Royalist

Why Harry and Meghan Are ‘Wildly Unhappy’: Journalist

NEW COUNTRY, SAME PROBLEM

A change of scenery will not be enough to make the couple happy, says a top royal expert.

A top royal insider has blown the lid off why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are “wildly unhappy.”

Dan Wakeford, a cultural commentator and founder of the Celebrity Intelligence newsletter, tells The Royalist’s Tom Sykes that the Sussexes were miserable living in California and that their conflicting passions complicate their relationship.

“The ‘wildly unhappy’ came not from within their relationship in their life right now,” the former People and Us Weekly editor-in-chief said, referring to an article published in Celebrity Intelligence in April. “It was their life in America they were wildly unhappy about.”

He continued, “They were wildly unhappy with how things had gone, and they hadn’t gone how they expected. I don’t think they could find—think of a way out of that. And so it’s very interesting.”

prince harry meghan markle
Wakeford said on ‘The Royalist’ that Meghan is “trained to try and play a part and do it perfectly rather than be herself.” Jayne Kamin-Oncea/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Wakeford said the couple’s move back to the United Kingdom has helped to make Harry happier, but he does not believe it has done the same for the Los Angeles-native Meghan.

“The problem with this couple is you have two people with completely different goals in life and geographical, like, homes,” he explained.

Wakeford said that, according to his sources and other reporting, the two are “very much in love,” but they butt heads over what makes them truly happy.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have returned to the United Kingdom after living in Southern California for six years.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have returned to the United Kingdom after living in Southern California for six years. Kirby Lee/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“They’re not on the same page with where they’re going in life, whether that’s living in England or living in America, whether that is philanthropy or a glamorous Hollywood lifestyle brand,” he said. “And so doing that as a couple—they oppose each other, really, of what to their core, makes them happy and their reasons for being.”

Sykes noted that relationships, even between two people who are “very much in love,” can falter when their goals are not aligned.

“I think we’ve all seen plenty of people who are madly in love and carried away with the whole thing who can’t make it work as a relationship, because the relationship is a very different kind of thing,” Sykes said.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle meet members of the British public at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland on February 13, 2018.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle meet members of the British public at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland on February 13, 2018. POOL/REUTERS

Wakeford agreed, saying their different goals make it hard for them to be happy and “power forward and be on the same page.”

“I mean, from the moment Meghan entered into the royal family, it was obvious that she was naive to the understanding of the structure and what was expected from the royal family and felt that she could change that,” he said. “And that was incredibly frustrating for her.”

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 17: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex meets volunteer first responders from Bondi Surf Bathers' Life Saving Club, during a visit to Bondi Beach, on day four of the royal trip to Australia on April 17, 2026 in Sydney, Australia. Volunteers from the organisation, founded in 1907, played an integral role in protecting beachgoers and saving lives during the terrorist attack at Bondi Beach on December 14. (Photo by Jonathan Brady-Pool/Getty Images)
Wakeford said Meghan was frustrated by not being able to change the royal family's traditions. Pool/Getty Images

“Obviously it’s easier for her now that she’s not in the royal family,” Wakeford continued, “but to me, I don’t see their goals and their aspirations and what gives them their reasons to live individually don’t necessarily marry together, to result in a happy and easy life.”

The Sussexes did not respond to a request for comment.

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