same year. That is just awful. Right. Really awful. It's really difficult to say. I don't you know, it's like when you ask a political pundit to predict the election, they're kind of like, oh, I like to be on the fence so that I don't get it wrong. Right. It would be very surprising to me if they stay in the UK forever. Oh, OK. The way that I keep describing it to people who ask, I think they are back there to recharge their royal battery. Oh. Remind... You know, I think they had kind of run out of, like, royal goodwill in California. I think people were like, oh, well, now you're Hollywood. You're not really royals anymore. So they were like, oh... balls, we better get back to the UK. Remind people of who we are, who we want to be. And then, you know, when they have a bit more material, they'll head back to California. Chances are, they're already writing another book, our rough journey home, you know, the path to forgiveness or whatever. Really wouldn't surprise me whatsoever. But I think you are always giving them ideas. Every time, I swear. Wow. If... If Meghan Harry, if that is the title of your new book, we're going to have words. TM, Copyright, whatever it is that you do, yeah. But I think that the future for both of them right now is hazy. And I think that they will kind of continue to work on the projects that they know are working. So as ever, while it might not have broken the internet, The products are selling, so that's something. thing. Obviously, Archwell, the charitable arm of Archwell, which is partly why they're going to Belgium. But when it comes to the kind of production side of Archwell, they just lost another staff member who was working on the non-fiction side of things. And she had been there from the beginning. And I think that this just kind of shows there really is... A lack of forward progress as far as those kind of Hollywood projects are concerned. And... And, you know, if they are able to be in the UK and work on the projects that are actually, you know, still going, then great. If they can do that while they're establishing more credibility as kind of pseudo members of the royal family, great. But I think that, you know, the coverage of them. is going to be a problem for the royal family moving forward and I think the royals are going to have to be very strict stern if you will about where their line in the sand is. Do you think we could ever see them come together at an event in the next let's say year? I would love if we could reach a stage where Trooping of the Colour in June Harry and Meghan are welcomed even if they aren't Harry and Meghan aren't on the balcony. Archie, Lilibet, it would be so nice if they could be there. Because at this point, I don't think there is any way back for them as working members of the royal family. Too much has been said, too much has been done for anyone to forget. But... But... It would be really nice if they could at least be welcomed back from the familial side of things, you know, if they can. And I want that for Archie, Lilibet and, you know, William and Kate's children. I think it's awful that they might never have a relationship with their cousins, especially now that they're all living so close. It is interesting, too, to think about it from the standpoint of how old the kids all are now. Were they telling them they hadn't met each other because of how far away they lived? I mean, I would hope. that they would be able to meet now that they're in the UK. Because if I'm Charlotte, I'm understanding that I have not met two of my cousins at this point in time. George is, you know, George is now, you know, kind of, Proper school, if you will. He's a teenager. He was actually looking quite trendy when he went to a soccer game with his dad recently. He's on a break from school. He wasn't playing hooky. And, you know, gone was the kind of smart suit. He was wearing a track suit top. He looked, yeah, trendy Wendy. I was very impressed. Is he Gen Z? Yeah, he is, right? Oh, don't ask me that. I have no idea. He's a youth. He's like Gen Z, Gen Alpha. I've reached the age now where I'm like anyone under the age of 30 is a youth. Okay, so I lump them all into the same bracket regardless of their generation. But I think William and Kate have done a really wonderful job of kind of towing the line between George, you will one day be king, but George, you are also a young man, a young boy. And the same with all of their children. So I do believe that William and Kate will have had appropriately honest conversations with them. And it also wouldn't surprise me if, you know, for example, William and Kate have had George, Charlotte and Louis write a Christmas card to Archie and Lilibet and vice versa. Because I think that... One, the one thing that would encourage William to put aside his pride and his anger is his children. Yeah. So fingers crossed that that is the way forward for both brothers, kind of understanding that while they might never again be the best of friends, while they might never again be brothers in the way that they once were, it would be nice if they could at least be. cordial to one another so that the children have an opportunity to forge their own relationships and to make up their own minds. Yeah. I do feel like I could see a world too where Meghan and Harry come back to the States for the holidays and maybe they'll use Thanksgiving as their plug. Like, okay, we're going to come. But wait, actually, the kids will be in school. Mm-hmm. Yeah, we do not get Thanksgiving off in the UK. I hate to tell you, because I have actually grown to love Turkey Day, but no one in the UK celebrates it, marks it. Sorry, no British people living in the UK really do anything about it. They wouldn't have school because they're in a British school. Absolutely. So they wouldn't have the time off. Yeah. Oh, interesting. So we have in the next few weeks a lot to look out for from this family. Yes, we do. I mean, I think we're all anticipating Megan's as ever. Here's how I... Cook a turkey using, you know, powdered gold or whatever. I personally can't wait. But yeah, I think this is always a very telling time of year for any... Family disputes, if that's the right way of framing it. So I think that the holidays, Thanksgiving, I think we will learn a lot. And I also think that Meghan and Harry's appearance in Belgium will give us a lot of insight into kind of their plans for the future. I think so too. And they do seem to be stepping back into that, trying to look like a couple who make these appearances together. In just the most recent weeks, they've even done a few things here and there to make it seem that way. So it'll be very interesting to see where they go from here and how much more we get of them together on these joint appearances. Well, as ever, we'll be watching. As ever, we'll be watching. The holidays, we'll be watching. And Page Six will have it all covered.