Harry and Meghan’s regrets after moving to the US laid bare in Omid Scobie’s Endgame

“Incredibly draining”: Despite appearances, Harry and Meghan had some regrets not long after relocating to the US, an explosive new book claims.

Despite glossy appearances, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle found their first two years out of the royal bubble and on their own in California “scary” and “stressful”, a new royal book has claimed.

Omid Scobie’s Endgame, released today, sheds new light on how the Duke and Duchess of Sussex navigated their “incredibly draining” Hollywood debut in early 2020, which came just as the Covid pandemic gripped the world.

Just months after “stepping back” from official duties and relocating to Montecito, where they needed to quickly establish their own incomes, Harry and Meghan signed a series of high-profile, lucrative commercial deals with media companies including Netflix and Spotify.

Meghan and Harry’s post-royal lives have been examined in a new book. Picture: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

But according to Scobie, celebrations were short-lived, as they realised fairly soon that they may have been a bit naive.

“The rush to sign commercial deals after the royal institution cut them off from all funding and security in 2020 led them to sign some lucrative deals they might have thought twice about had they not been under so much financial pressure,” he wrote, adding that “neither of them expected executives to turn down so many of their ideas”.

Scobie also quoted a Spotify source as explaining that the streaming giant was only keen on paying for “juicy” content “that could generate major headlines and bring in subscriptions”.

Their Netfix docu-series, Harry & Meghan, was a ratings hit. Picture: Netflix

Harry and Meghan’s reported $30 million Spotify deal was cut short earlier this year, and it’s understood they received only a portion of that sum.

While their $100 million-plus Netflix deal and Harry’s multimillion-dollar book deal remain intact, their only ventures that have proven commercially successful are those in which they lift the lid on royal family drama.

“For a couple who hoped to carve out their new US lives as global philanthropists, the soap opera-style narrative that followed them everywhere certainly wasn’t the plan,” Scobie claimed in his book.

He also pointed out the failures of Harry and Meghan’s post-royal, three-piece company, Archewell, in a rare moment of criticism toward the couple.

Scobie pointed out that its not yet really gotten off the ground, as “the true purpose and mission of the foundation is still unclear”, two and a half years on from its launch.

While the pandemic is cited as a factor, the author also blamed a “mix of rushed decisions and hires” leaving early PR efforts “far from polished”.

Several of their early commercial projects faltered. Picture: X

During an interview with Stellar’s Something To Talk About podcast ahead of the book’s release, Scobie also addressed persistent rumours surrounding the state of Harry and Meghan’s marriage.

“I kind of love those stories, because they’re so obvious,” he told host Sarrah Le Marquand.

“In terms of like the agenda behind them – I think the one thing that a lot of people wanted to see when Harry and Megan left the UK was that they would trip up and fail, and instead they’ve done a pretty good job.”

Scobie explained that contrary to reports that their marriage was on the rocks, he’d heard from all of his sources that they “continue to be happy and in a good place”.

“Trust me, if I’d heard otherwise, I would want to add something in the book, so I could be the journalist who was on top of the story. But I haven’t come across anything to suggest otherwise.”

Scobie also directly rubbished the report about Harry staying at a hotel near the couple’s home because, as the reports claimed, “he was so unhappy at home”, pointing out that “that wouldn’t be the case, because [he and Meghan] have a huge guesthouse at the end of their estate”.

“I’m sure he’d happily be able to stay in it if that really was the case, so as not to attract attention,” he said.