Jan. 4, 2026

Does Harry Want Out of California? Rumors Swirl Over Titles, the Kids and a Meghan Directed Diana Biopic

Show Notes
Transcript

Heatworld reports Prince Harry is increasingly unhappy in California and has told Meghan Markle he wants to leave, with a source claiming he feels isolated, professionally stalled and eager to spend more time in the United Kingdom. The report suggests tensions are rising at home, with talk of an ultimatum involving Portugal or long-distance arrangements, and claims that Harry is also looking at projects in the Middle East.

A competing account from Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice Substack argues the opposite, quoting a source who says Harry is “done with it” and no longer cares about royal trappings, while suggesting removing titles would make Prince William look petty.

We also look at the language in the Sussexes’ December impact report, after the couple wrote that their charity’s rebranding would allow them and their children to expand philanthropic work “as a family,” prompting questions over what that signals for Archie and Lilibet’s future roles.

And there is more: Star magazine claims Meghan is considering a big-screen version of their love story, while Paula Froelich, writing in The Times, delivers blunt advice on how the couple could reset their public image in 2026.

Hear our new show "Crown and Controversy: Prince Andrew" here.

Check out "Palace Intrigue Presents: King WIlliam" here.

👑 Follow our hit series Crown and Controversy! Season 1 and 2 are fully available now for everyone. Season 3 has new episodes every Sunday on the regular feed. GET THE FULL SEASON 3 BEFORE REGULAR LISTENERS as a subscriber! Hit that "UNINTERRUPTED LISTENING" Banner on the top of the Apple player. AND listen to Crown and Controversy "NORWAY'S ROYAL REBELS" here and get the full season as a premium subscriber now.

👑 The Palace Intrigue Social Hub is Live! Join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram or click the links to start your royal journey!

WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.200 --> 00:00:12.199
Ah Calorogus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue Game.

2
00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:15.599
Your host Mark Francis. Heath World reports that Prince Harry

3
00:00:15.679 --> 00:00:19.600
is increasingly unhappy in California and is now openly telling

4
00:00:19.640 --> 00:00:22.280
Meghan mark Or that he wants to leave. According to

5
00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:25.160
a source quoted by the magazine, Harry is done with

6
00:00:25.239 --> 00:00:27.960
California and has made it clear to Meghan he's had

7
00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:31.679
enough and wants out. He's miserable his career hasn't taken off,

8
00:00:31.719 --> 00:00:34.640
he hasn't got any good friends, and he can't stand

9
00:00:34.679 --> 00:00:37.719
the fact that they're being shunned by Hollywood. The source

10
00:00:37.719 --> 00:00:41.000
says Harry's failed legal bid to restore automatic police protection

11
00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:44.719
in the UK, which is now under government review, reflects

12
00:00:44.759 --> 00:00:47.600
his desire to spend more time at home. Winning the

13
00:00:47.640 --> 00:00:51.079
recent government review is a further signal of how desperate

14
00:00:51.119 --> 00:00:53.600
Harry is to spend more time in his home country.

15
00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:57.320
The insiders said Meghan kept telling him to let it be,

16
00:00:57.560 --> 00:01:00.320
but she knows deep down that he's done it in

17
00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:04.239
part to try and escape heat. Weald's source also suggests

18
00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:08.040
Harry feels his life has largely been shaped by Megan's ambitions.

19
00:01:08.319 --> 00:01:11.640
Harry hasn't had much opportunity to pursue the things he loves.

20
00:01:11.959 --> 00:01:15.680
Their life has mainly been steered by Megan and her passions.

21
00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:18.879
According to the inside, attentions could soon come to a head.

22
00:01:19.159 --> 00:01:22.040
Harry could end up giving Meghan an altim maten come

23
00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:24.959
with him to Portugal or do long distance. The source said.

24
00:01:25.319 --> 00:01:27.319
He is adamant that if they stay in California, they

25
00:01:27.319 --> 00:01:29.519
won't have a credible name to come back to, and

26
00:01:29.560 --> 00:01:32.680
he also wants to explore some big projects on offer

27
00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:36.480
in the Middle East. The insider concluded, Harry's missing his

28
00:01:36.519 --> 00:01:39.159
old life and this is understandably creating a lot of tension.

29
00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:41.840
Everyone around Meghan has been warning her to listen to

30
00:01:41.920 --> 00:01:44.519
him before it's too late, but she's adamant he won't

31
00:01:44.599 --> 00:01:46.680
leave and is continuing to make plans and try to

32
00:01:46.719 --> 00:01:50.280
source deals for them both. That's going to massively backfire

33
00:01:50.319 --> 00:01:54.439
if Harry walks. We checked without Royal insider Deep Crown,

34
00:01:54.519 --> 00:01:57.040
expecting a quick quote on this, but got a lot more.

35
00:01:57.519 --> 00:02:00.840
Deep Crown sent back a long note. One must treat

36
00:02:00.920 --> 00:02:05.760
these tabloid dispatches with appropriate skepticism, but the underlying narrative

37
00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:08.840
does ring rather true, doesn't it a man who walked

38
00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:12.599
away from everything, his family, his country, his purpose. Now

39
00:02:12.639 --> 00:02:15.400
discovering that Montecito has promised at Land feels rather like

40
00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:19.759
gilded exile. What strikes me most forcefully is the suggestion

41
00:02:19.919 --> 00:02:23.960
that Harry might issue ultimatums about Portugal or long distance arrangements.

42
00:02:24.360 --> 00:02:27.159
My dear fellow, you've got two small children. One doesn't

43
00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:30.080
simply relocate to Portugal on a whim, or maintain a

44
00:02:30.120 --> 00:02:34.039
transatlantic marriage when there are young ones involved. This isn't

45
00:02:34.120 --> 00:02:37.080
some bachelor gap year. These are the years when children

46
00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:42.039
need stability, consistency both parents present. The notion that he's

47
00:02:42.080 --> 00:02:44.400
missing his old life is rather rich, isn't it. He

48
00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:47.479
spent years telling anyone with a microphone how dreadful that

49
00:02:47.560 --> 00:02:51.360
life was, how trapped he felt, how unbearable it all became.

50
00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:54.879
Now we're meant to believe he pines for polo matches

51
00:02:54.919 --> 00:02:58.280
and regimental dinners. One wonders if he's finally realized that

52
00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:00.919
being a working royal with all its concers strengths, came

53
00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:05.199
with purpose, structure, and genuine usefulness. Strip all that away,

54
00:03:05.319 --> 00:03:09.199
and what remains podcast deals that never materialize in Hollywood.

55
00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:13.639
Acquaintances who've rather moved on. But here's what troubles me most.

56
00:03:13.719 --> 00:03:16.560
If Harry genuinely feels his life has been steered by

57
00:03:16.599 --> 00:03:20.319
Megan and her passion. Whose fault is that he's a

58
00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:23.199
grown man who made his choices. The Palace didn't force

59
00:03:23.240 --> 00:03:26.800
him to California. His family didn't orchestrate this exile. He

60
00:03:26.919 --> 00:03:31.280
chose this path, and now the consequences have become rather inconvenient.

61
00:03:32.319 --> 00:03:34.639
As for threatening to abandon his wife and children for

62
00:03:34.759 --> 00:03:37.879
Portugal or Middle Eastern projects, will tells you everything about

63
00:03:37.879 --> 00:03:40.759
how thoroughly he has lost his way. His grandmother would

64
00:03:40.759 --> 00:03:44.000
be appalled. Whatever her private feelings about the marriage, she

65
00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:48.479
understood that one's duty to one's children supersedes personal unhappiness.

66
00:03:48.919 --> 00:03:51.800
You made your bed, as they say, literally, in this case,

67
00:03:52.639 --> 00:03:55.840
the tragedy is that there was a path back, quiet, dignified,

68
00:03:55.919 --> 00:03:59.560
focused on service rather than celebrity. That window has rather closed.

69
00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:03.039
Now what we're witnessing isn't a man rediscovering his purpose.

70
00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:06.159
It's a man realizing he traded everything of value for

71
00:04:06.199 --> 00:04:10.400
something rather worthless, and now finding himself with very few options. Indeed,

72
00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:14.599
a different gossip site presents the opposite view. According to

73
00:04:14.840 --> 00:04:18.399
Naughty but nice, substack by journalist Rob Shooter. A source

74
00:04:18.439 --> 00:04:21.120
close to the Duke of Sussex said Harry doesn't care

75
00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:23.879
about the trappings anymore. He's done with it. The source

76
00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:26.800
suggested that adjusting to life without titles would not trouble

77
00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:29.959
Harry in the least. There has been ongoing speculation that

78
00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:32.680
Prince William could eventually remove the Sussex's titles when he

79
00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:36.600
ascends the throne. However, another source told Tutor that taking

80
00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:39.800
the titles away would make William look patty. The same

81
00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:42.319
source claimed that while the Sussex brand is now worthless,

82
00:04:42.519 --> 00:04:46.199
Meghan Michael continues to embrace her royal styling, and insider

83
00:04:46.279 --> 00:04:49.800
told naughty but Nice, Meghan thrives on the royal recognition.

84
00:04:49.959 --> 00:04:53.000
It's everything to her. A close friend added, Meghan's still

85
00:04:53.079 --> 00:04:55.639
chasing the shine that's long gone, but said of Harry,

86
00:04:55.879 --> 00:04:59.959
he's finally free. Meghan and Harry have sparked fresh specula

87
00:05:00.319 --> 00:05:03.120
about the future roles of their children after including Prince

88
00:05:03.199 --> 00:05:05.879
Archie and Princess Lillabet in a recent statement about their

89
00:05:05.959 --> 00:05:09.879
charitable work. In a December twenty twenty five impact report

90
00:05:10.439 --> 00:05:13.360
announcing the rebranding of their charity, The couple wrote that

91
00:05:13.519 --> 00:05:17.959
Archibald Foundation would become Archwell Philanthropies, allowing the couple and

92
00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:21.160
their children to expand upon the global philanthropic endeavors as

93
00:05:21.160 --> 00:05:24.720
a family. The wording was widely interpreted as a signal

94
00:05:24.759 --> 00:05:27.480
that Archie six and Little at four could one day

95
00:05:27.480 --> 00:05:30.480
be involved in the same public facing work as their parents.

96
00:05:31.160 --> 00:05:33.639
According to The Daily Mail, the phrasing surprise at least

97
00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:35.920
one of Prince Harry's friends, who said the Duke had

98
00:05:35.920 --> 00:05:38.319
previously been adamant that his children should grow up free

99
00:05:38.319 --> 00:05:42.480
from expectations tied to titles or public roles. The source

100
00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:45.800
question whether the language reflected Harry's views and suggested it

101
00:05:45.839 --> 00:05:50.079
may have been driven by Megan. Megan is reportedly considering

102
00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:52.519
taking her long running dispute with the Royal family to

103
00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:55.959
the big screen, and as Royal podcasters, we encourage her

104
00:05:55.959 --> 00:05:59.800
to get working on this today. According to Star, a source,

105
00:06:00.319 --> 00:06:03.519
there are ongoing talks about a watson All biopic based

106
00:06:03.519 --> 00:06:06.800
on their love story, following the couple's previous criticisms of

107
00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:10.839
the Royal family, interviews, a docuseries, and Prince Harry's memoir.

108
00:06:11.319 --> 00:06:14.319
The source said Megan thinks it would turn the tides

109
00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:16.480
in their favor with the public, to which will say

110
00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:19.600
she must be new and inside I told the magazine,

111
00:06:19.639 --> 00:06:21.720
she says, no one really grasps what she and Harry

112
00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:24.879
have lived through. She believes that her film, if done properly,

113
00:06:25.240 --> 00:06:27.160
will give people the chance to see their side of

114
00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:30.199
the story in a way no interview or book ever could.

115
00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:32.839
Harry and Meghan's biopic would of course, paint the royal

116
00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:35.759
family in a terrible light. She knows they'll explode, but

117
00:06:35.839 --> 00:06:38.920
Meghan doesn't seem at all worried over the backlash. She's

118
00:06:38.959 --> 00:06:41.240
She would that once people witness the full story arc,

119
00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:45.800
they'll understand why she and Harry made the choices they did. Well,

120
00:06:45.879 --> 00:06:52.920
Palasy just a moment. By the way, I want to

121
00:06:53.040 --> 00:06:56.240
thank all the new subscribers who are listening to this

122
00:06:56.279 --> 00:07:00.800
commercial free and apologize sincerely for any issues you may

123
00:07:00.839 --> 00:07:04.319
have had on the first or second or third of January,

124
00:07:04.839 --> 00:07:08.920
as Apple did some refreshes to their subscription system which

125
00:07:09.160 --> 00:07:11.519
broke parts of it, and many of you ended up

126
00:07:11.519 --> 00:07:14.639
with commercials that you were not paying for. So we apologize.

127
00:07:14.959 --> 00:07:18.040
We assume it is all fixed by now, and thank

128
00:07:18.079 --> 00:07:21.160
you very very very much for being a supporter of

129
00:07:21.279 --> 00:07:25.720
this show for The Times, Paula Frolic writes an open

130
00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:27.879
letter to Megan and Harry. He is how to move

131
00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:30.920
on from your Annis horror billis. I'm not a publicist

132
00:07:30.959 --> 00:07:32.800
for the Duke and Duchess, but this is the best

133
00:07:32.839 --> 00:07:35.000
advice they're going to get, and they don't even have

134
00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:38.120
to pay me. I actually understand why it may be

135
00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:41.519
difficult to see your father Thomas Markel ever again, given

136
00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:43.839
how he has been trading your name for cash ever

137
00:07:43.879 --> 00:07:46.879
since you were engaged to Harry. However, in the spirit

138
00:07:46.920 --> 00:07:49.399
of graciousness, now that he is struggling with heart disease,

139
00:07:49.680 --> 00:07:52.519
has lost a leg due to complications from diabetes, and

140
00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:54.959
is struggling to pay for his care, you should do

141
00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:58.240
the right thing and cover his hospital bills. You made

142
00:07:58.279 --> 00:08:00.240
millions last year, and it would do wonders for your

143
00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:03.639
public image, which you say is based on kindness and compassion.

144
00:08:04.319 --> 00:08:06.040
As of now, a go fund me to pay for

145
00:08:06.120 --> 00:08:09.279
his bills asks a mere twelve thousand, roughly the price

146
00:08:09.279 --> 00:08:11.759
of a channel dress you obtained after a shoot for

147
00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:16.959
the cut, which brings me to another point. Stop taking freebies.

148
00:08:17.800 --> 00:08:19.600
It might be okay in the world of the dealist.

149
00:08:19.639 --> 00:08:21.199
But to the rest of us it just looks tacky,

150
00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:24.399
especially because we know you can afford to pay. You've

151
00:08:24.439 --> 00:08:27.680
already been labeled at griftered by your former at Spotify.

152
00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:30.360
Let's not give anyone any more reason to pour gasoline

153
00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:33.639
on that fire. Shall we stop giving us glimpses of

154
00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:35.960
your children on social media? You should be able to

155
00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:38.360
stand on your own two feet, and while your son

156
00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:39.960
and daughter might be the only two things you have

157
00:08:40.039 --> 00:08:43.120
left that Americans actually care about, teasing us with blurred

158
00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:46.039
photos of them makes you look like a terrible hypocrite,

159
00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:48.799
especially after you moved five thousand miles away from Harry's

160
00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:54.399
hometown for privacy. Now, for Harry, poor misunderstood Harry, here

161
00:08:54.440 --> 00:08:57.000
is my advice to you. When your father and brother

162
00:08:57.039 --> 00:09:00.480
make state visits to the US, lie low as in,

163
00:09:00.840 --> 00:09:04.120
no social media posts, no interviews, and above all, no

164
00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:06.559
competing engagements. I know this will be hard for you,

165
00:09:06.600 --> 00:09:09.159
but trust me, you and your wife will look petty

166
00:09:09.159 --> 00:09:12.840
and spiteful when you try to hijack the attention. Finally,

167
00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:15.679
stay home, even if you're invited to the met Gala

168
00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:18.000
twenty twenty six, it should be a nesting year, so

169
00:09:18.519 --> 00:09:21.279
nest the American public is worn out by your product

170
00:09:21.360 --> 00:09:23.879
drops and your five year old complaints about family, and

171
00:09:23.879 --> 00:09:27.399
your insistence that you're authentic and desperate for privacy when

172
00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:31.159
nothing could be further from the truth. And there you

173
00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:33.960
have it. If you'd like to email us our addresses

174
00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:36.519
the Palace Intrigue at gmail dot com. Please follow us

175
00:09:36.519 --> 00:09:39.919
on Spotify, Apple, Facebook, Instagram. Once again, we apologize for

176
00:09:39.919 --> 00:09:42.960
any issues with commercials and the Apple subscription service, and

177
00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:45.840
thank you very much for being a supporter here. I'm

178
00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:48.080
Mirk Francis my thanks to John McDermott. This is Palace

179
00:09:48.120 --> 00:09:51.639
Intrigue in good terms.

Does Harry Want Out of California? Rumors Swirl Over Titles, the Kids and a Meghan Directed Diana Biopic

Listen On

Recent Episodes