For the past two years, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, landed titles they would gladly reject.
The pair became the king and queen of the tabloids on at least two continents. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were quite fascinating at the very start — the first biracial person to marry into the British monarchy, a former actress, and an educated woman who spoke her truths no matter the consequences.
However, the media’s craze for the British Prince and the American personality went into overdrive with “Megxit.”
The power couple’s decision to step down from the royal duties and relocate to California led to an almost cult-like following of the pair. The world became captivated by Markle and Prince Harry’s every move and word.
The divide that opened between the Sussexes and the entire Royal Family, including King Charles and Prince William, only added to the fascination.
Prince Harry and Markle had a worldwide audience during Queen Elizabeth‘s Jubilee and her state funeral.
The tell-all memoir, the Netflix docuseries formerly titled Chapters that will air next month, and their appearance at a major awards ceremony have led to tons of headlines.
However, according to a royal expert, the frenzy around Prince Harry and Markle will end sooner than later. King Charles, who is said to be tired of the media circus around the pair, must be delighted to know it will not last forever.
The circus that exists in Hollywood is the same in the Royal Family. At some point, fans and the media are not particularly entertained by the older generation and are more interested in new faces.
There was a time when the media did not care about Prince Harry and Prince William. They were seen as two adorable little boys who their late mother adored. The media was obsessed with Princess Diana.
According to a royal expert, Kristen Meinzer, who spoke to Business Insider: “William and Harry, we paid little attention to them as Diana’s children, but we mostly cared about Diana. It wasn’t until they got older and we started thinking, ‘Oh, Prince Charming,’ that the public interest really started to peak. People could imagine dating them, marrying them, or starting a life with them.”
The paparazzi and other forms of media will start a frenzy over Kate Middleton and Prince William’s children — Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis — and more or less close the Markle and Prince Harry chapters.
Meinzer said: “The tabloids really love raking Meghan over the coals. But their appetite for her may start to go away as William’s children get older, as the next generation of kids come up. So much of the interest in the royals get hyper-focused when they’re teenagers, in their 20s, and in their 30s. It’s much like Hollywood.”
The commentator added: “Maybe the tabloids won’t be so interested in Meghan anymore. We do have, unfortunately, a very specific and ageist appetite for public figures in our world.”
In a past interview, Prince Harry acknowledged that his reign in the media would end when his nephews and niece grow up and become more fascinating than him.
According to The Daily Mail, Valentine Low revealed in his new book: “The Duke of Sussex was fixated on becoming a has-been once his nephew Prince George turned 18. He had a long-held fear that he would be an ‘also-ran.”
It seems that the renegade prince was right.
