Meghan Markle reportedly disappointed she's disappointing

A Canadian opinion piece has reportedly hit Meghan Markle harder than any criticism in years. Sources say a column in the Toronto Star questioning her stalled momentum has shaken her confidence, given the city’s significance during her seven years filming Suits and the early days of her relationship with Prince Harry.

Radar Online also revisits what it describes as Meghan’s “year from hell,” citing dwindling opportunities, internal tension, and the reality of starting again with smaller acting roles and lifestyle ventures. Attention is now shifting to 2026, with Meghan promoting a reset through her As Ever brand, hinting at new products, wine releases, and possibly a cookbook, though the origins of that report remain unclear.

We also look at claims that Meghan is pursuing a long-term strategy aimed at billionaire-scale success, with insiders comparing her ambitions to the Kardashian business model. Meanwhile, renewed speculation surrounds a potential UK return, as a fresh security review raises questions about whether the Sussexes could travel back to Britain and what that would mean for family dynamics and public reaction.

Palace Intrigue is your daily royal family podcast, diving deep into the modern-day drama, power struggles, and scandals shaping the future of the monarchy.

Hear our new show "Crown and Controversy: Prince Andrew" here.

Check out "Palace Intrigue Presents: King WIlliam" here.

👑 Follow our hit series Crown and Controversy! Season 1 and 2 are fully available now for everyone. Season 3 has new episodes every Sunday on the regular feed. GET THE FULL SEASON 3 BEFORE REGULAR LISTENERS as a subscriber! Hit that "UNINTERRUPTED LISTENING" Banner on the top of the Apple player. AND listen to Crown and Controversy "NORWAY'S ROYAL REBELS" here and get the full season as a premium subscriber now. 

👑 The Palace Intrigue Social Hub is Live! Join the conve

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Caloroga Shark Media, Hello and Welcome to Palace Intrigue game
host Mark Francis. A source close to the Sussexts has
claimed that a recent Canadian opinion piece has had a
profound impact on Meghan Markel, describing it as the most
painful criticism she has faced in years. This is the

(00:25):
most painful review Meghan has had because it comes from
a city that once gave her refuge and normality. It's
shaken her confidence, the insider to Old Radar Online. According
to the source, the criticism cut particularly deep because of
Megan's long and openly affectionate connection to Toronto, where she
lived for seven years while filming suits. The criticism at

(00:46):
the center of the controversy appeared in an opinion piece
published by The Toronto Star written by columnist Patricia Treble.
In the article, Treble argued that Megan has not fully
capitalized on the opportunities of available to her since stepping
back from royal duties, despite having all the ingredients to
become a global cultural force five years on. While stopping

(01:08):
short of calling the Duchess of Sussex and outright failure,
Treble wrote that Meghan's career had slowly deflated over the
past year. She suggested Meghan could be famous by being
open and real, adding it worked for the Kardashians, who
got rich by working NonStop to sell themselves to a
world eager to see their latest reinventions. Treble also questioned

(01:29):
what she described as a central contradiction in Meghan's public positioning,
writing Meghan wants everyone to know and acknowledge that she's
royal without the obligations of working on behalf of the monarch,
including all those endless engagements for worthy causes. Radar Online
recapped Meghan's ear from hell and inside her she had
They've got very few friends to lean on. Staff continue

(01:52):
to walk out in droves. Hawy's brother, Prince William is
still baying for their blood, and their paycheck possibilities are
thin and humbling. Meghan had no choice but to swallow
her pride and take this acting role, playing herself in
a movie close personal friends. But she's having to start
again from the ground up. It seems like more of
a cameo than a leading role. Those money spending, fifteen

(02:14):
million dollar gigs are hard to come by these days,
even if you're George Clooney or Angelina Joel Lee never Mind,
a former balist actress. Right now, Harry and Meghan are
regrouping and planning to go again, but it all feels
quite desperate and depressing, especially as they're clashing and bickering
a lot more these days. It really has been a
year from hell, and so many respects, it's left them

(02:35):
emotionally frayed and wondering if they're ever going to catch
a break. Meghan appears focused on twenty twenty six. The
Duchess began the year where they carefully curated personal posts
that blended family life with promotion of her lifestyle brand
as Ever. Although she did not share any New Year's
Eve photographs, a collage appeared on the as Ever's official

(02:56):
Instagram account, later reposted by Meghan to her own page.
The images were arranged around the word January, with a
caption beneath the original post reading January Reset and Rituals.
The collage combined intimate moments with brand imagery. One photograph
showed Meghan and Prince Harry laughing together while holding hands
in an open field. Another image captured Megan carrying a

(03:18):
small basketball holding one of the couple's children. Other images
focused on as Ever products, including a branded candle and
a handwritten good morning note featuring Meghan's calligraphy. Additional shots
included a solo image of Meghan in her home garden.
The post followed a message Meghan sent two subscribers of
the as Ever newsletter in which she described her plans

(03:40):
for a quiet New Year's Eve at home with Harry.
In the note, titled Pop the Bubbly, she wrote, when
the clock strikes midnight, we'll be celebrating. Write along with you,
glasses raised, bottles of bubbly popping, and confetti in the air.
Only in our case its flower sprinkles falling instead. She
went on to wish readers good company, memorable and plenty

(04:00):
of reasons to celebrate, while also directing them to the
as Ever Napper Valley Wine collection released last summer. Meghan
closed the message with a lighthearted cheers, DearS. One story
we saw while prepping the podcast was that Megan may
be preparing a cookbook. As the story goes, Meghan is
planning a spring launch for the book, timed to align
with the next phase of her as Ever brand. One

(04:23):
insider is quoted as saying Meghan is looking at a
cookbook for early twenty twenty six, and there will be
more lifestyle products coming in the spring. Twenty twenty six
is looking like another big year for her. There will
be more wine and definitely more homeware too. Candles and
homeware are also forecast to be part of the expansion,
while some of the earlier offerings may be phased out,
but she will ease off selling her biscuits and crape kits.

(04:45):
The Insider added our caution in not yet lining up
at the bookstore, as the cookbook mentioned seems to have
originated in an article from nearly one year ago, with
secondary sites citing that piece and then aggregators running off
that foundation regard. If Meghan does put out a cookbook,
will be sure to let you know how much everyone
loves it. Another source told The Male that Netflix is

(05:06):
still assessing the performance of Megan's holiday programming before committing
to further ventures, saying they are monitoring the Christmas show
to see if it picks up before they do any
proper pop ups or experiences. We'll be happy to save
the Netflix research department some time and money if they
need our help and figuring out that answer, well, Palace
it just a moment. According to reports from Radar Online,

(05:31):
those close to Meghan playing she is working toward a major,
long term recalibration of her business strategy, with billionaire status
said to be the ultimate goal. The outlet reports that
Meghan and Prince Harry are currently worth close to eighty
one million dollars, but sources suggest that figure falls far
short of aspirations. One insider told the publication those around

(05:53):
Meghan say she is openly focused on reaching billionaire status,
and it's thinking far beyond short term projects, with a
clear ambition to build something on the scale of the
world's biggest celebrity led businesses. Another source explained that to
get anywhere near that level of wealth, she has to
create a brand that goes well beyond small, curated lifestyle
items into something much broader and more scalable. What we're

(06:15):
seeing now is just the foundation, suggesting that Meghan's current
ventures represent only the early phase of a much larger plan.
A branding expert cited by the outlet pointed to the
Kardashian business empire as a model for scaling celebrity driven ventures, saying,
for anyone trying to learn how to build a billion
dollar celebrity driven business. There are few better examples or

(06:36):
sources of insight than the Kardashians. When Harry declared it
was impossible for him to safely bring Meghan and their
children back to the UK after losing his court battle
over police protection last year, it appeared to slam the
door on any near term royal family reunion. However, where
a new government led review now under way into the
Sussex's threat level, there is renewed speculation that the Sussexes

(06:59):
could return to Britain as early as this year. The
couple have not been together in the UK since the
funeral of Queen Elizabeth in September twenty twenty two. Royal
author Duncan Larcom believes that if the updated security assessment
works in Harry's favor, Meghan will face some uncomfortable choices.
The security issue has essentially been used as an excuse
for Megan not to come to the UK in the

(07:20):
last few years, he said, but many people think the
real reason is to do with the public reaction that
she'd receive over here. If the protection is put back
in place for Harry and Meghan when they're on UK soil,
then there's really no excuse for her to stay away,
so she has to be considering doing a U turn.
She has no choice but to think about it given
the new review. But effectively she'll come face to face

(07:42):
with the British public and members of the family that
she's been at pains to criticize. She will want to
support Harry how she can, and has also said that
she doesn't like to be away from her children for long,
so there are going to be some difficult decisions either way.
I don't think it's in Meghan's character to eat humble pie,
and if she comes to the UK, humble Pie is
exactly what's on the menu for her. As of last month,

(08:04):
bookmakers were already offering odds on when a Sussex family
visit might happen. The twenty twenty six currently the favorite,
followed by twenty twenty eight. However, the Invictor's Games are
scheduled for Birmingham in the summer of twenty seven, making
that year another strong possibility. Spring is on the table
our Royal inside of Deep Crown Rights in his free substack.

(08:24):
The proposed window of late February early March is no accident.
It's far enough from any major royal occasions to minimize disruption,
yet early enough in the year to suggest a genuine intent.
But the fact that Prince William is reportedly urging caution
speaks to a deeper reality. This is about whether the
institution can withstand another manufactured crisis. Larcom suggests the Invictus

(08:47):
Games could also provide a useful cover for Megan, noting
that it could become a pr disaster if she were
to stay away while Harry attended alone with Archie and Lilibet.
Meghan is not stupid. She knows that staying away would
do her no favors in terms of how people view
her over here. He said, it would start to raise
all sorts of questions about the couple's relationship and them
wanting different things. I'm sure they'll be talking to the

(09:11):
UK advisers about how the land lies and if you
believe the polls, people may want to see Harry back
in the fold, but at the moment they are the
outcast couple who live in self imposed exile and have
stirred up a lot of trouble and made a lot
of money off the royal family during the rift. There
is also the unresolved issue of where the couple would
stay and who would they see. Larkham asked, if they

(09:32):
come to the UK, who do they see? Do they
see Harry's old friends that he's had to isolate from.
Does he see his brother who won't talk to him?
Does he see his father who only gave him minutes
of his time when they met before. It's a really complicated,
complex situation that Harry and Meghan have managed to get
themselves into, and there are a lot of questions of
exactly what a visit to the UK would look like,

(09:53):
and they have it. If you'd like to email us,
he addresses the Palace entry get gmail dot com. Please
foll us on Spotify, Apple on Faceboo, Instagram, all the
social media sites. I Mark Francis my thanks to John mcturmott.
This is Palace intrigue and good terms