Battle between Prince William and Meghan Markle erupts

The Prince of Wales has been left absolutely fuming by the Duchess of Sussex as she ramps up her publicity push.

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Lindsay Lohan and low slung jeans are back. The world really is cyclical; it’s official, there really are no new ideas.

It is therefore particularly fitting that the royal family, them what with the palaces, and the breakaway House of Sussex, long having departed the greyest of isles for pastures commercial and their own kale patch, are back doing what at what they couldn’t stop for a few years there – feuding.

Two HRHs have been having at it and things could very well escalate dangerously.

On one hand we have Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex who is busy combining her growing lifestyle business of serving the woefully under served herbal tea market while dialling up the personal promo meter, clocking up public appearances and seemingly reneging on the deal she and husband Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex made with the late Queen.

And on the other we have a “enraged” Prince William who is reportedly preparing to come down like a tonne of National Trust protected Regency bricks on the duchess and husband Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex when he becomes King.

MORE: Prince Williams’ dodgy $1.5b property empire revealed

To the battle lines then.

Her TV show, With Love Meghan, might have aired and her As Ever food range might have sold like the proverbial but the duchess’ publicity roll shows no sign of slowing down.

She invited a journalist from The New York Times into her real kitchen for the first time (and not her rented Netflix one), flown to New York to speak at the TIME100 Summit and did her first solo podcast interview, with Montecito neighbour and friend, It Cosmetics founder, Jamie Kern Lima.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, speaks onstage during the 2025 TIME100 Summit at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 23, 2025. Picture: Jemal Countess/Getty Images for TIME

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Headlines? Oh she made ‘em, ranging from the ‘awww’ – like saying that she and Harry were in their “honeymoon period” and that she emails her children Prince Archie and Princess Lili near daily photos and sweet memories – to the ‘ohhhhh’, if not the downright ‘uh ohhhh’.

(It’s also worth noting that the Kern Lima podcast just happened to come out the day before William and Kate, The Princess of Wales’ wedding anniversary and them travelling to Scotland, their first bigger sort of event in a while.)

However, the real clanger came when it was revealed that Meghan had sent Kern Lima a gift basket featuring “homemade strawberry sauce” (err, runny jam?) with a note reading: “With the Compliments of HRH The Duchess of Sussex.”

As people playing along at home will know, the Sussexes agreed they would no longer publicly use their stylings as His/Her Royal Highnesses.

Meghan Markle appears on the Jamie Kern Lima podcast show.

It was revealed that Meghan had sent Kern Lima a gift basket featuring “homemade strawberry sauce”.

It’s the second time in nearly as many weeks that Meghan has done so, posting an Instagram story showing a message from the deputy president of the Ukraine addressed to “Your Royal Highness”.

There were other moments of late that Crown Inc, reportedly, will not have failed to notice.

Take when the duchess confirmed to Kern Lima she would write a book – one day at least, saying “I think people are often curious if I’m going to write a memoir, but I’ve got a lot more life to live before I’m there.” Translation – not a no.

According to The Daily Beast’s Tom Sykes, such an “open-ended statement is likely to send eyes rolling at Buckingham Palace”.

There was what could be read as something of a jab at her royal experience, describing the beginning of her relationship with Harry as having been thrown into “the trenches together.”

All of these revelations made news, as did Harry’s return to London in April as he continues to battle the UK government – of which King Charles is official Head – over the 2020 decision to revoke the couple’s automatic right to full-time police protection.

Meghan described the beginning of her relationship with Harry as having been thrown into “the trenches together”. Picture: Kirsty O'Connor/POOL/AFP

It was his at least fourth trip back to London where he has not seen His Majesty, his father previously reported to have been too busy to see his son.

For both the duke and duchesses, it appears that old wounds are far from healed.

But that’s something, ironically, they share with William where back in the Home Counties an “enraged” Prince of Wales has been having what sounds like a minor case of apoplexy over Meghan’s deployment of her HRH.

A William friend told the Beast: “There is no way King William will stand for this. The [HRH] titles will simply be removed when he is king. A way will be found.”

The [HRH] titles will simply be removed when William is king. Picture: Aaron Chown – WPA Pool/Getty Images

In the face of all of the princely foot stomping, the Sussexes would seem to be standing their ground, with a source in their camp arguing to Sykes that they were abiding by their palace agreement over their HRHs given they were not using them for “commercial purposes”.

(“Complete rubbish,” the courtier said.)

Talk about splitting heirs. (Cheap shot? Maybe.)

On the palace’s handling of the duke and duchess, the King and his eldest son are reportedly split.

“Charles might be happy to put up with this, but William won’t,” a former courtier told Sykes. “He loathes and despises Harry and Meghan with every bone in his body, he believes they have betrayed everything the family stands for and the idea that they are using their royal status as a calling card will enrage him.”

William reportedly loathes and despises Harry and Meghan. Picture: Oli Scarff – WPA Pool/Getty Images

The options available to a King William to trim the Sussexes’ sails would be limited but it is clear he will take a far more hard line stance.

All of which means, in both Windsor and Montecito, both sides appear to be digging in and doubling down. Any chance of a detente appears non-existent.

Two things have come into focus: The Duchess of Sussex is following her own star and is increasingly embracing life as a public figure, interviews included, and doing what she must to build her lifestyle business. Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales is ready to harshly, if not what could be seen as vindictively, pursuing the couple’s remaining royal perks.

If that was the case, it’s hard to see Harry and Meghan taking such a blow lying down. A Meghan book, a follow-up from Harry to Spare, more Oprah? The Sussexes have long since proven they will fight for what they think is right and fair and will speak up, and speak up some more.

So, once more into the feudy breach we go.

In his memoir, Harry wrote about Charles begging he and Wiliam back in 2021, “Please, boys – don’t make my final years a misery”. Chance would be a fine thing.

Daniela Elser is a writer, editor and commentator with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.

Originally published as Battle between Prince William and Meghan Markle erupts