Meghan Markle's friends all warned her not to get involved with Prince Harry. She ignored them – but there are plenty of royal red flags that we can't ignore.
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00:00Meghan Markle's friends all warned her not to get involved with Prince Harry.
00:04She ignored them, but there are plenty of royal red flags that we can't ignore.
00:09Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been through a lot with the royal family.
00:13Not long after their marriage in 2018, rumors began surfacing about issues between Meghan
00:17and the Windsors. Harry sided with Meghan, and in 2020 they formally separated themselves from
00:22the firm and moved to the United States. Since then, the relationships between Harry and his
00:27family members have only seemed to worsen. A friend of the royal family told People,
00:31"...nothing would give Harry more happiness than being able to rekindle his bond with his father.
00:36At the end of the day, you can't undo bloodlines."
00:38These issues could raise red flags for the stability of Harry and Meghan's relationship
00:42as well. Harry could come to resent Meghan because of the issues that have risen in his
00:46family since she joined. Notably, Meghan has famously been at odds with her father and
00:51half-sister, issues that suggest to some that she may not value family as much as Harry does.
00:56Money problems are one of the biggest relationship red flags, as it's a leading
00:59cause of marital issues. And Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's financial situation is
01:04looking worse and worse all the time. According to reports, the couple have two major issues,
01:09high expenses and not enough money coming in. Royal experts estimate that Harry and Meghan's
01:14lifestyle costs them $20 million annually thanks to their mortgage, security, and other extravagant
01:19choices. But they aren't making that much. While they have gotten plenty of big paychecks in the
01:24past — their $100 million Netflix deal, for example — a significant amount of those earnings
01:29are taxed, and with such high expenses, the money doesn't last that long. And it's a big question
01:34where the next payday is going to come from, as experts don't expect their Netflix deal to be
01:38renewed. Royal expert Phil Dampier told The Sun,
01:41"[The contrast is they're coming across as they're trying to make money out of it and
01:44instead of doing good deeds, but that's where we are, isn't it? Unfortunately,
01:48if the couple can't earn the money required to maintain their lifestyle,
01:51who knows how it might affect their marriage."
01:54Spouses don't need to agree on everything to make a marriage work,
01:56but they've got to agree on the big things, like where they're going to live.
02:00This is especially important if the pair are from different countries,
02:03like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. When the couple moved to America,
02:06they claimed the move was crucial for the happiness and safety of their family.
02:10However, reports say that Harry is unhappy living in America,
02:13and that unhappiness could be a red flag between him and Meghan in the future.
02:17A friend of Harry's told The Times,
02:19"[He's an angry boy.] Things haven't turned out how he wanted.
02:22I think he misses being over here and desperately and wants to be admired more."
02:26Anyone who knows him feels he'd rather be top-of-the-pops here with everyone loving him,
02:30as they do with his older brother William and Kate. According to other reports,
02:34Harry might be forced out of the United States, whether he wants to go or not.
02:38Angela Levin told GB News,
02:40"[He's got trouble with his visa.] They're allowed to look again at what the problem
02:43is and he might still not be able to stay there."
02:45A forced move back to Britain would be a major source of stress on an already troubled marriage.
02:50Meghan shared in the documentary, Harry and Meghan, An African Journey, that she received
02:54a stark warning from some of her friends about a major red flag in her relationship with Harry.
02:59"[When I first met my now-husband, my friends were really happy because I was so happy.
03:03But my British friends said to me,
03:04I'm sure he's great but you shouldn't do it because the British tabloids will destroy your life."
03:08So why didn't Meghan heed that advice? Well,
03:11part of it was that she just didn't fully understand what they meant. She explained,
03:15"...and I very naively, I'm American, we don't have that there. What are you talking about?
03:21That doesn't make any sense. I'm not in tabloids. I didn't get it."
03:25The interview took place in 2019, shortly after Harry and Meghan got married. The warnings turned
03:30out to be all too true. Since moving to the United States in 2020, life hasn't been ideal
03:35for Harry and Meghan. In addition to reported financial issues and rumors of Harry's unhappiness,
03:40many people in the Los Angeles area reportedly aren't fans of the couple,
03:43and other experts claim that their existing friendships are deteriorating. Without a
03:47support structure in place, the couple may be facing a difficult time all on their own.
03:53Yeah, it's been complicated."
03:55Prince William and Princess Catherine's relationship seems picture-perfect,
03:59but careful royal watchers think there may be some red flags. For example,
04:03William and Catherine rarely show each other affection. When in public,
04:06the two are apt to keep distance between them. Typically, showing a partner affection is
04:10crucial in a relationship as it indicates the other person's commitment. William and Catherine
04:15declining to show affection toward each other could signal that they're not committed to their
04:19marriage. To some, this is simply a matter of royal principle. Body language expert Darren
04:23Stanton told The Sun,
04:25"[Kate and William play a very important role in the royal family now as the prince and princess
04:29of Wales. As they are next in line to the throne and are preparing to become king and queen
04:33themselves one day, they use and follow the traditional royal protocols of the late queen."
04:38While that certainly could be the case, it's also important to note that King Charles and
04:41Camilla, queen consort, have no problem showing affection in public, and they didn't while Queen
04:46Elizabeth was still alive. William and Kate's stance on PDA could simply be a choice as
04:50representatives of the crown, or it could be an issue that goes deeper.
04:54One reason some people view the lack of public affection between Prince William and Princess
04:58Catherine as a potential red flag is long-standing rumors of infidelity in their marriage.
05:03Specifically, Prince William has been accused of being unfaithful to his wife with a woman in
05:08their circle of friends, namely Rose Hanbury. William and Hanbury, of course, have unequivocally
05:13denied these claims. Hanbury even threatened legal action against late-night talk show host
05:18Stephen Colbert after he joked about it.
05:20"'Ha ha! Imagine me having an affair and is to laugh!'
05:25Still, the rumors continue to persist despite no evidence that they are true.
05:30Some royal watchers believe it's simply the media perpetuating the rumors for their own benefit,
05:34while another wild theory suggests the constant barrage of rumors is a
05:38soft launch to prepare people for the idea that Prince William might eventually leave
05:43Princess Catherine for Hanbury. Whatever the truth may be, the rumors by themselves
05:47add enormous strain to William and Catherine's marriage. Media firestorms are hard to weather,
05:51even for people such as the royals who've had significant training for such instances.
05:55And if William has in fact been unfaithful to Catherine, well, that's the biggest red flag of
06:00all, as most modern royal divorces have happened as a result of infidelity, including William's
06:05own parents. These rumors aren't the first time Prince William and Princess Catherine's
06:09relationship has been in trouble. In fact, while they were still dating, William dumped her.
06:14According to Catherine, the Princess of Wales by Robert Jobson,
06:17Prince William broke up with Princess Catherine over the phone a few years into their relationship.
06:22William told Catherine they both needed a bit of space to find our own way,
06:26and he was unable to promise her marriage. In an emotionally charged 30-minute conversation,
06:30they both acknowledged they were on different pages.
06:33While past breakups aren't necessarily an indicator that a relationship is going to fail,
06:38it can signal trouble for the future, and the palace seems to be well aware of this.
06:42After they got back together and got engaged,
06:44the couple sat down for an interview and both addressed the breakup.
06:47We were both very young, it was at university, and we were,
06:50we were sort of both refining ourselves as such."
06:53Catherine added some more personal context, saying,
06:56"[I, at the time, wasn't very happy about it, but actually it made me a stronger person.
07:00You find out things about yourself that maybe you hadn't realized. I think you can get quite
07:03consumed by a relationship when you're younger, and I really valued that time for me as well."
07:08Time will tell whether their past breakup signals a legitimate concern for their relationship or not.
07:13Marrying into the royal family clearly comes with major challenges.
07:17Princess Diana struggled in her role as a royal, as did Meghan Markle. And Mike Tindall,
07:22Zara Tindall's husband, has shared that he found aspects of his relationship to be difficult, too.
07:26On an episode of the series Grand Slammers, Mike explained that while many believe those
07:31who marry into the royal family have it made, it's not that simple. Everyone thinks that just
07:35by marrying Zara that means it's all fine and dandy, but that doesn't stop the fact that you
07:39need a job. Mike, a former professional rugby player, added that he struggled after retirement.
07:44"'It's not that easy, you know. You get quite institutionalized into rugby.
07:47It's a way of life and you leave the game and that's not there. Zara would say if she was
07:51honest it was probably a year it took me to figure out what I was, who I was going to be."
07:56Some royal watchers worry that Mike not having a sense of self outside of rugby could be a red
08:00flag for their relationship. Still, considering they were married in 2011, things seem to have
08:05gone well so far. Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank have
08:09been married since 2018, and Jack has been hailed as a great husband and father. However,
08:14in 2021, his reputation was put at stake after being photographed next to a topless woman while
08:19on a boat in Italy. An insider told OK! that Eugenie was not pleased. She was mortified,
08:24to say the least. The fact that he'd even put himself in a position where his reputation is
08:28on the line is beyond the pale, as far as she's concerned. Eugenie is not impressed.
08:32Not only was Eugenie reportedly upset with her husband, but the incident was interpreted by the
08:37public as a possible sign of an affair. While the woman who was topless has publicly apologized
08:42and claims nothing untoward happened between her and Jack, the incident raises red flags.
08:46It could signal a difference in values between Jack and Eugenie,
08:49which has been cited as a top reason for divorce. The two seemingly worked through the issues
08:54considering they're still together, but if something similar were to happen between
08:57Jack and Eugenie again, it could have a different outcome.
09:00Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli-Mozzi keep most of the details of their personal
09:05life to themselves, but certain aspects they've shared in the past have raised some red flags.
09:09In 2024, Edoardo opened up about his work life in an interview with The Financial Times.
09:14Edoardo is the founder and CEO of Banda Property, an interior design firm. He revealed that he's,
09:20"...always on a train to the next work function and thus is seemingly
09:24unable to spend much time at home. There's so much creative talent in the UK.
09:27We can recruit that here and then work globally. No one asks,
09:30where's your local office anymore?"
09:32While plenty of couples can make long-distance and semi-long-distance relationships work,
09:36there are also many who can't. Quality time in a relationship is vital to strengthening
09:40emotional bonds, improving communication and intimacy, and building trust, among other things.
09:45If Edoardo and Beatrice aren't able to spend much time together because of his career,
09:49it's important that they take advantage of the time they do have.