Earlier this month, Meghan Markle continued to face criticism over commercialsing not only her own royal title, but now her children’s, too, when the Duchess posted an image of her daughter Lilibet onto social media to celebrate her fifth birthday.
Yet despite her best efforts, Meghan, 44, and Prince Harry, 41, are widely reported to be under pressure when it comes to their finances and just how they are going to continue to fund their lavish Montecito lifestyle.
Of course, behind the gates of their sun-soaked Californian home, Meghan only shares glimpses of their farmhouse style kitchen and idyllic grounds, but if she were to pan the camera a little further, audiences buying into her ‘simple life’ ethos would see the nine bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, a swimming pool, a play park and the expansive grounds and private rose garden the couple need to maintain.
And while the Sussexes have recently announced their new, perhaps niche, project with Netflix – an film adaptation of the book ‘No Way Out’ by Major Adam Jowett – new polls appeared to reveal that Meghan’s popularity is falling – and fast.
Last week it was revealed how data collected by YouGov America shows a rapid decline in Meghan’s popularity since last year. Polls showed that compared to 2025, where 37 per cent of voters ‘liked’ Meghan, only 29 per cent voted in favour of the Duchess at the start of this year.
Furthermore, US site Newsweek claimed that a separate search they had conducted revealed that the traffic to Meghan’s As Ever brand’s website fell by 89,000 in the US in January.
Meghan shared images of Lilibet for her birthday ©Instagram/@meghan
The reports come just weeks after royal author Tom Bower made the shocking revelation in his new book, ‘Betrayal: Power, Deceit and the Fight for the Future of the Royal Family’, that the Sussexes need an income of at least $3 million annually to maintain their current lifestyle, with recent US reports speculating that the figure could even reach $6 million.
This figure is said to include a team of house staff, including security and a nanny, on top of key figures like PR advisers, management teams and travel costs – the list is seemingly endless – despite an oft-barefooted Meghan’s insistence that they live a very simple life, fuelled by homemade jam and edible flowers.
Last June, the couple were reported to have parted ways with six employees in, including their two in-house PR reps, US-based deputy press secretary Kyle Boulia and UK press officer Charlie Gipson.
Now a source now tells us that Meghan has taken the lead and has told Harry that they need to start tightening their belts and potentially letting some more of their staff go if they’re going to carry on living in one of the US’s most exclusive post codes.
The insider says, ‘They’ve culled their staff several times but she’s now saying they need to let more people go, she feels they are spending too much. It will mean they both need to do more to pick up the slack but she insists it needs to be done.
‘She’s adjusting and cutting back as much as she can and it has not been easy. Having less staff has meant a lot more work for both her and Harry, it’s added stress but the salaries are just too much to carry.’
And according to Rob Shuter, the burden of financial pressure may have come as a bitter pill for Meghan, after a source told the columnist that when she had first met and fallen in love with Harry back in 2016, the former actress had thought her own knight in shining armour was far richer than he is.
Meghan wants Harry to focus on money making ©Getty Images
An insider revealed on Rob’s Substack, ‘Meghan genuinely believed Harry was worth hundreds of millions. When she discovered the actual numbers, it was a huge shock. Yes, Harry is wealthy, but not ‘private jets forever without worrying’ wealthy.’
Another source added. ‘They spend like a billion-dollar brand but the income doesn’t flow consistently enough to support that level of spending forever.’
Harry is reported to have inherited around $20 million from his late mother Princess Diana and his great-grandmother, the Queen Mother, but Dan Wakeford, the former editor of People Magazine, recently claimed the impressive sum has been ‘substantially absorbed.’
Meanwhile, Harry is set to return to the UK next month to attend an event marking one year to go until the Invictus Games, and it has been widely reported that his trip will also include a reunion with his father King Charles, who he last saw in September.
Speculation has been swirling that he and Meghan could be set to renegotiate on the ‘half in, half out’ deal that the late Queen Elizabeth had rejected in 2020, which would involve the Sussexes carrying out royal duties while presumably remaining in California.
However, with a growing number of reports alleging that Meghan is not keen to associate herself in any way with the Royal Family, apart from to commercialise her royal title, we’re now told that she plans to cut back on Harry’s long distance flights back to his homeland, too.
The insider says, ‘She’s also pushing Harry to cut way back on his travel to the U.K. Her argument is that the bills are huge and there’s nothing to show for it. She doesn’t see the point in Harry spending a ton of money to kiss up to people who constantly let him down.
‘Private jet travel is out of the question going forward too, it’s just not in the budget. Harry is a very generous guy, he loves to leave outrageous tips, and he’ll lend money to friends no questions asked, but Meghan’s putting the kibosh on all of that. From now on he’s under strict orders to think twice before he opens his wallet.’
Yet we’re told for Meghan, who grew up in a relatively normal household and worked hard to earn her own money, notably through her role in legal drama Suits, long before she met Harry, this newfound reality hasn’t come easily, either.
The pair have some money worries due to their extravagant lifestyle ©Getty Images
‘It’s totally not how she envisioned living at this stage in her life. She married a prince, money worries should not factor in,’ the insider says.
‘But this is not a fairytale and they unfortunately have put themselves in a precarious spot financially that they need to dig out of. It’s tough but Meghan’s insisting they can do it.’
When Harry and Meghan held their fairytale wedding at St George’s Chapel in Windsor back in 2018, the ceremony looked less like a traditional royal wedding and more like one of Hollywood’s biggest nights.
Among the high-profile guests were Oprah Winfrey, David and Victoria Beckham, Idris Elba, James Corden, Serena Williams, Elton John, James Blunt and George and Amal Clooney.
However, with most of their high-profile friendships haven fallen to the wayside amidst their bitter rift with the royals, the source says their one-time-lavish dinner parties – which have included guests such as Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi, and Brooklyn Beckham and Nicole Peltz-Beckham – have been reined in too.
‘Socially she’s made big adjustments as well. They used to throw these huge lavish dinner parties with the best food and wine with guest chefs and white glove service. It cost a fortune but Meghan loved entertaining at the level and felt it was worth the statement it made,’ the source says.
‘But that was back in the day when they still had all their deals in place and money was rolling in. Now she’s stuck pinching every dime, or at least it’s starting to feel that way for her.’
Meanwhile, as she continues to maintain her focus on building her lifestyle brand, As Ever, the source says Meghan is adamant that there is one area of their finances that she refuses to compromise on.
‘One thing she isn’t cutting back on is her own beauty and pampering bill, that’s something she feels is a justifiable expense since her appearance is so key to the brand,’ we’re told.
‘But instead of buying clothes she’s using all her connections to get designer stuff on loan or gifted in exchange for the exposure.’
Yet while Meghan is now reported to be the ‘breadwinner’ for their household, it has been widely reported how Harry has continued to become disillusioned with Hollywood, as we’re told he would rather ‘simplify their lives’ instead.
‘What’s making all of this harder is that Harry and Meghan don’t see eye to eye on the best way forward,’ the source says.
‘Harry would be happy to simplify their lives but Meghan’s reaction is the complete opposite. She thinks this is the moment to work harder, tighten their belts temporarily and push through, not pull back. That disconnect is causing a lot of arguments.’
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