They appeared hand in hand, in the snow of Whistler.
For Valentine's Day, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry went to the Canadian slopes, for the One Year to Go event, intended to celebrate the upcoming return of the Invictus Games – a competition dedicated to soldiers and ill or injured veterans.
Since then, photos of the couple, happy and in love, have gone around the web.
We even came across a video of Meghan Markle laughing out loud, while taking photos of her husband.
Like nothing ever happened.
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Bye bye Archewell
Lately, the Sussexes have left us, it must be said, a bit perplexed.
We said to ourselves that after the media whirlwind around The
Substitute -
Prince Harry's memoirs, released in January 2023 -, their Netflix documentary and the consummate break with Spotify, the couple would perhaps keep a low profile.
Besides, he probably wanted to be discreet when he changed the name of his website
.
Bye bye
Archewell, the name of their foundation – hello Sussex.com.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle should know this: controversy always awaits them.
Also read: Harry and Meghan have quietly launched a new website (and that's already causing problems)
The same week, it became known in the tabloids that the couple had changed the surname of their children - “Mountbatten-Windsor” became “Sussex”.
For our part, we are having a little trouble keeping up.
After all, didn't the Duke and Duchess intend to distance themselves from the royal family?
And if that was the case, why did Archie and Lilibet inherit the titles of prince and princess, and the name Sussex?
We no longer know which saint to turn to.
“God Save the King”
Should we really be so surprised?
Among the Sussexes, one controversy hides another.
Even the couple's arrival, all smiles on the snowy slopes of Whistler, earned them a cold reception from a crowd chanting "
God Save
the King".
Message received.
But here it is: unlike us, who religiously follow the developments of these media storms, the Sussexes seem curiously indifferent.
And we can't help but wonder: does the couple really care?
Or is he having fun keeping his true intentions vague?
We had barely questioned the Sussexes' silence when they released a terse press release, in response to an article in the
Telegraph
.
According to the journalist author of the latter, the visit of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Canada will indeed have to “prove that they know how to behave well” during their public appearances, if they hope to “save their relationship with the royal family”.
“They always work and do what they believe in (...), retorts the Sussex spokesperson in the
Mirror
.
This couple will not be broken.”
Atmosphere.
A half-hour visit
No matter how much we try to understand where they are coming from, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have definitely mastered the art of confusing the (ski) trails.
One day the press highlights their radio silence during the respective hospitalizations of King Charles III and Kate Middleton - the next, it indicates that they sent their wishes for a speedy recovery to the sovereign and the Princess of Wales.
When we imagine Prince Harry angry for life with his father, the Duke of Sussex rushes alone to his bedside, shortly after the announcement of the king's cancer.
And we are already dreaming of a father-son reconciliation.
The only downside is that the Duke of Sussex's visit will be short - no more than half an hour, British media reveal.
Two days later, there he was on stage to present an award to an American football player, during the NFL Honors ceremony.
Prince Harry's speech, punctuated with jokes, is completely devoid of reference to his father.
In short, we no longer understand anything.
Meghan Markle's memoir
And what can we say about Meghan Markle, who was absent during this visit to England, and whose projects seem just as nebulous to us?
Despite rumors of divorce from Prince Harry, she multiplies the radiant appearances at his side.
As for his plans for reconciliation with the Windsors, they prove to be just as foggy.
According to Express
UK
, she is also preparing to release her explosive memoirs.
The Duchess of Sussex would nevertheless have requested a tête-à-tête with Charles III, at the end of 2023, in order to warn him of her intentions.
She would also have “contacted Kate and Charles”, with the aim of initiating a “reconciliation”.
Difficult, in such circumstances, to disentangle the true from the false.
Especially since Meghan Markle also plays with the nerves of her fans.
And the Duchess may have signed a contract with the Hollywood agency WME, but she has still not made her return to our screens.
If we are to believe the
Express
UK
, the former actress would have been offered a golden contract to officiate in the new season of
Suits.
However, the
Daily Mail
points out that she will probably decline this offer.
Lady Diana's watch
Does Meghan Markle really have money problems, as some tabloids claim?
If so, is she (too) selective in her career choices?
If not, is she content to maintain the mystery?
Certainly, the Duchess of Sussex broke her contract with Spotify in June 2023, after having only produced a series of podcasts.
But we discover that, far from being discouraged, she is continuing her collaboration with Netflix and is preparing to launch a new podcast.
An announcement embellished with an official portrait, on which she displays... Lady Diana's old watch.
Neither one nor two, some accuse him of “projecting his royal status” for all to see – or, worse yet, of capitalizing on it.
Tribute to the missing princess or snub to the royal family?
Nobody knows.
Meghan Markle's attitude really plunges us into incomprehension.
Especially since in 2020, in the light of “Megxit”, the Sussexes seemed impatient to start a new life away from the cameras.
Since then, the Duke and Duchess have, admittedly, been rather rare on screen.
But we say to ourselves that we have not yet finished hearing about the most rebellious of princely couples, inclined to distil information to us in dribs and drabs.
Without worrying about breaking the camel's back.