HARRY and Meghan’s marriage was “too good to be true”, a royal expert said.
The Sussexes will celebrate six years since their wedding at St George’s Chapel in Windsor on Sunday.
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But royal editor Ingrid Seward has detailed how the couple’s “Disneyesque” wedding saw the public initially love the Sussexes before opinion soured.
She told The Sun: “We loved them for a while and then we didn’t much anymore. Too many complaints. But they were in love and that mattered.
“Until they left and then they didn’t matter anymore. They had let the Queen down. They had let the Prince of Wales down they had let William then the Duke of Cornwall down.
“They had let us down. Harry was stoic. He loved his Californian lifestyle. He loved his wife and children.
“But he was bitter against everything he had left behind including his brother and his father and his sister-in-law, Kate.”
It comes just days after they returned to LA from a “faux-Royal tour” of Nigeria.
It was their first trip to the country as a couple, though they completed a tour of southern Africa in 2019 prior to stepping down from royal duties the following year.
The decision to live in royal exile was an extraordinary step in what has been an eventful six years of marriage.
It saw Sussexes stripped of their titles and honorary positions before moving to Montecito, California, where they now live in a $14 million mansion.
Ingrid, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, added: “If success can be judged by money. Harry’s life is a success. But he as a man is not a success.
“As a husband and father, he has done brilliantly. And when he and Meghan celebrate their six-year anniversary on Sunday (today) they will pat themselves on the back.
“People said it wouldn’t last and it has! Harry is no longer feted in his homeland as he once was. If anything, he is pitied.
“I don’t think Harry can see it. He is happy in his rarefied world
with Meghan doing what they do. Long may it last – and I think it
will.”
Her comments were echoed by royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams, who said Harry and Meghan appear to be “very well matched” from the outside.
But he highlighted how the Sussexes “can always do the unexpected” – a move that can be unpleasant.
Mr Fitzwilliams told The Sun: “All I can say is that the optics [of their marriage] as far as I can see seem fine.
“The two seem very well matched now, whether or not that’s a favorable comment depends, of course, on your view of them.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle: A timeline of six years of marriage
PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle are celebrating their sixth wedding anniversary.
Early 2016: The Sussexes first meet on a blind date, but keep their romance a secret
October 2016: The couple’s romance becomes after a friend confirms they are dating, though neither speaks publicly to confirm
November 2016: Prince Harry confirms for the first time he is in a relationship with Meghan
December 2016: Harry and Meghan are photographed together in public for the first time
May 2017: The couple attend a public event together, marking a major milestone, as they watch a charity polo match
September 2017: Meghan publicly discusses her relationship with the duke in an interview with Vanity Fair, saying: “We’re two people who are really happy and in love.”
November 2017: Having had tea with the Queen just weeks earkier, Harry and Meghan announce they are engaged
Christmas 2017: Harry and Meghan spend Christmas at Sandringham, Norfolk, with the Royal Family
May 19, 2018: The world watches as Harry and Meghan tie the knot in a public ceremony at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, having had a private ceremony three days earlier
October 2018: The couple confirm Meghan is pregnant with their first child
May 2019: Meghan gives birth to Archie, before a beaming Harry tells reporters: “Mother and baby are doing incredibly well.”
He adds: “It’s been the most amazing experience I could ever possibly imagine.”
January 2020: In a bombshell move, the Sussexes announce they are stepping down as senior royals and intend to become financially independent
July 2020: Harry and Meghan move to Montecito, California, where they remain today
February 2021: The couple announce they are expecting their second child
March 8, 2021: The Sussexes sit down for a TV interview with Oprah Winfrey in which they make a number of bombshell claims against the Royal Family, most damagingly of all that an unnamed member had made a racist comment about the colour of son Archie’s skin
June 2021: Harry and Meghan welcome their second child, daughter Lilibet
December 2022: Three months after returning to the UK for the Queen’s funeral, Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary drops
“They have their fans. They’ve also now got quite a few activities, and Megan launching American Riviera Orchard.
“And of course, she has a programme she’s doing for Netflix and Cochrane entertainments, and so forth.
“Harry, with his series on Polo. The trip to Nigeria, which as a private visit, certainly had the trappings of a sort of pro royal trip, but it went well.
“There’s no reason that it shouldn’t have – what they want to do in the future weeks and months – that is quite another question.”
Mr Fitzwilliams also highlighted how no working royals turned up for Harry’s Invictus ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral earlier this month.
He added: “Harry has, of course, had his commemorative service at St Paul’s, celebrating 10 years of Invictus.
“Very significantly the Spensers have shown support for him by turning up.
He was bitter against everything he had left behind including his brother and his father and his sister-in-law, Kate
Ingrid Seward
“No other member of the royal family turned up – whether or not they were invited is quite another matter.
“But the facts are – don’t underestimate the Sussexes – because they can always do the unexpected, whether that would be a pleasant thing to do or not that is quite another issue.
“But so far as their marriage is concerned, certainly, so far as any public optics are concerned, it seems to me that they seem very well matched.”
Harry and Meghan described their trip to Nigeria as “unforgettable” and expressed their “deepest gratitude” for the hospitality they received.
But the statement came in the backdrop of a “delinquency” row their Archewell Foundation.
The charity was allegedly ordered to stop raising money after failing to submit records – and pay a bill.
But it later insisted it is “fully compliant”.
Sussexes ‘trying to rival Royal Family’
By Sarah Grealish & Matt Wilkinson
PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle are desperately trying to be rivals to the royal family to save their image, a royal expert has claimed.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have just returned to the US after a three-day tour of Nigeria.
The Sussexes kicked off their “faux-Royal tour” with a visit to Lightway Academy, a primary and secondary school in the capital.
They then visited Nigeria’s defence HQ on Friday to meet military wives and senior officals.
The following day Harry was snapped playing volleyball, before Meghan referred to Nigeria as “my country”.
Many royal fans were quick to point out the similarities between their trip and an official royal tour.
And now a royal expert says he believes “an alternative royal family is emerging”.
Speaking on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show with Matt Wilkinson, Gareth Russell said: “To all intents and purposes that is a real possibility.
“The problem for the Sussexes is that once you start doing anything like that, people become a lot more critical of what you do outside that – like commercial endeavours or quasi-royal tours.
“People will put them under more of a microscope because they’re calling it ‘The Office of Harry and Meghan’.Â
“It’s interesting. I wonder is it part of a plan to pivot from some harsh headlines they’ve had in the last year or two?
“Is it maybe a slightly more social conservative direction and have themselves as royals in exile for want of a better word?
“I wonder is that them acting on advice that people don’t want to hear them criticising the royal family.”
Mr Russell now believes Harry and Meghan could be plotting more ‘faux-royal tours’ – including of the US.Â
He explained: “Their popularity at the moment is pretty low in America but that could change.
“Public opinion is always a bit of a rollarcoaster.
“But they absolutely could (go on a US tour) and there’s indications that they will.”
A statement added: “We have diligently investigated the situation and can confirm that The Archewell Foundation remains fully compliant and in good standing.
“Due payments were made promptly and in accordance with the IRS’s processes and procedures.
“Furthermore, all necessary paperwork had been filed by the Foundation without error or wrongdoing.”
And now Harry has hinted at more “faux Royal” tours following the trip to Nigeria.
During the trip, Meghan claimed Nigeria as “my country”, while Harry said there’s “only so much” he and and his wife can do “over Zoom”.
The duke told PEOPLE magazine: “We look forward to travelling more because the work matters.
“Whether it’s the Archewell Foundation, Invictus or any of our other causes, there will always be reasons to meet the people at the heart of our work.”
During the trip, the Sussexes were greeted by traditional dancers and met some of the primary schoolchildren.
The prince also met wounded Nigerian soldiers in the north-west of the country during the three-day visit.
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