"Without the palace platform, it takes a constant hustle to keep yourself in the spotlight." Thus sayeth Tina Brown, writing in her 2022 book The Palace Papers, and note that I'm paraphrasing from memory. I thought of Tina's pithy words last Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. central time, when this appeared front and center at people.com:
People magazine cover dated dated May 11, 2026, posted April 29
I also thought of reporter Paula Froelich's advice to Harry and Meghan, published on New Year's Eve Day, 2025:
Next year, when your father and brother make state visits to the US, LIE LOW. As in, no social media posts, no interviews and above all, no competing engagements. I know this will be hard for you, but trust me. You and your wife look petty and spiteful when you try to hijack the attention. (Who can forget your flashy Remembrance Day visit to Canada in November at the same time your brother was trying to promote his Earthshot Prize in Brazil?) Getting in the way of actual royals trying to maintain the family business, which includes diplomatic duties, makes you look vengeful and jealous. (Read Paula's entire post here.)
I know, from reading many books about the royal family, that Paula's advice is correct. When senior royals, i.e., the King and Queen or the Prince and Princess of Wales, are on high-profile foreign tours or other important engagements, the rest of the family are absolutely expected to lie low. Stay out of the spotlight, stay out of trouble, don't do anything to outshine or upstage the more important members of the family.
Last week, Charles and Camilla were on an official state visit to the United States, trying to charm (and not get drooled on by) Donald Trump. Wednesday, April 29th, also just happened to be William and Kate's 15th wedding anniversary. Either of those events could have been the focus of a People cover story. How did we end up with Harry and Meghan front and center, smiling up a storm with a headline that says they're Making Their Own Rules?
Now, obviously, Harry and Meghan have no control over what People magazine chooses to put on the cover each week. On the other hand there's no way I believe the timing of this story is a coincidence. This is almost certainly the result of an intensely targeted, and very effective, pitch by Harry and Meghan's experienced (and expensive) publicists, Sunshine Sachs. In a story posted January, 18, 2026, and titled "Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Reteam with a Familiar Hollywood PR firm amid Staffing Shakeup," people.com reported this:
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are returning to a familair firm as they restructure their professional team at the start of othe new year.
PEOPLE confirms that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are once again working with Sunshine Sachs Morgan and Lylis (SSML), with the bicoastal public relations firm supporting Meghan's lifestyle brand, As ever, as well as the couple's U.S.-based efforts. The firm is a major Hollywood player, representing A-list talent and leading entertainment projects.
The firm is working alongside the Sussexes' internal team, which includes LIam Maguire, their U.K. and Europe director of communications, w ho remains in his role and has primarily overseen Prince Harry's communications. (Read the entire article here.)
This is what Sunshine Sachs (SS) says they can do for you: "In today's quickly changing media and digital landscape, there is no one way to tell your story. It doesn't have to be a million-dollar idea (but we have those too!) - it can be a well-timed social post or a small, simple connection. We use data and trend forecasting to help our clients connect with their audiences through bold and creative storytelling." Read more about Sunshine Sachs here.
I'd say SS earned their money this week. Did Harry and Meghan get their money's worth? Maybe. Were they pleased, even thrilled, by the article, and the timing? Probably, but overall I can't imagine it changed anything for them, and it may have royally pissed off the people around Charles, Camilla, William and Catherine, if not the actual royals themselves. The state visit was considered to be a royal triumph and by Wednesday evening, the Harry and Meghan story was completely gone from the people.com homepage. Would the story make readers rush to the As ever website to buy overpriced candles and jam? Would an event planner somewhere decide that they should pay low six figures to have Harry come and give a speech? Is Prince William saying to himself, wow, I forgot how wonderful my brother and sister-in-law are, let's get them back right away? No, probably not, and don't make me laugh.
Anyway, this is the article, in its entirety:
In January 2020, at what became known as the Sandringham Summit, Queen Elizabeth drew a firm line. After intense talks about what the future would look like for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the answer was clear: There would be no "half in, half out" role. They could not remain working members of the royal family while pursuing independent, income-generating ventures. The couple would step back--fully.
When the Queen publicly confirmed the decision, making clear it was "not possible" for them to continue with the responsibilities that come with a life of public service outside the institution, Harry, 41, and Meghan, 44, pushed back with a statement of their own: "We can all live a life of service. Service is universal."
Six years on, that belief still shapes their path. During an unannounced visit to Ukraine on April 24, Harry was asked whether he recognized the label "not a working royal." "No," he said. "I will always be part of the royal family... I am here working, doing the things I was born to do." In Australia, where Harry's father, King Charles, is head of state, the Sussexes spent four day in April moving through engagements that echoed an offical royal tour, from hospital visits to moments of remembrance, while also embracing the independent, income-generating model that now underpins their work.
For some inside palace circles, that overlap remains deeply contentious. "They are pushing the envelope and making it much more difficult for reconciliation to happen," says Sally Bedell Smith, author of the Royals Extra Substack.
In Ukraine, Harry stepped into territory traditionally avoided by the royals. Speaking at the Kyiv Security Forum, he called for "American leadership" in the ongoing war--a remark that carried clear political weight. The moment came just days before King Charles's state visit to the U.S., a tightly choreographed trip that, sources say, left no room for any private meeting between father and son. While Harry emphsized that he was speaking "not as a politician" but as a soldier and humanitarian, the remarks were strking.
Together, the two trips illustrate the space the Sussexes now occupy--outside the boundarites the institution has long sought to maintain. "The monarchy is meant to be above politics and commercial imperatives," says Valentine Low, author of Courtiers. "This is exactly what the late Queen wanted to avoid." Insists a source close to Harry: "This idea that he's going against the wishes of the Queen by being half in, half out is nonsense. None of this is being done in the name of the institution."
On the ground in Australia, the response told a different story. "There were joyful, smiling people everywhere they went," says Kylie Walters, a royal correspondent for WHO magazine there. "People wanted to see them." The visit began April 14 with a stop at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, where patients and staff lined the halls to greet them--almost eight years after their last visit to the country, in 2018, when they were newly married and firmly within the royal fold.
The impact of the latest trip was immediate. "I gave Harry flowers, and he said 'Thank you' and told me to 'keep on being brave,'" says Novalie Morris, 12, a patient who met the couple. "It cheered me up a lot--I'll keep thinking about that."
At a war memorial in Canberra, Harry laid a wreath, his military medals pinned to a suit--including those from his late grandmother--a quiet reminder that since stepping back from being a working royal, he is no longer permitted to wear his military uniform. When he was barred from doing so at Queen Elizabeth's funeral in 2022, his spokesperson said that "his decade of military service is not determined by the uniform he wears."
Meghan, meanwhile, spent time at a women's shelter, serving food and speaking with families. and on Sydney Harbour they joined Invictus Australia team members and veterans for a sailing event. "Harry was completely relaxed--Invictus is where he belongs," Walters says of the international adaptive sports tournament for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans that Harry founded in 2014. "People gravitate toward him, and he knows how to make them feel special. The royal family really misses out on that. It's a sad reminder of the global platform he could have had. It's the closest he's going to get to continuing to serve on his own terms."
But alongside those traditional moments of service was something far less familiar. Harry delivered a ticketed keynote speech at the Melbourne InterEdge Summit, where seats initially ran into the thousands, while Meghan made a surprise appearance as a guest judge on MasterChef Australia and a paid appearance at a women's retreat, where $3,199 VIP packages included a group photo with her. The outing came a year after the launch of her lifestye brand As ever, with guests receiving products in swag bags. "They have a big security bill and a lifestyle to maintain, so it's not surprising they're taking on money-making ventures," says Walters.
Meghan's fashion choices were also linked to an AI-powered shopping platform, OneOff, allowing followers to purchase the looks she wore during the trip--many by Australian designers. Through the partnership she earns a commission. Her page drew more than a million views withing the first three days, with several items selling out.
"The royals are influencers, but the mystique is that they are not promoting themselves as such," says Bethan Holt, fashion director at The Telegraph. "Meghan is lifting the veil." Adds Bedell Smith, "It was shocking to see her go to the hospital and then sell the clothing she was wearing. I've never seen anybody in the royal family do that. I can't imagine it went down well at the palace."
For critics it raises a broader question about where public service ends and personal branding begins, yet those close to the couple push back on that characterization. "They're not reliant on Harry's father or taxpayer-funded money," says an insider. "They pay their own bills and make their own money while continuing to support a lot of causes that might otherwise go unseen. It enables them to do what they love doing."
Adds another source: "They're trying to live their life, raise their children [Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4], do meaningful work and earn a living."
Palace insiders say it is more likely to deepen tensions with the royal family. "It won't help Harry's case or promote good relations," says Queen Elizabeth's former press secretary Ailsa Anderson.
For Prince William, the issue is especially firm: "What Harry and Meghan are doing is a nonnegotiable for William," Anderson says of the future King's view within the royal family. "He wouldn't countenance any acceptance of it."
After years of distance--strained by Harry's legal battle over security and the fallout from his memoir Spare--there has been some renewed contact between him and his father, 77, in recent months, though they haven't seen each other since September. But the divide remains most acute with his brother William, 43, with some questioning whether the rift can ever heal. "William is over all the drama," says Robert Jobson, author of The Windsor Legacy. "He doesn't need it, and he doesn't want it. He's too busy and focused on his own family." For now, adds Bedell Smith, "they're at a standoff."
Those close to the Sussexes, however, describe a more measured reality behind the scenes. "Meghan lets him lead on all royal matters and dictate what needs to happen," a friend says. "But it would never put them at odds--they're on the same team."
Says another source: "It remains very emotional. Harry and Meghan are both realistic. They're not approaching it with the expectation of a quick resolution. It's about taking small, manageable steps and seeing where things land. This remains very important to Harry, with Meghan supportive.
While Harry has long spoken of hoping for reconciliation, he's still reckoning with his upbringing. At the InterEdge Summit in Melbourne he reflected on the loss of his mother, Princess Diana, and the years he spent resisting the role he was born into. "I was like 'I don't want this job. I don't want this role--wherever this is headed, I don't like it,'" he said. "It killed my mom, and I was very much against it." Over time, though, "I realized... how would somebody else make the most of this platform?" he said. "And what would my mom want me to do?"
At home in Montecito, Calif., work is scheduled around school hours; weekends are for family time. "Archie and Lilibet are their life," says a staffer who has worked for the couple since their early days in California. "There's a real warmth and a sense of normalcy."
Both have built tight-knit circles. Harry maintains a close group of friends, many of them fellow dads. "He really thrives on those friendships and values that sense of connection," the close source says. Meanwhile, Meghan keeps a small, loyal group of longtime friends, often meeting for workouts or quiet nights out together. "They're very careful about who they let into their lives," a friend says.
That loyalty runs deep. "No matter what she has going on, she always makes time for her friends," says Meghan's friend Kelly McKee Zajfen, who recently welcomed son Jack after the loss of her son Georgie, 9, in 2022. "She really shows up, and not just when it's easy."
It's a side of Meghan that is often overlooked. At an April 16 discussion with Batyr, an Australian youth mental health charity, Meghan spoke candidly about online abuse. "Every day for 10 years I have been bullied and attacked," she said. "I was the most trolled person in the entire world... and I'm still here."
Her resiliance is hard-won, sources say. "They both try to focus on staying as positive as possible," says a source. "But people forget they're human beings, especially Meghan. There's only so much a person can handle." Still, that same source says their focus remains steady: "They wake up every day focused on being the best parents they can be. No matter what comes at them, they pick themselves up and keep moving forward."
Nearly eight years after their wedding, Harry and Meghan's bond remains central. "They are the biggest champions of each other," says the staffer. "The more adversity they face, the more they come together."
That partnership propels their next chapter, even as scrutiny persists. "This is the shape of things to come," says Anderson. "There is nothing to stop them from doing this."
Adds Low: "The palace might not like it, but they can do it. The question is whether it's sustainable."
For their future to hold, their ventures will need to succeed. While their widely reported $100 million Netflix deal wasn't renewed, the relationship has evolved into a first-look arrangement, with several projects still in development, including a scripted series set in the world of polo. A documentary they backed, Cookie Queens, has also gained traction on the festival circuit and is now set for a theatrical release.
Meghan, meanwhile, is focused on building As ever into a lasting business. The brand continues to roll out new products, including a Mother's Day collection featuring candles inspired by the couple's children. "It is still in test-and-learn mode," says the close source. "She wakes up thinking about new ideas and works on it all the time."
While reports of high staff turnover have raised questions about the couple's working environment, others who remain describe a different experience. "There are quite a few of us who've been here a long time," says one six-year staffer. "Much of her company is made up of young women, and she really champions them. She's always saying to me, 'Just speak up'--that's one of her biggest things."
Those close to the couple believe their trip to Australia set a new blueprint. The late Queen herself once recognized the positive effect Harry and Meghan could have across the Commonwealth--and supporters say their influence has not disappeared. "They're very aware of the impact their presence can have," says the longtime staffer. Walters adds, "A lot is forgiven when you're on the ground and you show up and do good work. That magic and allure of a royal doesn't necessarily come down to a title."
Note: the other cover story dated May 11 featured Goldie Hawn; Rita Wilson and Marilyn Monroe are the cover stories dated May 18.
