Now Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have landed in the UK – flying in by private jet, naturally – we’re all desperately awaiting the first pictures of the couple in their new environment.
And if recent reports are anything to go by, Meghan, 45, could be set for a seriously English makeover to go with her new life. Think a vast country estate of roaming stags; a wardrobe of eye-wateringly stylish leather and lace, and the potential of a dalliance with none other than swoon-worthy Eddie Halstead, AKA The Duke.
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We are, of course, talking about the speculation that Suits alum Meghan could be set to join Guy Ritchie’s uber-stylish action-comedy sensation, Netflix’s The Gentleman – and we couldn’t agree more that the Duchess could be the perfect fit. Not only is she already high-ranking when it comes to peerage, but on a practical note, Meghan and Prince Harry are reported to be actively house hunting in the Cotswolds, where the first two series were largely filmed.
However, just hours after the alleged deal hit headlines, former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown took to social media to claim that the offer of a role had been revoked following ‘intense’ backlash from the UK public that made going forward with filming ‘untenable’.
Roll on a week, and there are new reports that the offer IS still on the table. Either way, we’re told that Meghan still hasn’t given up on her dream of relaunching her acting career back in the UK.
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An insider says, ‘Harry and Meghan are both framing this as an exciting opportunity on all fronts. Meghan is ready to jump back into acting full-time; she says she really missed it, and the fact that she can do it from the UK is quite appealing as well.
‘It not only gives her a reason to be there while Harry focuses on mending things with his family, but also because she’ll be a big fish in a small pond, so there will be more opportunities for her. Her goal is to score something high profile that will allow her to really showcase her talent and maybe even start winning awards.’
That being said, Meghan – who also filmed a cameo for Amazon rom-com Close Personal Friends last year – has not been referred to as the Royal Family’s Comeback Queen for nothing, and we’re told the determined Duchess is planning on adding more than one string to her bow to keep her busy in the UK.
After launching and relaunching her lifestyle brand As Ever two years ago, for the past few months, Meghan has made it clear that her brand’s global expansion will remain one of her main focuses for the year ahead. And we’re told that she knows landing the support of her father-in-law, King Charles, would really set the wheels in motion for success and open a lot of doors for her.
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The insider says, ‘She’s not limiting herself to acting, though her brand is still going to be a huge focus. She’s very eager to prove there’s a market for her products across the pond, so her plan is to make a big push towards that as well.
‘There certainly won’t be any shortage of chat shows she can go on to promote herself and everything she’s selling. If things go well with the King, the hope is that he will publicly show her and her brand some support. A photo of them together that’s shared to social media, or even just a positive comment on one of her posts, would mean the world.’
However, here comes a twist nobody had expected – a battle of the jams between Meghan and the King, whose charitable fund still benefits from the proceeds of the Duchy Organic brand he founded back in 1990.
But we’re told that instead of competing with her father-in-law, Meghan’s ‘ideal’ scenario is that they collaborate – an offer King Charles is very unlikely to agree to, given that the profit from Duchy directly benefits charities, whereas Meghan’s brand operates as a private commercial business.
‘In an ideal world, she would have her jam on the shelf beside the Duchy’s jam, and she doesn’t see why that’s not possible,’ the source says.
Meghan also hinted that she could be set to celebrate her return to the UK by releasing a new wine after a picture posted to As Ever’s social media showed a cork with the caption, ‘Something sparkling is on its way next month’.
And Meghan isn’t just set to mark her UK return with a bottle of fizz, as the source says that following recent polls that suggested her popularity in the US was declining, the Duchess of Sussex now hopes that her wider range will appeal to the ‘English sensibility’ – by this we think she means more Downton Abbey vibes over a builder’s tea and a pack of hobnobs.
We’re told, ‘Not that her jam is the only focus; she’s been on a big push with her wine lately and believes there is big market potential for it in Britain. There’s already a proven demand for premium California wines over there, and the price point on hers is very reasonable compared to a lot of the other ones on offer, especially her Napa rosé.
‘For all her complaints about England, there is still a lot that she loves about it. It’s an environment where people do an awful lot of entertaining, there’s a real passion about doing things to a high standard, and she resonates with that in a big way, and she feels like if people gave her a chance, they would see that her products fit in very well with the English sensibility.
‘She’s always quick to point out that decorating cakes and other desserts with edible flowers goes all the way back to the Victorian era and even further, which has her convinced her edible flower confetti could be a real hit with the Brits if they only had the chance to try it.’
Yet not everything can be sprinkled with edible flowers, and it’s been widely reported that the Sussexes remain under immense pressure when it comes to how they maintain their lifestyle as non-working royals.
Harry, 41, is reported to be hoping for a new security arrangement, which could potentially save the couple millions, but it is believed that the Sussexes will keep their Montecito home, alongside their exclusive villa in Portugal and a new UK base with a reported budget of £8 million.
Now the source adds, ‘For all her positivity, there’s no doubt the pressure is on. The UK is a potential gold mine, so if she doesn’t take a stab at it, what does that say about her confidence in her products?
‘But if she tries and flops, the financial hit will be massive, not to mention how humiliating another failure would be. She’s not thinking that way though; she is tackling this with a growth mindset and refusing to let her past experience dictate how this time around will go.’
Meanwhile, Harry is expected to continue to promote the Invictus Games, alongside supporting the charities he champions in the UK. And with Meghan also expected to fly between the UK and Montecito, it’s believed he will spend the majority of his time at home with the couple’s children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five.
There’s no doubt that Harry remains Meghan’s biggest champion, but the source says he is also aware that his wife was all but forced to give up on acting following all of the attention she received when they began dating in 2016, and is glad that she’s been offered this new opportunity.
‘Harry is cheering her on in a big way. He’s happy that she’s going to go back to acting because he can see how much just talking about it invigorates her,’ the source says.
‘He wants to see her thrive and still feels quite badly that she had to give up her job on Suits to marry him. He knows that was a big sacrifice and it’s something he actually regrets going along with, so he’d love to see that put right.’
They add, ‘He’s also still convinced that she can win over the British people under the right circumstances. He and Meghan are both hoping there will be some public efforts from the King – they know that will go a long way.’