Why did Prince Harry attend a rodeo without Meghan Markle?
What's happening with the couple's Netflix deal?
And what happened when the queen requested to see her latest great-grandchild?
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have faced some intense scrutiny because of their semi-regular
use of private jets.
For instance, in August 2019, Meghan and Harry reportedly flew via private jet to Ibiza to
celebrate the duchess' 38th birthday.
On another occasion, the couple allegedly used a private jet to visit Elton John with
their son, Archie, under the premise that security is more effective when they fly private.
Plus, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex apparently utilized Tyler Perry's private jet when they
first moved to the United States.
The issue with Harry and Meghan's use of these planes is tied to their continued advocacy
for environmental changes to tackle climate change.
Prince Harry attended a climate change summit in Italy where he reportedly took off his
shoes to speak about reducing one's carbon footprint, and yet he flew private to the
event.
Unsurprisingly, both Harry and Meghan have faced scrutiny for this apparent hypocrisy.
"Occasionally, there needs to be an opportunity, based on a unique circumstance, to ensure
that my family are safe."
Their claim that private jets are necessary for security measures also doesn't hold water.
Ken Wharfe, who served as a protection officer for the royal family, revealed that Princess
Diana regularly flew via British Airways, which was just as safe and far better for
the environment, per Vanity Fair.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle faced backlash when news broke that, while they established
themselves in California, they set up their companies in Delaware, due to that state's
tax advantages.
The Daily Mail broke the story in January 2022, when it was discovered that Harry and
Meghan had 11 companies in the state that's famous for limited taxes.
For starters, businesses established in Delaware do not have to pay state corporate income
tax.
There's also no tax on interest or other revenue that comes from investments.
And perhaps most significantly for Harry and Meghan, there's no inheritance tax.
It's not uncommon for major corporations to form a subsidiary in Delaware to take advantage
of these tax benefits, and it turns out that Harry and Meghan did the same thing.
The company behind Meghan's children's book, "The Bench," Peca Publishing, LLC, is one
such company.
Another company linked to the couple is Orinoco Publishing, LLC, which is rumored to hold
the rights to Prince Harry's forthcoming memoir with Penguin Random House.
Their charity, Archewell, also has ties to Delaware.
Interestingly, the names of the companies all have sentimental value to Harry and Meghan.
"Peca" means freckle, something Meghan is famous for, while Orinoco harkens back to
Princess Diana's favorite song, "Orinoco Flow" by Enya.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle joined the list of entertainers on Spotify who complained
about Joe Rogan's podcast, "The Joe Rogan Experience."
Specifically, the Sussexes were concerned about the information Rogan was sharing regarding
the pandemic.
An Archewell rep told Today,
"Since the inception of Archewell, we have worked to address the real-time global misinformation
crisis.
[...] Hundreds of millions of people are affected by the serious harms of rampant mis- and disinformation
every day."
The statement also revealed that Harry and Meghan had discussed their concerns with Spotify.
Many people called out the couple for their willingness to criticize the platform but
not pull their content from the service.
To make matters more complicated, Harry and Meghan have yet to deliver on their podcasts
for Spotify, and have only released a limited amount of content to date.
While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle seem adamant about championing various causes,
their enthusiasm hasn't always garnered support.
When they visited New York City to promote the COVID-19 vaccine, royal biographer Angela
Levin called out the couple for addressing issues on which they have no authority.
Per The U.S. Sun, Levin said,
"The three day visit felt like the launch of a woke alternative to the Royal Family
that we have in the UK [...] the reality is they are not experts about COVID-19 or climate
change."
Harry and Meghan also drew criticism for their interview with Oprah Winfrey.
In a particularly poignant moment, Harry and Meghan spoke about a racist individual in
the royal family, without naming the person.
But as royal biographer Richard Eden pointed out on Twitter,
"I genuinely worry that Prince Harry and Meghan's criticism of unnamed 'racist' royals has increased
the danger of attacks on the Royal Family.
Security needs to be stepped up as a result."
Following their departure from royal life, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle launched their
charitable foundation, Archewell.
According to its official website,
"Archewell Foundation is an impact-driven non-profit [...] Our core purpose is to uplift
and unite communities — local and global, online and offline — one act of compassion
at a time."
While this is a great goal, the foundation made headlines at its inception for its slow
and sometimes lagging launch, much like their podcast on Spotify.
In 2020, which was its first year, Archewell reportedly raised less than $50,000, and the
couple had to spend more than that on the legal fees required to establish the foundation,
to the tune of $55,600, per the Daily Mail.
The foundation has an even more loaded history, given that Harry and Meghan created Archewell
after cutting ties with Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Difficulty hit again in March 2021 when the foundation's executive director quit after
11 months.
Only time will tell if Archewell will spring into action.
After leaving their roles as senior royals, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made another
huge deal.
In September 2020, they united with Netflix for a multi-year deal to create a range of
original programming under the name Archewell Productions.
An insider told Us Weekly,
"Harry's always had a creative streak [and] Meghan's inspired him to take it to the next
level."
The insider also revealed that Harry couldn't capitalize on his creativity as a royal, but
since his departure, he's been taking advantage of the opportunity.
The couple's Netflix deal was apparently worth close to $100 million, so it's no small undertaking.
Harry spoke candidly about his finances during the couple's Oprah interview, noting that
the royal family had cut off all financial support.
Noting his inheritance from his late mother, Princess Diana, Harry explained,
"I've got all my mom left me, and without that we would not be able to do this."
Of course, people started suggesting that Harry and Meghan should pull out of their
Netflix deal after Princess Diana's somewhat scandalous portrayal in "The Crown."
However, the couple's deal still stands.
Wardrobe restrictions were a big thing when Meghan Markle was dressing as a member of
the royal family.
For instance, bright nail polish is a big no-no, as are wedges, Vogue noted.
Modesty is another mantra, meaning that skirts and dresses can't be too short and tops can't
be too low.
Plus, the acquiring of clothing comes with its own set of rules, too.
A member of the royal family may not accept free clothing, and if a designer sends items,
the royals pay for what they keep.
For an actor like Meghan, coming into this world would certainly be a lot to juggle.
And a big part of the media frenzy surrounding the duchess was nitpicking any time she seemingly
"broke" royal protocol with her outfits.
Since leaving the royal family, Meghan has freed up her fashion choices.
For example, when she and Prince Harry appeared at the Salute to Freedom gala in New York
in November 2021, she wore a cherry red Carolina Herrera dress with a plunging neckline.
At the Global Citizen Live event in New York in September 2021, she wore a white mini-dress.
And in October 2020, when she appeared virtually for Fortune's Most Powerful Next Gen Summit,
she wore a spaghetti strap Tracy Reese dress.
Basically, Meghan's post-royal fashion choices might make the queen squirm.
Prince Harry surprised everyone when he showed up at the Stockyards Championship Rodeo on
March 5, at the Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas.
Harry definitely dressed the part, wearing a cowboy hat and casual clothing, while mingling
with other guests.
Royal biographer Omid Scobie jumped on Twitter to write,
"Living his best American life.
Prince Harry was in Fort Worth, Texas this weekend and spent Saturday at [...] the famous
[Stockyards Rodeo].
The duke was spotted by locals enjoying some good ol' Southern hospitality and a VIP tour
of the venue."
The strangest thing of all, no one was entirely clear why Harry attended the event.
The event's producer offered no real information, revealing in a statement to CultureMap Fort
Worth,
"As you can imagine we have many guests here at the Stockyards for all of the wonderful
Western sporting events that we host.
However, just as we respect the privacy of our everyday fans that attend, we also respect
the privacy of those of a high-profile nature as well.
Thank you for your understanding."
Maybe after a life of royal duty, Harry simply wanted to relax and enjoy some of the best
of the Wild West.
There was a lot of controversy over Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's tour of New York
City in September 2021.
While they used their visit to bring awareness to the COVID-19 vaccine and the causes of
climate change, their trip to the Big Apple rubbed some people the wrong way.
Many felt Harry and Meghan crafted their visit to appear like a royal tour, despite having
stepped down from being working royals.
One Twitter user commented on a post about Harry's visit to New York and said,
"Can the media please stop calling these 'engagements,' which makes it seem like he is still conducting
official royal business, and start using 'appearances' which is what celebrities do?"
There was another element to the trip that people struggled with too.
Royal biographer Angela Levin told The U.S. Sun that the couple visited a school in Harlem,
but the tone was uncomfortable for some.
Meghan arrived at the school wearing an outfit worth over $7,000 and promoted her children's
book, "The Bench."
"I'm really excited now I get to read it to you."
In Levin's opinion, at least, the visit felt more like a promotional tour for her book
rather than a genuine moment of connection with the students.
Controversially, Queen Elizabeth II has yet to meet her great-granddaughter, Lilibet.
Many royal sources have concluded that the meeting hasn't occurred because of the ongoing
rift between Prince Harry and the royal family, although the pandemic will have likely played
a part.
To make matters even more challenging, Harry didn't attend the Service of Thanksgiving
for his late grandfather, Prince Philip, because his level of security has changed since leaving
the royal family.
However, Harry still plans on flying to the Netherlands in April 2022 for the Invictus
Games, so the deliberate avoidance of his grandfather's service feels like a slight
on the family.
Royal biographer Richard Fitzwilliams claimed that Harry's security concerns were legitimate,
but that the situation was a huge shame.
Fitzwilliams also noted that the queen had made a request to meet her great-granddaughter,
telling The Sun,
"If they don't bring Lili over, then obviously that won't happen [...] It's all something
that's clearly not going to be resolved in the foreseeable future.
And it doesn't seem like they're going to come over."
Clearly, some healing still needs to occur.
In early 2022, JL Partners conducted a survey about the royals for the Daily Mail.
The results revealed that Harry and Meghan, along with disgraced royal Prince Andrew,
were the only members of the family to drop in public opinion.
The reason for the public's negativity towards Harry and Meghan was that people felt the
couple hadn't supported the queen enough in recent months.
"Everything is in balance.
We're the only thing putting everything out of balance."
In light of this negative polling, many wondered if Harry and Meghan would visit England in
2022 to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee, especially as she is the first British
monarch to ever reach the milestone.
Royal correspondent Jonathan Sacerdoti told the Express,
"I do still say if they could come back and if they could not be front and center, keep
it quiet, but just come back to help celebrate this milestone for not just the queen but
for the whole country for British history."
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like that's going to happen, due to Harry's concerns about
security for his family.
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