AsPrince WilliamandKate Middletonhave moved further into their roles as future king and queen,Prince HarryandMeghan Marklehave moved into an uncertain future.
“When I spoke to people in their orbit, they admit that it hadn’t quite gone to plan,” author Omid Scobie, whose new bookEndgameis out Nov. 28, tells PEOPLE inthis week’s cover story. “They really need to establish what their purpose is.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex haveexperienced growing painsfinding a path to success in their next chapter. In January 2020, Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42,announced their intentionto “step back as senior members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent” before moving to Meghan’s home state of California months later.
In April 2020, they launched their nonprofit,Archewell. The Archewell Foundation websitewent livethat October within the larger Archewell organization, whichcurrently includesthe business verticals Archewell Productions and Archewell Audio.
Joshua Sammer/Getty
PEOPLE magazine, November 27.
During asurprise appearance at Variety’s Power of Women eventon Thursday, Meghan hinted at future projects in the works.
“We have so many exciting things on the slate,” she toldVarietyon the red carpet. “I can’t wait until we can announce them. We’re just really proud of what we’re creating, and my husband is loving it too.”
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends 2023 Variety Power Of Women on November 16, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.Unique Nicole/WireImage
Unique Nicole/WireImage
As Harry and Meghan forge a new life in the United States, William and Kate remain focused on their destiny ahead in the U.K. The last time the two couplesappeared together— afterQueen Elizabeth’s death in September 2022 — “it showed that all four are capable of switching it on and doing what’s right in the moment,” says Scobie, who has covered the royal family for more than a decade.
Later, he says, “The first question I had to sources was, ‘Do you think that this will lead to something else?’ ” The answer: “a firm no.”
In the bombshell new book, Scobie reveals the depth of the damage between the royal brothers — and why their broken bond is a threat to the monarchy’s future.
Prince Harry laid bare the painful rift between himself and his family in the pages of his memoirSpare, releasedlast January, and the world learned theextent of the divisionbetween Harry, 39, andPrince William, 41.
Nearly a year afterSpare’s publication, “absolutely nothing has changed,” says Scobie.
The hurt and anger between the two brothers — one, the Prince of Wales and future monarch and the other, the Duke of Sussex and Californian — has now hardened into something colder and more immovable, says Scobie: indifference.
Prince William and Prince Harry at the unveiling of a statue of their late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, at the Sunken Garden in Kensington Palace in July 2021.Yui Mok - WPA Pool/Getty Images
“I saw Harry’s release ofSpareas his last attempt at telling his family how he’s felt for years,” says Scobie, who chronicles both the breakdown of the royal family and the weakening of the modern monarchy inEndgame. “Because clearly there’s never been an open enough forum to have these conversations or share these feelings.”
In the months that followed their grandmother’s funeral, the division between the brothers widened following the release of Harry and Meghan’s Netflix docuseries and the Duke of Sussex’s revealing memoir.
And whileKing Charlesand Prince Harry are still speaking (the Duke and Duchess of Sussexcalled Charlesto wish him ahappy birthdayon Tuesday), Harry “is in the rearview mirror” for William.
Prince William and Prince Harry walk behind Queen Elizabeth’s coffin during her funeral in September 2022.Justin Setterfield/Getty
“William’s so far forward in his journey that what is important today is very different to what was important 10 years ago,” says Scobie. “You really feel this when you talk to people working at the palace, that they really consider what Harry and Meghan, but mostly Harry, say as just irritating noise. The feelings of this man are not worth anything anymore. That’s sort of typical of any big corporation. I know it’s different because they’re family. But as we’ve known for a long time, the meaning of family is very different to them.”
While Meghan has “moved on”from the royals, Harry “still has unfinished business,” Scobie says.
Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival.
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“Quite early on in the [book-writing] process, some of those Meghan sources that I really leant on in the earlier years this time were like, ‘You know what? She doesn’t want anything to do with it,’ ” says Scobie.
“For Harry it’s different. He still hasunfinished business whenit comes to his battles with the press,” the author adds. “His challenge will be to find something that balances that out so we can see him working in a space that isn’t connected to the ties that bind from the past.”
Karwai Tang/WireImage
source: people.com
