The fairy tale of Henry of Sussex and Meghan Markle has come to an end: the British crown only gives them two options, either exile or divorce.
The reappearance of the Dukes of Sussex, Enrique, and Meghan Markle, at Elizabeth II's funeral does not seem to have tempered the spirits of Carlos III or William, the new Prince of Wales.
The gossip royal affirms that there is no turning back and that the couple only has two options: either they remain in exile in the United States and survive on their own, or they divorce and Enrique returns to the Windsor world.
In the British press, the figure of other dukes fallen from grace in the last century flies over and parallels are established between the current situation of Meghan and Enrique and that suffered by Wallis Simpson and the Duke of Windsor. That relationship with a divorced American woman did not end well for any of those involved either.
The impossible return of the Sussexes to the British royal family
In British public opinion, a fatalistic feeling about the marriage of the Sussexes emerges. While Elizabeth II was alive, the monarch tried to protect what was her favorite grandson. Now that she is gone, neither the new King Carlos III nor Enrique's brother, Guillermo, seem to consider the possibility of having a kind attitude towards the couple.
Over them hangs the shadow of Enrique's memoir, which once threatened to air episodes in the life of Diana of Wales's son that would not leave the current queen consort Camilla in a good place and whose publication has been delayed after the funeral of Elizabeth II.
The well-thought-out said that this delay came from Enrique wanting to soften his criticism, but the Daily Mirror points to precisely the opposite. Now that the couple is clear that they cannot return, it seems that Enrique is willing to burn his ships.
"If you think Henry of Sussex has gone soft of late, you are utterly mistaken. You just have to wait for the book to go on sale for it to start shaking the foundations of the monarchy," they say in the British press.
The Windsors also hold their breath for the other star project of the Sussexes: the Netflix documentary series on the Windsors, made in collaboration with the couple expelled from the palace and which promised more of the same: criticism of The Firm. Another project that seems that the couple is trying to paralyze and postpone until 2023.
The complicated economic situation of the Dukes of Sussex
Despite the direct and veiled threats from the Sussexes, Carlos III inaugurated his reign with an official portrait that is quite a declaration of intent: cut active members of the royal family (and absolute rejection of the most cumbersome members, be they, York or Sussex).
The journalist specializing in the Sussexes, Marc Roche, considers that after the details seen at the state funeral, the Sussexes have run out of opportunities and are only dealing with two possible scenarios: either exile forever or divorce (and Enrique's return to the Kingdom). United). Together, they will never be able to return to the palace: "They no longer have a role to play," explains the journalist.
Another problem is added to this panorama, and that is that the Sussexes are not rich despite insisting on living as if they were. The Daily Mail assures that the couple, in fact, is evaluating the possibility of abandoning their expensive mansion in the exclusive Montecito urbanization (it cost 14 million euros in 2020), for another in the Hope Ranch area that would cost 22 million.
The couple's fame is plummeting in the United States and the businesses they wanted to start under the "Sussex Royal" label (a brand they registered in 2019 but which Queen Elizabeth denied them the right to use) have not worked out as expected.
The couple has been caught creating eleven companies in the American tax haven of Delaware, but they have little to invoice from them. Projects like Meghan Markle's animated series for Netflix came to nothing and a children's book, a podcast, and Enrique's confusing position in a startup don't seem to justify that need to evade taxes.
It is hard to believe that the couple who on May 19, 2018, became the "new face of the British monarchy" (as the New York Times baptized them on their wedding day), has become a story of royal self-destruction.
