Prince Harry went from fighting back tears detailing how his privacy was breached on Wednesday to mingling with wife Meghan Markle and the cream of Hollywood at the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The dramatic contrast between the two worlds only highlights how far Harry still has to go to move past the ghosts of his past, six years into his new life in California.<\/p>\n
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spotted at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, on Sunday, January 25, 2026. Derek Shook \/ BACKGRID<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Harry to go from the hearing [on Wednesday] \u2014\u00a0and pleading for privacy \u2014 to then go to Sundance just days after is nuts,\u201d said one Hollywood source of the royal\u2019s fight with a British newspaper, which he has accused of making Markle\u2019s time in England \u201cabsolute misery.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prince Harry has said his life in America was what his mother Princess Diana would have \u201cwanted\u201d for him. <\/p>\n
The sun shone down on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle when they tied the knot in Windsor in May 2018. But they quit the royal family \u2014 and the UK \u2014 in March 2020, eventually landing in Montecito, where Harry\u2019s California dream is now looking hazy. Getty Images<\/p>\n
But the multi-million dollar deals he and Markle signed with some of Hollywood\u2019s biggest companies to prop up their new life have mostly come sputtering to an end<\/a>, while their charitable Archewell foundation has basically gone kaput<\/a>.<\/p>\n At 41, Harry remains estranged from his older brother, Prince William, and has only seen his father, King Charles, a handful of times <\/a>over the past few years.<\/p>\n He is without a steady income \u2014 and, some around him say, without purpose. And it all raises the question: Is Harry sidelined as the \u201cspare\u201d once again?<\/p>\n Despite the fact Prince Harry said his life in the US is what his mother Princess Diana would have \u201cwanted\u201d for him, the multi-million dollar deals he and Markle signed with some of Hollywood\u2019s biggest companies have mostly come spluttering to an end, while their charitable foundation has basically gone kaput. BACKGRID<\/p>\n Despite all the hardships, Harry says he loves living in the US \u2014 and bringing up his and Markle\u2019s kids, Prince Archie and Princess Lilbet, in California. meghan\/Instagram<\/p>\n Harry has been focusing on his special project, the Invictus Games, which comes to the UK next year \u2014\u00a0and there have been rumors he may be starting a new business, but nothing has been revealed yet. Netflix<\/p>\n In some ways, the prince is a glorified house-husband while Markle brings home the (artisanal) bacon \u2026 though even that is not going as planned, off the news that her Netflix lifestyle show has ended, following in the footsteps of the Sussex Spotify deal<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Post is told that the Sussex coffers are rapidly depleting \u2014 with one source in the know saying the couple have had to downsize their staffing<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHarry\u2019s not really doing anything in America,\u201d said the source. \u201cIt seems he is still very wrapped up in the past. There have been rumors that Harry is starting a business, but he and Meghan don\u2019t have the best track record.<\/p>\n Court sketch shows Prince Harry as he gave evidence in his privacy lawsuit against the publisher of The Daily Mail, in London, on January 21, 2026. REUTERS<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s really great at service \u2014 look at the success of his Invictus charity. He really should just stick with that.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Harry made a reported $27 million from his 2023 memoir, \u201cSpare,\u201d \u00a0the cost of the couple\u2019s California life is said to be insanely high.<\/p>\n They reportedly spend between $2 million and 3 million a year on security, plus monthly payments on a $10 million mortgage, not to mention costs for house and work staff.<\/p>\n There were rumors about Harry filming a Netflix doc in Africa, but that came to nothing, while the couple\u2019s \u201cPolo\u201d show for Netflix only lasted one season. However, the couple do still have a film adaption of\u00a0Jasmine Guillory\u2019s \u201cThe Wedding Date\u201d<\/a>\u00a0for Netflix on the slate, via their Archewell Productions.<\/p>\n Harry and Archie at home in the Californian sunshine. Netflix<\/p>\n Harry (with Markle, far right) remains estranged from his big brother, Prince William (second from left, with Kate Middleton), and has not spoken to him in more than two years. ZUMAPRESS.com<\/p>\n \u201cI think Harry\u2019s banking on speaking engagements for income right now,\u201d said the source.<\/strong><\/p>\n And, for the first time in their relationship, he and Markle are \u201con different paths\u201d when it comes to their professional lives. <\/p>\n While the couple teamed up to sign past deals with Spotify and Netflix, they now have separate offices, we\u2019re told.<\/p>\n Markle, 44, is heavily focused on her As Ever lifestyle brand, which debuted last year.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s really great at service \u2014 look at the success of his Invictus charity. He really should just stick with that,\u201d a source said of Harry. Roger \/ BACKGRID<\/p>\n Harry and Markle recently offloaded their Parents Network project to the nonprofit ParentsTogether. Getty Images for Project Healthy Minds<\/p>\n Earlier this month, the brand was heavily scrutinized after a website glitch briefly revealed inventory figures \u2014 prompting claims that large stock numbers signaled slow sales.<\/p>\n The site briefly displayed inventory totals that included around 220,000 jars of jam, 30,000 jars of honey, 90,000 candles, 80,000 tins of flower sprinkles and roughly 70,000 bottles of wine, including brut, sauvignon blanc and ros\u00e9.<\/p>\n A source said to be close to the business spun the data points not as a glut of unsold products but rather to a brand experiencing strong demand and preparing for international expansion.<\/p>\n The couple gave a bombshell interview to Montecito pal Oprah Winfrey after moving to the US \u2014\u00a0prompting a rift with the royal family that was deepened by the publication of his \u201cSpare\u201d memoir. VIA REUTERS<\/p>\n \u201cWhile it\u2019s normal for a business not to talk about sales data, I think it\u2019s fair to say that the glitch that led to this data being revealed points to a business that isn\u2019t just successful \u2014 it\u2019s flying, literally off the shelf,\u201d the source told People.<\/a><\/p>\n Markle joined forces with Netflix to produce the products, meant to tie in with her series \u201cWith Love, Meghan.\u201d But as we recently revealed, the show has been dropped after two seasons.<\/a><\/p>\n The second season scored just two million views and was the 1,224th most-watched program on Netflix between July and December 2025, according to figures released by Netflix this week. A Christmas special ranked 1,022nd.<\/p>\n Markle\u2019s \u2018Archetypes\u2019 podcast was axed by Spotify in June 2023 after only one 12-episode season, marking the end of a $20 million deal. Spotify<\/p>\n Hollywood insiders told us that Markle and her team have pitched more holiday specials to Netflix bosses, from July 4 to Valentine\u2019s Day, but nothing has been sold yet.<\/p>\n Things aren\u2019t going much better over at the Sussexes\u2019 Archewell Foundation \u2014\u00a0now renamed Archewell Philanthropies \u2014 as the couple recently downsized their staff and offloaded a partnership with the group ParentsTogether, meant to protect children from online harm.<\/p>\n Harry and Markle have, in fact, spent the past few months in deep discussion about the charity\u2019s future as it has struggled with funding.<\/p>\n Markle\u2019s heavily -promoted Netflix show, \u201cWith Love, Meghan\u201d won\u2019t return for a third season, sources told Page Six this week. BACKGRID \/ BACKGRID<\/p>\n \u201cThe big question was, would Archewell close, or would another charity take it over?\u201d a source said.<\/p>\n \u201cHarry and Meghan were looking to get a fiscal sponsor, someone to take on the outgoing costs and to keep things cheap. Really, it\u2019s all smoke and mirrors.\u201d<\/p>\n Three members \u2014 60 percent of the charity\u2019s staff \u2014 have been let go, while Executive Director James Holt, who\u2019s been with the couple since they were working royals in Britain, recently quit and Vice-President of Philanthropy Shauna Nep is only part time.<\/p>\n Harry \u2014\u00a0seen here raising a toast on an episode of \u201cWith Love, Meghan\u201d \u2014\u00a0is said to have few real friends of his own in California. COURTESY OF NETFLIX<\/p>\n Although they may have lost some of their golden glow in Hollywood, Markle remains a client of top agency WME and they do have a friends in high places.<\/p>\n They\u2019re still close to Montecito power players including former Paramount co-CEO Brian Robbins \u2014\u00a0who has a new production company, backed by CAA and Sony, dedicated to animated and live-action fare \u2014 and his wife, Tracy.<\/p>\n Markle is pals with neighbor Oprah Winfrey and counts makeup millionaire Victoria Jackson as a BFF. For the most part, Harry\u2019s local friends are said to be people he knows through Markle, apart from Argentinian polo star Nacho Figueras who he has been spotted with at the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet club.<\/p>\n Harry and Markle\u2019s decision to quit the royal family led to global headlines \u2014 including this Post cover. csuarez<\/p>\n A source said the prince lost touch with his UK pals years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think they leave the house much,\u201d said the source in the know. \u201cMeghan does, maybe, but not so much Harry.\u201d<\/p>\n They\u2019re mainly found hanging out with their kids, Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, who attend local schools.<\/p>\n Markle posted photos of her dancing with Harry, taken by daughter Liilbet at their California home.<\/p>\n Harry has also volunteered to help raise funds for the\u00a0local charity, One805, which was\u00a0established after the 2017 Thomas Fire and resulting mudslides ravaged the Santa Barbara area, killing 23 people.<\/p>\n Sources would like to see Harry, who seems a bit lost at the moment, get back to what was once his life\u2019s mission \u2014\u00a0following in his mother Diana\u2019s do-gooding footsteps, rather than trying to make a run for commercial endeavors.<\/p>\n Last September, he reportedly charmed guests at a fundraiser for One805 at Kevin Costner\u2019s beachfront Montecito estate.<\/p>\n \u201cHe really opened up about his experience of mental wellness issues, about friends that he\u2019d encountered who\u2019d been in Afghanistan and what he\u2019d seen them suffer\u00a0through,\u201d Richard Weston-Smith, the co-founder of that charity, told the Post.\u201cYou really got a sense that he fully understands this subject.<\/p>\n Harry has spent the past week in London, giving evidence at a trial against Associated Newspapers. REUTERS<\/p>\n \u201cHe cares so much. He\u2019s not boastful or brash or arrogant. He\u2019s incredibly gentle and caring and empathetic.\u201d<\/p>\n Harry finally seems ready to take his wife and kids back to visit his homeland after winning his battle to get armed security when he\u2019s in the UK<\/a>. Markle could even join him as he kicks off celebrations for the one-year-to go Invictus Games in London in July.<\/a><\/p>\n This week, however, Harry was back in London fighting his old demons: the British media, as he became the first royal to take the witness stand in court in modern times.<\/p>\n