The Real Deal of Working with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Revealed: The Ups and Downs of Collaborating with the California Couple – from Unconventional Ideas to Controversial Behavior

Working alongside Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has been a subject of discussion lately with some individuals suggesting that dealing with the Duchess was so challenging that it led others to seek therapy.

The couple has engaged in various projects over the years, including Harry’s candid memoir Spare, Meghan’s podcast Archetypes, and their controversial Netflix series Harry & Meghan.

While some sources indicate that the couple had promising ideas that were ultimately shelved due to feasibility issues, others argue that they encountered difficulties in generating meaningful concepts, as detailed in a report by the esteemed US publication Vanity Fair.

When brainstorming podcast ideas for their signing with Spotify, the Duke reportedly wanted to host a series where he interviewed powerful men with complicated stories – such as Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump – Bloomberg first revealed. 

Harry took a particular interest in how these men’s personal experiences transformed them into sociopaths, a source who worked closely with the couple on audio projects recalled. 

He even questioned why he himself ‘didn’t’ follow in the footsteps of such figures, allegedly telling a source: ‘I have very bad childhood trauma. Obviously. My mother was essentially murdered. What is it about me that didn’t make me one of these bad guys?’ 

Eventually, nearly two years after the couple’s deal signing with Spotify, Meghan premiered her podcast Archetypes – aimed at empowering women by breaking down gender stereotypes. 

The ‘archetypes’ discussed included ‘diva’, which saw the Duchess chat with superstar Mariah Carey, and ‘bimbo’ with Paris Hilton and Iliza Shlesinger.

The podcast debuted on August 23, 2022, before Spotify and Archewell Audio released a statement confirming they had mutually agreed to part ways in June 2023.

Two sources told Vanity Fair that a colleague with ties to Archetypes took a leave of absence after working on three episodes, before leaving Gimlet altogether.  

Meanwhile, several others claimed of taking lengthy breaks from work to escape scrutiny, leaving completely, or undergoing long-term therapy after working with Meghan. 

A person who knew her professionally reportedly claimed: ‘I think if Meghan acknowledged her own shortcomings or personal contributions to situations rather than staying trapped in a victim narrative, her perception might be better.’ 

Additionally, an individual who worked in media projects read claims of Meghan ‘bullying’ palace aides and said they could not imagine such behaviour really happened.

However, after working with the Duchess, the person allegedly changed their mind, thinking: ‘Oh, any given Tuesday this happened.’

A person who interacted with her through work reportedly said: ‘You can be yelled at even if somebody doesn’t raise their voice.’ 

It came as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s neighbours slammed the duo as the ‘most entitled, disingenuous people on the planet’.

In a series of cutting remarks, wealthy homeowners living in star-studded Montecito near the couple’s $29million mansion criticised Harry and Meghan for turning their once-peaceful neighbourhood into a noisy throng of tourists and fast cars.

Living in a luxury pad they bought from an oligarch, Meghan and Harry have become ‘local villains’ in the fancy California suburb.  

One fuming local said: ‘They moved away from England to get away from the scrutiny of the press and all they do is try and get in the press in the United States.’

The Sussexes have been mired in a series of controversies since they ditched their lives as working royals for a life of luxury in America.

A Spotify executive called the pair ‘f***ing grifters’ after their deal with the streaming platform ended and more recently Meghan’s Netflix cookery show has been hit with allegations she copied other chefs’ recipes.

Just like his wife, Harry has courted controversy in the five years since Megxit. 

After claiming in his memoir Spare that he took cocaine, marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms as a younger man, President-Elect Donald Trump even hinted he could deport Harry if he is found to have lied on his visa application about taking drugs.

In a bombshell article from Vanity Fair, the couple have seen the lid lifted on their glamorous life – with former colleagues and neighbours lining up to vent their fury at the pair.

A source who worked closely with Harry and Meghan said: ‘I can picture him meeting Meghan and being just a deep breath of, like, ‘I’ve been so exhausted, and you make everything so easy’.

‘I don’t want to be like, oh, it’s an Oedipus thing or whatever, but it kind of feels like she’s reparenting him in a way.’ 

Harry once wondered why he didn’t turn into a ‘bad guy’ such as Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump after his ‘mother was essentially murdered’, a person who worked with him and Meghan has claimed. 

During the couple’s signing to Spotify, the Duke reportedly wanted to host a podcast series where he interviewed powerful men with complicated stories, Bloomberg reported. 

Harry took a particular interest in how these men’s personal experiences transformed them into sociopaths, a source who worked closely with the couple on audio projects recalled. 

According to the source, Harry said: ‘I have very bad childhood trauma. Obviously. My mother was essentially murdered. What is it about me that didn’t make me one of these bad guys?’

Eventually, nearly two years after the couple’s deal signing with Spotify, Meghan premiered her podcast Archetypes – aimed at empowering women by breaking down gender stereotypes. 

The ‘archetypes’ discussed included ‘diva’, which saw the Duchess chat with superstar Mariah Carey, and ‘bimbo’ with Paris Hilton and Iliza Shlesinger.   

The podcast debuted on August 23, 2022, before Spotify and Archewell Audio released a statement confirming they had mutually agreed to part ways in June 2023. 

An individual who worked in media projects read claims of Meghan ‘bullying’ palace aids and said they could not imagine such behaviour really happened. 

However, after working with the Duchess, the person allegedly changed their mind, thinking: ‘Oh, any given Tuesday this happened.’ 

A person who interacted with her professionally reportedly said: ‘You can be yelled at even if somebody doesn’t raise their voice. 

‘[It’s] funny that people don’t differentiate between the energy of being yelled at and literally somebody screaming at you.’

One source who worked with them claimed the couple had the idea to do a podcast ‘because they knew celebrities did them’, however when it came to it, the source added, ‘didn’t do what celebrities do on podcasts, which is turn on the mic and talk. They wanted a big theme that would explain the world, but they had no ideas.’

Meanwhile, a person who interviewed for a job with the couple said: ‘I just felt like he kind of didn’t want to be there doing that at this time…. My expectation was ‘charming receiving line’. And it was clear he wasn’t that person. At least that day.’

A source mentioned how there was an expectation Meghan would tap into her network of celebrities to get them to come to the podcast.

The employee said they heard tumours that Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Megan Thee Stallion were asked to come on the show but declined.

When it came to the episodes, it was claimed that Meghan would agree to ideas and then walk back on them.

They claimed: ‘Every episode got more and more watered down and further away from actual conversation.’

The relationship between Meghan and employees was an issue.

The magazine reported a worker with ties to Archetypes took a leave of absence after working on three episodes before leaving. 

Meanwhile, some are even described to have taken extended breaks from work to have long-term therapy after working with Meghan.

One source said: ‘I think if Meghan acknowledged her own shortcomings or personal contributions to situations rather than staying trapped in a victim narrative, her perception might be better.’ 

MailOnline has contacted the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for comment. 

Harry and Meghan were on the cusp of evacuation last week as the apocalyptic fires ravaged Los Angeles and headed towards their Montecito mansion.

Montecito was placed under a red flag warning as strong Santa Ana winds – branded the Devil Winds – fueled ‘explosive fire growth’ and brought an increased threat of more blazes across the greater LA region.

Montecito Fire warned that the strong winds could cause fires to ‘grow rapidly’ and ‘behave erratically’, and told residents to be ‘ready to evacuate’.

Meghan and Harry rallied around LA fire victims by making donations to relief efforts through their Archewell Foundation and over the weekend served meals to survivors alongside the wife of embattled Governor Gavin Newsom. 

However, not everyone was impressed by their appearance with Family Ties star Bateman writing online: ‘Meghan Markle and Harry are no better than ambulance chasers.

‘What a repulsive ‘photo op’ they achieved. They are ‘touring the damage’? Are they politicians now?

‘They don’t live here; they are tourists. Disaster Tourists.’

This came just days after they opened the doors of their mansion to friends and loved ones forced to evacuate due to the ongoing fires in California.

They also urged others to do the same as the blaze continued to tear through the West Coast city.

‘If a friend, loved one or pet has to evacuate and you are able to offer them a safe haven in your home, please do. And be sure to check in with any disabled or elderly neighbors to see if they need help evacuating,’ the couple urged.

‘Please consider donating clothing, children’s toys and clothing, and other essentials,’ they said, noting the American Red Cross is on the ground helping those in need.

The Duchess of Sussex decided to postpone the release of her Netflix cookery show With Love, Meghan, because of the destruction brought about by the fires – a decision that was praised by her fans.

However, this led to some wry remarks from those connected to the Royal Family, Richard Eden disclosed.

One friend of the royals pointed out to me this week that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex allowed their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey to be broadcast in 2021 even though Prince Philip was seriously ill in hospital. Prince Harry’s grandfather died four weeks later.

‘Meghan seemingly didn’t think twice about going ahead with the Oprah interview, did she?’ commented the royal source.

Some courtiers are even wondering whether the postponement of her cookery programme is a commercial one.

‘Would people really want to watch a glossy TV show about someone’s luxury lifestyle when thousands of Americans have seen their homes and lives destroyed?’ one figure with connections to the royals asked me this week.

It’s questionable whether the delay until March will make much difference to the appetite for such a programme. There will still be thousands of people homeless in three months’ time.

And the Oprah interview wasn’t the only project that the Sussexes knew would hurt Harry’s family but went ahead with anyway.

They recorded their Netflix ‘docu-series’, or reality show, Harry & Meghan in 2022, when Queen Elizabeth was in rapidly declining health.

That six-part programme, broadcast in December – two months after the queen’s death – worsened relations with the royals by accusing them of ‘leaking’ and ‘planting’ stories in the media. Some even felt Meghan demonstrating the extravagant curtsy she had performed for the late Queen had the effect of mocking her. The Queen had died two months before it was broadcast.