When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle declared they were stepping down as working royals many commentators, and members of the Firm alike, were taken aback by the surprise announcement.
However, even before Harry and Meghan had walked down the aisle some eagle-eyed observers were already predicting that drama would follow the nuptial.
Last week journalist and royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith revealed on her Substack Royal Extras, that the late Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin, Lady Elizabeth Anson, had allegedly said days before Meghan and Harry’s wedding: ‘We hope but don’t quite think she is in love. We think she engineered it all.’
Lady Elizabeth was not alone in her assessment of the union with feminist writer Germaine Greer predicting in an interview two months before the wedding that Meghan would ‘bolt’ back to the United States.
Speaking to 60 Minutes Australia in April 2018, Germaine said: ‘Let’s hope they’re in love. If they’re not it’s going to be totally unbearable.’
‘She will see vistas of boredom that are unbelievable. I think the pressure to escape from the firm is crushing.’
Germaine went on to explain to interviewer Tara Brown why she thought Meghan might leave claiming that she had ‘bolted before’, citing the Duchess of Sussex’s short-lived marriage to Trevor Engelson.
Rather than divorcing Harry, Germaine’s on the nose prediction was that the Duke and Duchess might both move together.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their wedding day. Even before they had walked down the aisle some eagle-eyed observers were already predicting the drama that would follow the nuptial
Germaine Greer predicted in an interview two months before the wedding that Meghan would ‘bolt’ back to the United States potentially even with Harry
‘I think she’ll bolt. I hope in a way that she’ll bolt but maybe she’ll take Harry with her,’ she said.
Privately, many people close to the Royal Family had voiced their own concerns about the wedding due to Harry and Meghan behaviour before the ceremony.
Lady Eliza, as she was known to friends, told Ms Bedell Smith that Meghan was apparently ‘full of charm’ and appeared ‘natural, intelligent, and thoughtful’ after she became engaged to Harry in 2017. But as the wedding approached, Meghan allegedly became increasingly ‘bossy’ and Liza said the Queen was privately ‘very worried’.
Meanwhile, Harry was allegedly ‘rude’ to his grandmother for 10 minutes during a meeting about his wedding.
Lady Eliza at this point predicted that Meghan could ‘turn into nothing but trouble’, remarking that the Suits actress ‘sees things in a different way’.
The eerily accurate predictions about Harry and Meghan from Germaine did not end with her first assessment.
When asked in another interview with 60 Minutes Australia after ‘Megxit’ Germaine once again made a surprisingly precise prediction.
She said: ‘They’re not even figureheads they are sixth in line to be a figurehead which isn’t terrific.
The eerily accurate predictions about Harry and Meghan from Germaine did not end with her first assessment
The late Lady Elizabeth Anson, had allegedly said days before Meghan and Harry’s wedding: ‘We hope but don’t quite think she is in love. We think she engineered it all’
The late Queen at Harry and Meghan’s wedding. Harry was allegedly ‘rude’ to his grandmother for 10 minutes during a meeting about his wedding
‘I think they may have miscalculated and I think they might slide into complete obscurity.’
While the couple are not irrelevant it is the case that Harry and Meghan have had a bumpy ride since they stood down.
Although The Mail On Sunday revealed in May that Prince Harry is planning to launch his own as-yet-undisclosed commercial venture in the next few months, he remains focused on his charity work and has so far struggled to carve out a television personality like his wife.
Meghan has faced her own issues with the calibre of celebrity she is able to book for her shows. She said to have struggled to book some of her more famous friends for her show, With Love Meghan, which launched in March.
Viewers had expected her to bring in the likes of Montecito neighbour Oprah, tennis superstar Serena Williams and filmmaker Tyler Perry – who is godfather to Princess Lilibet.
The Duchess could instead only muster up Suits co-star Abigail Spencer, Delfina Figueras – socialite wife of Harry’s polo-playing chum Nacho – and chef Roy Choi.
The biggest stars to appear were Harry himself – restricted to a couple of minutes of the final episode in the eight-part series – and US Office actress, writer and producer Mindy Kaling, who appears in the second episode.
There appears to be a growing career chasm between the Sussexes in their business ventures with both taking on more solo projects.
While the couple are not irrelevant it is the case that Harry and Meghan have had a bumpy ride since they stood down as working royals
Indeed, it would seem for future predictions about what might happen next to Harry and Meghan the unlikely source for that knowledge could be none other than Germaine Greer
According to one royal insider, the couple could be suffering from a so-called ‘seven-year glitch’ where by they are still very much happily married but are separating their professional lives.
Speaking to MailOnline, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said that Meghan has ambitions to become a billionaire with her various projects including TV and investing in start-ups, but Harry lacks the same ‘ruthlessness’.
‘Harry is increasingly finding himself as the spare in a relationship with Meghan which undoubtedly involves mutual affection, but where their priorities differ widely.
‘Meghan likes glitz and glamour and is absolutely ruthless as the interview on Oprah showed so clearly. Because she married Harry, her brand does have reach.
‘She would like to be a billionaire influencer and an A-list celebrity but she has very few A-list friends.’
Richard said that Harry’s comfort zone is his charity work, and this is the direction in which he naturally finds himself leaning.
‘Invictus means a lot to him, it was a joy to see him at the WellChild Awards last year. He genuinely enjoyed being with the children, it seemed as though the “old Harry” was temporarily back,’ he said.
However, he cautioned that the Duke has made a ‘large number of mistakes’.
These include his ‘angry and resentful half hour interview with the BBC after he lost his court case over security and his ill-judged memoir Spare’.
Indeed, it would seem for future predictions about what might happen next to Harry and Meghan the unlikely source for that knowledge could be none other than Germaine Greer.
