As the end of 2025 slowly approaches, I have been able to reflect on what a whirlwind year Meghan Markle has had. From an Instagram relaunch, a new podcast, a new Netflix series and her very own brand… has the Duchess even stopped to sit down and have some me time?
And even now, at the end of November, the Duchess is still making moves in the public sphere. Last week, Meghan made it on the cover on Harper’s BAZAAR, giving a fresh interview in which saw her speak about mistakes, her husband Prince Harry, and life in the spotlight. And it is that final point I want to focus on.
While Meghan was an actress long before she met and married Prince Harry, she is probably more of a famous face now than she ever was, starring on Suits.
Although she doesn’t call herself a celebrity, this year it is clear for all to see that she has firmly entered this new world of flashing cameras, red carpets, interviews, A-lister parties and podcasts, more than she ever has before. While she is still Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, I feel like she is now Meghan, LA celebrity.
And don’t photo shoots like those last week for Harper’s BAZAAR prove this? Do we ever see Princess Catherine posing in various outfits on sofas and speaking about how much Prince William loves her? No. And why? Because Catherine is a royal, not a celebrity. Unlike Meghan.
While being in the celebrity sphere will no doubt benefit Meghan and her As Ever business, like it does with all celebrities, it also gives her and her husband Prince Harry one major difference that they will have to overcome.
And that is the difference in celebrity status. Because while Meghan, 44, can now probably count herself as a celeb, Prince Harry can’t, and probably never will – instead he will always be a royal, even if not a working one.
As a royal expert, I can’t see Harry ever changing this and entering the celebrity sphere. What would he do – Acting? Singing? Influencing online? I just can’t see it.
While he is famous for being a royal, I can only ever see him as a plus one to Meghan in the world of celebrity, in the same way that she was his plus one in the world of royal – something that, according to some, she did not like.
And I can’t help but wonder just how they will navigate this, when invites with Meghan’s name on come piling through their Montecito letterbox, and Harry simply has to tag along. Was Kris Jenner’s 70th birthday party earlier this month the start of things to come? Maybe.
As Meghan herself said, though, Prince Harry loves her, and if he loves her, maybe he can accept her new, ever-growing celebrity-like status as he continues with charitable endeavours.