‘Very Notable’ Prince Harry, Meghan Markle ‘Divide’ Marked a ‘First’ for the Couple, Expert Says
There may have been a “divide” between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in early 2023, but a royal expert says they’re a “united front.” How Spare “put a strain” on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and what the expert has to say about those split rumors.
‘Spare’ has ‘put a strain’ on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s relationship
Speaking to ET about the current state of Harry and Meghan’s relationship, royal expert Katie Nicholl shared that Spare, Harry’s best-selling memoir, likely added a layer of stress to the couple’s marriage.
“My experience with Harry and Meghan — whenever I’ve been with them as a couple, who are very, very close — [they have] a sort of spark between them that always struck me as being very authentic,” Nicholl said.
“However, there have been rumors circulating in recent months that the fallout from Spare,” the royal correspondent continued. Calling it “pretty epic for Prince Harry” because his “home country” of “Britain really turned against him.”
He’s really not welcomed here,” Nicholl said. “[Spare] left a bad taste in people’s mouths. It’s further alienated him from his friends and his family and I think, inevitably, that has put a strain on them.”
Harry promoted ‘Spare’ without Meghan in what an expert calls a ‘noticeable’ absence
Remember when Spare hit shelves in January 2023? Excerpts were leaked in the days before its official release. And, of course, the Duke of Sussex gave a round of promotional interviews.
Harry spoke with Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes. He also sat down for a candid U.K. TV interview. And the remark he made about worrying “at least one” of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s children — Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis — will become “a spare” like him.
That wasn’t all. There were late-night talk show appearances that trickled in weeks after Spare’s debut. Despite the multiple Spare interviews, Meghan wasn’t in front of cameras with Harry, which Nicholl described as telling.
“I think it was very notable that in the run-up to the launch of his autobiography, he had all the publicity and Meghan was noticeable by her absence,” she said. “And that was really the first time we’ve seen a divide between them.”
“Up until then they’ve very much been a partnership,” the author of The New Royals continued. “And at this crucial moment where Harry’s doing the boldest and possibly bravest thing of his life, she’s not there for him.”
“That,” Nicholl added, “has continued and led to more rumors of a split, of a split being on the horizon … and yet, there is no evidence. They’re presenting a very united front.”
Rumors of a split surfaced after the end of Harry and Meghan’s Spotify deal was announced in June 2023.
Harry thanked Meghan in the acknowledgments for ‘Spare’
Whether or not the release of Spare has “put a strain” on Harry and Meghan’s relationship, the Duke of Sussex did thank his wife in the book’s acknowledgments. Harry thanked a reported 140 people by name, which Harry wrote, left him “deeply humbled.”
Before wrapping up the acknowledgments by thanking readers, Harry showed his gratitude for Meghan, their two kids, and his mother-in-law Doria Ragland.
“Above all my deepest and adoringest thanks to Archie and Lili, for letting Papa go off to read and think and reflect,” Harry said. “To my mother-in-law (a.k.a. Grandma), and to my incredible wife, for too many millions of gifts and sacrifices, great and small, to ever enumerate.”
“Love of my life, thank you, thank you, thank you,” Harry continued. “This book would’ve been impossible (logistically, physically, emotionally, spiritually) without you. Most things would be impossible without you.”
Spare continues to be a best-seller while Harry and Meghan have not commented on the recent split rumors. Instead, sources reportedly close to them have dismissed them. Meanwhile, the pair have been spotted in Montecito, California, near their home on multiple occasions.
