Prince Harry went from fighting back tears detailing how his privacy was breached on Wednesday to mingling with wife Meghan Markle and the cream of Hollywood at the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday.
The dramatic contrast between the two worlds only highlights how far Harry still has to go to move past the ghosts of his past, six years into his new life in California.
“For Harry to go from the hearing [on Wednesday] — and pleading for privacy — to then go to Sundance just days after is nuts,” said one Hollywood source of the royal’s fight with a British newspaper, which he has accused of making Markle’s time in England “absolute misery.”
Prince Harry has said his life in America was what his mother Princess Diana would have “wanted” for him.
But the multi-million dollar deals he and Markle signed with some of Hollywood’s biggest companies to prop up their new life have mostly come sputtering to an end, while their charitable Archewell foundation has basically gone kaput.
At 41, Harry remains estranged from his older brother, Prince William, and has only seen his father, King Charles, a handful of times over the past few years.
He is without a steady income — and, some around him say, without purpose. And it all raises the question: Is Harry sidelined as the “spare” once again?
In some ways, the prince is a glorified house-husband while Markle brings home the (artisanal) bacon … though even that is not going as planned, off the news that her Netflix lifestyle show has ended, following in the footsteps of the Sussex Spotify deal.
The Post is told that the Sussex coffers are rapidly depleting — with one source in the know saying the couple have had to downsize their staffing.
“Harry’s not really doing anything in America,” said the source. “It seems he is still very wrapped up in the past. There have been rumors that Harry is starting a business, but he and Meghan don’t have the best track record.
“He’s really great at service — look at the success of his Invictus charity. He really should just stick with that.”
Although Harry made a reported $27 million from his 2023 memoir, “Spare,” the cost of the couple’s California life is said to be insanely high.
They reportedly spend between $2 million and 3 million a year on security, plus monthly payments on a $10 million mortgage, not to mention costs for house and work staff.
There were rumors about Harry filming a Netflix doc in Africa, but that came to nothing, while the couple’s “Polo” show for Netflix only lasted one season. However, the couple do still have a film adaption of Jasmine Guillory’s “The Wedding Date” for Netflix on the slate, via their Archewell Productions.
“I think Harry’s banking on speaking engagements for income right now,” said the source.
And, for the first time in their relationship, he and Markle are “on different paths” when it comes to their professional lives.
While the couple teamed up to sign past deals with Spotify and Netflix, they now have separate offices, we’re told.
Markle, 44, is heavily focused on her As Ever lifestyle brand, which debuted last year.
Earlier this month, the brand was heavily scrutinized after a website glitch briefly revealed inventory figures — prompting claims that large stock numbers signaled slow sales.
The site briefly displayed inventory totals that included around 220,000 jars of jam, 30,000 jars of honey, 90,000 candles, 80,000 tins of flower sprinkles and roughly 70,000 bottles of wine, including brut, sauvignon blanc and rosé.
A source said to be close to the business spun the data points not as a glut of unsold products but rather to a brand experiencing strong demand and preparing for international expansion.
“While it’s normal for a business not to talk about sales data, I think it’s fair to say that the glitch that led to this data being revealed points to a business that isn’t just successful — it’s flying, literally off the shelf,” the source told People.
Markle joined forces with Netflix to produce the products, meant to tie in with her series “With Love, Meghan.” But as we recently revealed, the show has been dropped after two seasons.
The second season scored just two million views and was the 1,224th most-watched program on Netflix between July and December 2025, according to figures released by Netflix this week. A Christmas special ranked 1,022nd.
Hollywood insiders told us that Markle and her team have pitched more holiday specials to Netflix bosses, from July 4 to Valentine’s Day, but nothing has been sold yet.
Things aren’t going much better over at the Sussexes’ Archewell Foundation — now renamed Archewell Philanthropies — as the couple recently downsized their staff and offloaded a partnership with the group ParentsTogether, meant to protect children from online harm.
Harry and Markle have, in fact, spent the past few months in deep discussion about the charity’s future as it has struggled with funding.
“The big question was, would Archewell close, or would another charity take it over?” a source said.
“Harry and Meghan were looking to get a fiscal sponsor, someone to take on the outgoing costs and to keep things cheap. Really, it’s all smoke and mirrors.”
Three members — 60 percent of the charity’s staff — have been let go, while Executive Director James Holt, who’s been with the couple since they were working royals in Britain, recently quit and Vice-President of Philanthropy Shauna Nep is only part time.
Although they may have lost some of their golden glow in Hollywood, Markle remains a client of top agency WME and they do have a friends in high places.
They’re still close to Montecito power players including former Paramount co-CEO Brian Robbins — who has a new production company, backed by CAA and Sony, dedicated to animated and live-action fare — and his wife, Tracy.
Markle is pals with neighbor Oprah Winfrey and counts makeup millionaire Victoria Jackson as a BFF. For the most part, Harry’s local friends are said to be people he knows through Markle, apart from Argentinian polo star Nacho Figueras who he has been spotted with at the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet club.
A source said the prince lost touch with his UK pals years ago.
“I don’t think they leave the house much,” said the source in the know. “Meghan does, maybe, but not so much Harry.”
They’re mainly found hanging out with their kids, Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, who attend local schools.
Harry has also volunteered to help raise funds for the local charity, One805, which was established after the 2017 Thomas Fire and resulting mudslides ravaged the Santa Barbara area, killing 23 people.
Sources would like to see Harry, who seems a bit lost at the moment, get back to what was once his life’s mission — following in his mother Diana’s do-gooding footsteps, rather than trying to make a run for commercial endeavors.
Last September, he reportedly charmed guests at a fundraiser for One805 at Kevin Costner’s beachfront Montecito estate.
“He really opened up about his experience of mental wellness issues, about friends that he’d encountered who’d been in Afghanistan and what he’d seen them suffer through,” Richard Weston-Smith, the co-founder of that charity, told the Post.“You really got a sense that he fully understands this subject.
“He cares so much. He’s not boastful or brash or arrogant. He’s incredibly gentle and caring and empathetic.”
Harry finally seems ready to take his wife and kids back to visit his homeland after winning his battle to get armed security when he’s in the UK. Markle could even join him as he kicks off celebrations for the one-year-to go Invictus Games in London in July.
This week, however, Harry was back in London fighting his old demons: the British media, as he became the first royal to take the witness stand in court in modern times.
He testified that Markle’s royal life was “absolute misery” during his trial against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), which publishes the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, for allegedly gathering information illegally.
“It’s fundamentally wrong to put us through this again when all we wanted was an apology and accountability. It’s a horrible experience,” the Duke of Sussex told the judge, fighting back tears.
“They continue to come after me. They have made my wife’s life an absolute misery, my Lord.”
But although Harry and Markle desperately wanted to sprinkle some sunshine on their new life, Montecito resident Gail Pollard told us, “Harry probably came here with a lot of gusto, but a lot of it fell flat.
“I’d like to see him go back [to England]. That was the feeling in our small community. I don’t care for either one of them. They’re not sincere. They’re doing everything for fame and fortune.”
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