Fame-hungry Meghan Markle using Prince Harry for money, title, says Graydon Carter

One of the world’s top magazine editors has blasted Meghan Markle, claiming her marriage to Prince Harry won’t last the distance.

One of the world’s most famous magazine editors has blasted Meghan Markle, claiming she has used her marriage to Prince Harry to get “money, notoriety and a title”.

Former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter said he believed the pair’s marriage would last merely “years rather than decades”.

The founder and co-editor of Air Mail, told The Sunday Times: “I would measure the duration of the marriage in years rather than decades.

“I think she has run rings around poor Harry and gotten what she wanted: notoriety, money, and a title. His usefulness to her diminishes daily.”

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle before they left the UK for California. Picture: Getty Images

Carter said that he did not think Meghan would return to acting but did say: “If there is a Real Housewives of Montecito show in the works, she’d be a shoo-in.”

It came as the jetsetting Sussexes made a surprise appearance at a Katy Perry concert in Las Vegas to the delight of a cheering crowd.

Former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter says he gives the pair’s marriage years, rather than decades. Picture: AFP

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were spotted taking a private plane to Las Vegas with Hollywood star Cameron Diaz, her husband Benji Madden and actor Zoe Saldana as they enjoyed a child-free night out, the Mail Online reported.

It’s the latest of a number of outings by the royal couple after flying under the radar for sometime, including a Beyonce concert and a quick trip to the Bahamas.

The Sussexes were among several celebrities spotted at Perry’s Play concert at the Resorts World Theatre, including Celine Dion who attended with her twin sons Eddy and Nelson.

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle @katyperry show @ResortsWorldLV … #[e-mail]/ppyHwCE0dI

— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) November 5, 2023

The Sussexes arrived separately from Dion, who has been dealing with a debilitating disease called stiff-person syndrome.

The veteran singer has been dealing with painful muscle spasms meaning she has had to cancel her own concerts and limit public appearances.

Perry’s performance was her final show in a larger than life month-long residency.

As the Duke and Duchess entered the stadium fans went wild, taking videos with their phones.

Celine Dion, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are attending @katyperry’s “Play” residency in Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/gT47FpgfuP

— Katy Perry Activity 🦋 (@KatyActivity) November 5, 2023

The royals were later seen near Dion but it’s unclear if they interacted.

The My Heart Will Go On singer was seen last week at a hockey game between the Vegas Golden Knights and her hometown team Montreal Canadians, suggesting that she may be overcoming her health battles.

According to Hello! magazine, the royal couple were on a double date with friends Misha Nonoo and Mike Hess and were seen talking to Perry’s father.

Also in the audience was Perry’s partner, actor Orlando Bloom, and their three-year-old daughter Daisy.

The royals surprise appearance comes as The Times noted the Duchess in particular had dialled back on her public and media appearances lately as she possibly considered a ‘rebranding’.

THE DISAPPEARING DUCHESS

There have been no big controversies, career or house moves. It’s all gone strangely quiet.

Meghan’s last proper trip to Britain was last September, days before Queen Elizabeth died. She dodged her father-in-law’s coronation this May – the Duke of Sussex cut a lonely figure in the third row – and when she flew to Germany for the Invictus Games this September she spent only 90 minutes on British soil as a stopover. She played her part at the Invictus Games beautifully, dishing out medals, hugs and handshakes, but generally 2023 has been an underwhelming vintage.

Meghan, 42, is looking after her young children, Archie, 4, and Lilibet, 2.

During a speech at a low-key event in New York last month, she told the crowd: “Being a mum is the most important thing in my entire life” before gesturing to her husband and adding: “Outside of my marriage to this one.”

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s home in Montecito, in Santa Barbara, California. Picture: Supplied

The family has spent large swathes of this year bunkered down in their 7.4-acre, nine-bedroom, 16-bathroom estate in Montecito, just down the Californian coast from Santa Barbara.

Last Tuesday afternoon, all four Sussexes were out taking part in Montecito’s Halloween parade.

“You get literally hundreds and hundreds of kids in costumes so I’m sure that Harry and Meghan felt that was a safe place to be. Obviously with their bodyguards with guns in tow which is not very Montecito,” says Richard Mineards, a British journalist who lives down the road from the Sussexes. “It’s the ideal time to take the kids out so they wouldn’t be recognised.”

The couple also appeared at a recent charity fundraiser held at Kevin Costner’s ocean-side mansion, along with Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey.

Image tweeted by Samantha Markle, the half-sister of Meghan Markle, showing Samantha and Meghan (far left and far right). Picture: Supplied

On Wednesday, Samantha Markle will be back in court in Florida launching a last-ditch attempt to sue her younger sibling for comments Meghan made in the Netflix documentary and in the Winfrey interview in March 2021. In the unlikely event Samantha succeeds, Meghan could be hauled to court, forced to testify and release private messages and emails. Samantha insists that she and her younger sibling were close growing up; Meghan has said that she grew up as an only child who longed for siblings.

“Meghan continues to participate in and perpetuate the lies around her family and upbringing,” read the court filing.

For months, there’s been rumours about a Meghan 2.0 relaunch.

“She’s going through a major rebrand right now,” says Stacy Jones, founder of the LA-based marketing agency Hollywood Branded.

“The narrative has really circulated more around the victimisation. It’s circled around race. It’s circled around ‘poor Meghan Markle and Harry’, and that’s not a platform you can build a brand on.”

The timing for reinvention makes sense. In June, the couple were ditched from their Spotify contract, after producing only 12 episodes of Meghan’s widely panned Archetypes podcast.

“Just because you’re famous doesn’t make you great at something,” said Jeremy Zimmer, the United Talent Agency chief executive, at the time. Bill Simmons, a top Spotify executive, was more brutal: “’The f***ing grifters.’ That’s the podcast we should have launched with them’.”

In July, Rolling Stone magazine ran a piece headlined: “Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are in their flop era.”

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games in September. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation

Speculation that Meghan was about to sign a deal with Amazon’s Audible, the home of Barack and Michelle Obama’s audio content, was shut down last week with Audible dismissing the reports.

This month, there will be renewed interest in the never-ending royal saga thanks to the release of the sixth and final series of The Crown, as well as the publication of Omid Scobie’s new book, Endgame.

However, there is some speculation that Meghan will end up focusing on her own memoir, according to Tom Bower. A spokesman for the duchess denied she was working on a memoir.

It’s unrealistic that Meghan will lie low for much longer. In April, she signed up with talent agency William Morris Endeavor (WME), where she works with heavyweight agent Ari Emanuel.

“Harry and Meghan’s mistake was creating too much content too soon, sharing too much and completely destroying the romantic mystery that surrounds the idea of real royalty,” says Kinsey Schofield, an LA-based royal commentator.

Whatever her workload, there’s time for play: Beyonce concerts, Lakers basketball games and nights out with Cameron Diaz. There was a recent holiday to Canouan, the Caribbean island renowned for saving billionaires from rubbing shoulders with millionaires.

But Hollywood experts such as Jones believe that, when it comes to Meghan’s big rebrand, time is of the essence: “She’s been given this massive opportunity, but she’s not really seizing it.”