May 29, 2026

Meghan Markle’s Rent-a-Royal Future?

Show Notes
Transcript

Meghan Markle faces fresh criticism over claims she may be building a “rent-a-royal” future in America, using her duchess title and royal connections to boost elite appearances and brand opportunities. Plus, As Ever expands from fruit spreads to candles and possibly matches, critics question Meghan’s latest lifestyle pivot, and reports claim she is refusing to join Prince Harry for a possible summer return to the United Kingdom.

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Ah Calorogus Shark Media. Hello and welcome to your palace intrigue.

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I am your host, Mark Francis. Meghan Markle is facing

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fresh criticism after reports claimed the Duchess of Sussex may

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be exploring what some critics are calling a rent a

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royal future in America. According to Radar Online, sources close

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to Megan say there is increasing speculation she could begin

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appearing at elite events, private gatherings, and high profile charity

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functions across the US, leaning heavily on the global recognition

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attached to her royal title. Once what's claimed, the attraction

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for wealthy hosts will be obvious. They're not just getting

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a celebrity appearance. They're getting somebody with a duchess title,

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royal links and global recognition attached to the British monarchy

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that still carries enormous cachet in certain circles, especially among

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affluent Americans fascinated by royalty. People around Meghan insist she

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sees these appearances as strategic networking and brand building opportunities,

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but critics believe the line between philanthropy, celebrity influence, and

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commercial self promotion has become increasingly blurred. Maintaining security staff, travel,

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pr operations and the image of being global power players

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reportedly comes with eye watering costs that some estimated around

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six million dollars a year for Megan and Harry. Another

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insider said the fear within royal circles is that the

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Sussex brand is gradually evolving into something much closer to

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celebrity aristocracy for hire, where the prestige of royalty is

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selectively used to open doors, secure influence and maintain relevance

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in elite social and business environments. Sky News Australia presenter

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Samara Gill added she's obsessed with the royal family and

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she's obsessed with the cash grab that she can make

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of it now. The infamous turn of phrase that she

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uttered to Mindy Kaling and sort of was quite strong

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about everyone calling her Megan Sussex, which never quite took off.

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As I've always said, they are hig economy royals where

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they want to work three days a week and then

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float back into California where it suits them and coast

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off those royal titles. It's about service, it's about dignity

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and respect for your nation and about diplomacy. In the

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Times Shane Watson writes very exciting news the Duchess of

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Sussex's back in the kitchen again on Instagram, flogging jam.

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Here we go again, you might say, Yet, have you

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been following the as Ever brand story closely? You will

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know that things have subtly moved on. Yes, the Duchess

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has done jam, actually fruit spreads, as they don't contain

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the right quantity of sugar to qualify as jams, and

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it didn't quite work out as plan, But happily she

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is not giving up that easily. If we've learned one

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thing about Megan since she and Harry moved to Montecito,

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it is that she's determined. While she styles herself as

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an entrepreneur and female founder, the mission is name, fame

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and recognition as a person of influence circles that count.

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Until as Eva is a name whispered in smart circles

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and the tasteful gift a zure is her raspberry spread,

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Megan will not rest. What she wants is to go

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for brunch with mister and missus Ted Saranders and find

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they are serving as if a marmalade on tiny bits

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of toast. So now, because a lifestyle show on Netflix

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has not achieved that. She is trying other avenues, and

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we're not talking about walking onto the set of Master

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sheeff Australia as if she were the resurrected Julia child.

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Now we're talking about playing her joker, the card up

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her sleeve that she has reminded us many times as

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off limits. Harry and the children should as evers, spread's

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not make it into the homes of the rich and

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famous pretty soon. Fashion is planned B. In fact, it's

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probably planned B, even if they do. In tandem with

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becoming a tastemaker in the home, Megan has set her

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sights on having her own brand of clothing and accessories,

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and why not a Mamma and Daughter range kicked off

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with Lil posing back to the camera in something tonally

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matching Mama's look. With Love, Megan was a showcase for

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her personal style minimal clean, smart, safe, and since then

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she's taken to monetizing her wardrobe choices and turning up

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at fashion shows. It's jammed today, but could it be

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jeans tomorrow? Great jeans? In the video by the Way,

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Megan unveiled a fresh new look across her social media

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accounts that she continues to expand her lifestyle brand as Ever.

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On her personal page, Meghan replaced her profile picture with

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a relaxed image of herself sitting in an armchair wearing

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blue jeans and a fitted white T shirt, a noticeably

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more casual presentation than some of her earlier promotional photographs. Meanwhile,

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the as Ever account introduced glossy new footage featuring Megan

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arranging flowers, tasting raspberries, opening jars of legally fruit spread

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walking through an orchard, and preparing items in a kitchen setting.

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The accompanying caption read, welcome to the world of as Ever.

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What began with fruit from Megan's garden, simmered into preserves

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in her home kitchen has inspired our curated collections to

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bring surprise and delight to your every day. Former BBC

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Royal correspondent Jenny Bond said, I think she's right to

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keep everything fresh and new. We will know that most

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people these days suffer from having the concentration of an

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so while we live in and we seem to be

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constantly seeking change. Since being an influencer an entrepreneur through

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her social media now seems to be her chosen career path,

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Meghan needs to take it seriously and keep her followers engaged.

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Judging by the numbers, people are more interested in her

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than the as Ever brand. She has more than four

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times the followers on her personal page, so she needs

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to keep on putting out the content to attract more business.

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At the same time, Megan's latest product tease has prompted

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a wave of online reaction, with fans and critics debating

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the direction of the as Ever product line. On Wednesday,

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the brand posted an image showing an as Ever candle

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displayed beside flowers a teapot on what appeared to be

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a newly branded as Ever matchbox. The caption simply read

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a small spark arriving tomorrow. Many Royal Watches quickly concluded

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that branded luxury matches would be the company's next release.

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When user wrote is this parody? Please tell me this

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as a joke? Another commented Matt for the love of God,

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is it's the best she can come up with her

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in a product line? Is very inventive and original. Others

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defended the launch, noting that branded matches are commonly sold

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alongside premium candles, were palacing just a moment. Harry and

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Meghan are reportedly locked in a tense disagreement over plans

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for a possible return to the UK this summer, with

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Meghan said to be refusing to go according to Heat,

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while tensions have escalated over Harry's reported plans to spend

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part of the summer in Britain and Scotland with Archie

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and Lilibet. A source told the publication things poiled over

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just hours before Meghan flew out to Geneva, and she

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and Harry didn't speak for a while afterwards. Harry has

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been getting incredibly sentimental ahead of their eighth anniversary, while

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also desperately trying to map out his big family summer

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in Europe. He's carving out time at Balmoral so his father,

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King Charles can see Archie and Lilibert. However, the report

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claims Meghan is deeply uncomfortable with the idea of spending

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extended time in Britain amid continue intentions with the royal family,

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particularly with William and Kate. The source alleged the plan

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for Harry and Meghan was to base themselves in Portugal

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for the summer and spend time in bow Moral, but

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Meghan has heard that William and Kate have told Harry

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the Sussexes are not welcome and they refuse to have

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their family sanctuary disrupted by what they call Hollywood drama.

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Meghan flipped and a normal argument turned into a showdown.

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Tensions are at an all time high. The last time

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the two couples were publicly seen together was during Queen

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Elizabeth the Second's funeral in September of twenty two. The

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source said Meghan's bust up with Harry was a big

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one and she's digging her heels in. She's told Harry

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to go to the UK without her, as there was

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no way she would be joining. She doesn't want to

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put herself all the kids through the drama. With the

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children finishing school for summer soon, Harry is in a

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state of panic. He's scared he's pushed Meghan too far

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this time, and if he chooses to go to the UK,

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he's facing the reality of spending the summer cut off

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from his wife and his children, and with relations still

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difficult with the rest of his family. And there you

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have it. Follow Palace Intrigue on Spotify and turn on

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us know what you think about today's stories. I'm my

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Francis my thanks to John McDermott. This is palace intrigue

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and it turns

Meghan Markle’s Rent-a-Royal Future?

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