Sunday, December 22, 2024

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are celebrating their ‘sugar’ wedding anniversary – but, in the six years since they wed in Windsor, their relationship with the Firm is anything but sweet

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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry celebrated their wedding anniversary today, marking six years since they tied the knot at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

The picturesque early summer wedding was watched by an estimated 1.9billion people around the world and attended by A-listers such as Oprah Winfrey, David Beckham and George Clooney

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are celebrating a ‘sugar anniversary’ because of the traditional gift given for the occasion.

According to tradition, it’s meant to symbolise the sweet story of how the couple fell head over feels for each other, along with the richness of everlasting love. 

But as their fondness for one another grows and develops, their highly-publicised rifts with the royal family continues to raise questions about their rocky relationship. 

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry celebrated their wedding anniversary today, marking six years since they tied the knot at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle

Harry and Meghan have recently finished their 'quasi- royal' three-day tour to Nigeria from May 10 to 13

Harry and Meghan have recently finished their ‘quasi- royal’ three-day tour to Nigeria from May 10 to 13

The pair announced that they were stepping down as working members of the royal family in 2020, before shortly moving across the pond to Montecito, California

They moved there with their son Archie, who was born in London. They then welcomed a daughter in June 2021 called Lilibet Diana.

She was named after Harry’s mother Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth, who was called Lilibet by those she was close to, such as her husband Prince Philip and sister, Princess Margaret

Harry and Meghan have recently finished their ‘quasi- royal’ three-day tour to Nigeria from May 10 to 13, which saw them miss American Mother’s Day with their children to meet with charities and officials at the Lagos State Governor’s Office

Meghan also spoke at an event on women in leadership in Abuja, where she said it was ‘flattering’ to discover via a genealogy test that she is 43 per cent Nigerian. 

Before their trip to the African country, Harry was in the UK for an Invictus Games event in London, but didn’t pop in to see his father  – who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer – during his flying visit.

His event was also just three miles away from where King Charles was at Clarence House.

As Harry and Meghan's love for each other grows, their highly-publicised rifts with the royal family continues to raise questions about their rocky relationship. Above: The former 'fab four' in September 2022

As Harry and Meghan’s love for each other grows, their highly-publicised rifts with the royal family continues to raise questions about their rocky relationship. Above: The former ‘fab four’ in September 2022

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told Metro: ‘It’s sad, things have gone very badly wrong with Harry not seeing his father.

‘It seems to me that relations between the Sussexes and Buckingham Palace couldn’t get much worse.’

Harry had hoped to meet him during his trip, which follows a previous quick visit in February after Charles’s cancer diagnosis.  

But Harry’s spokesman said at the time: ‘In response to the many inquiries and continued speculation on whether or not The Duke will meet with his father while in the UK this week, it unfortunately will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full programme.

‘The Duke of course is understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon.’

Harry and Meghan have made several claims about the Firm throughout the years. One month before Lilibet was born, the Sussexes sat down with chat show host Oprah – who was a guest at their wedding – to discuss ‘Megxit’. 

In Spare, Harry alleged that the Princess of Wales made Meghan cry in the run-up to her wedding during a row over Princess Charlotte's flower girl dress. Above: The pair pictured after the wedding in 2018

In Spare, Harry alleged that the Princess of Wales made Meghan cry in the run-up to her wedding during a row over Princess Charlotte’s flower girl dress. Above: The pair pictured after the wedding in 2018

Dubbed one of the most explosive interviews of the 2021, Harry and Meghan made several shocking claims about members of the royal family

Their Netflix docuseries then came out the following December, where Harry said  Meghan ‘sacrificed everything she ever knew, the freedom that she had, to join me in my world’.

He then added: ‘I ended up sacrificing everything that I know to join her in her world’, a reference to him moving abroad with his wife to her home country. 

Since then, the couple have made several lucrative deals with big companies such as Spotify and Harry released his book Spare in 2023. 

The Duke made several claims in the book and alleged that there was a fight between him and the Prince of Wales after he called Meghan Markle ‘difficult’, ‘rude’ and ‘abrasive’.

He also branded Queen Camilla – his step-mother- ‘dangerous’ and alleged that the Princess of Wales made Meghan cry in the run-up to her wedding during a row over Princess Charlotte’s flower girl dress.

Since their departure from the royal family, Meghan and Harry have taken on a slew of social activism and philanthropic roles.

Harry and Meghan are set to launch two new Netflix shows on cooking, gardening and polo as part of their ongoing $100 million deal with the streaming site. 

They have two non-fiction projects in the works, which come off the back of the launch of her new lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard.

The Duchess will focus on lifestyle-centric topics like gardening and cooking in a move that will likely allow her to cross-promote her brand and the first series will see her ‘celebrate the joys of cooking, gardening, entertaining, and friendship’.

Meghan’s project has seen the Duchess create an exclusive ‘jamfluencer’ club, with only 50 of her friends being sent jars.

Stars such as Chrissy Teigen, Heather Dorak, Tracy Robbins and Kris Jenner have been sent jars of the highly-sought after jam. 

Buckingham Palace appeared to take a swipe at Meghan’s latest business venture by posting an advert for its strawberry preserve days after the Duchess unveiled her product.

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