Prince Harry, Meghan Markle’s year from hell in a nutshell

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had quite a tumultuous year to say the least. After the duke decided to kick off 2023 with the release of his bombshell memoir Spare, trouble seemed to follow the Sussexes for all the months that followed.

And though their personal life has been on an upheaval ever since, their professional endeavors were a snooze-fest at best and embarrassing at worst.

From being brutally mocked by an American cartoon, major snub from Taylor Swift, and Harry’s NSFW confessions in his autobiography among others, the former royals consistently made headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Here’s a run down of all the scandals that arose pertaining to Harry and Meghan’s embarrassing moments across the year.

1. Prince Harry admits to watching Meghan Markle’s steamy scenes in Suits:

The Duke of Sussex spared no details as he narrated his reaction to watching his wife in action in her hit Netflix show, Suits.

Writing in his memoir released in January, Harry admitted to searching up Meghan’s ‘love scenes’ with her castmate Patrick J. Adams, who played each other’s love interests on the show.

He wrote, "I'd witnessed her and a castmate mauling each other in some sort of office or conference room...It would take electric shock therapy to get those images out of my head. I didn't need to see such things live."

While the scale of Harry's discomfort could be imagined, the former actress would surely have been mortified at the reminder of her ghastly past.

2. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry mocked by South Park:

South Park, American animated sitcom, released an episode titled The Worldwide Privacy Tour in February, which featured relentless attack on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

It centered on a ‘prince of Canada’ and his wife, who relocate to a fictional town in Colorado. The couple is seen carrying "we want our privacy" and "stop looking at us" signs as they traveled to different locations around the world.

While the former royals were not explicitly named, the male character’s ginger hair oddly resembled to that of Harry, and the female character’s pink dress and hat were a close match to Meghan’s outfit at Trooping the Colour in 2018.

3. Kate Middleton blocks Meghan Markle from attending King Charles’ coronation:

As King Charles III ascended to throne alongside Queen Camilla in May, the absence of his youngest daughter-in-law was palpable during the monumental time, especially when the invite sought RSVP from both the duke and duchess.

It was later revealed that it was Kate who refused to have Meghan there “under any circumstances,” spilled royal author Tom Bower in a conversation with GB News.

4. Harry and Meghan evade 'near catastrophic' New York City car chase:

The parents of two, accompanied by Meghan’s mother were returning from Ms. Foundation’s Woman of Vision Awards, when they were allegedly pursued by paparazzi through the streets of New York City in what they believed a ‘near catastrophic’ car chase in May.

However, the couple’s statement on behalf of their spokesperson was shortly debunked by taxi driver Sukhcharn Singh, who picked them up from Ragland outside the 19th precinct in a conversation with The Washington Post.

"I don't think I would call it a chase. I never felt like I was in danger," he claimed. "It wasn't like a car chase in a movie. (Harry and Meghan) were quiet and seemed scared but it's New York - it's safe."

5. Spotify scraps multi-million-dollar deal with Harry and Meghan:

The music platform officially abandoned Harry and Meghan by announcing the unexpected axe of their millions-dollar deal in summer this year.

It came following the release of the former actress’s first season of podcast, Archetypes, which had concluded only months prior.

Though the official joint statement from both parties suggested a mutual end of contract, the streamer exec Bill Simmons’ angry rant against the duke and duchess, in which he dubbed them ‘grifters,’ hinted at anything but a mutual end.

Moreover, royal author Omid Scobie, infamously known as the former royals’ ‘mouthpiece,’ revealed in his book Endgame that the streaming platform turned down many of the Sussexes’ ideas before completely giving up on the deal.

6. Taylor Swift declines an invitation to Archetypes:

Meghan Markle certainly takes pride in her association with A-list stars, a coterie of whom she invited on her Archetypes podcast over the course of twelve episodes.

If Spotify’s deal termination wasn’t enough, reports surfaced in the same month, claiming the Grammy winner declined a ‘personal letter’ from the duchess to appear on her podcast before its scrap.

Hence, it could be presumed that Meghan’s influence could get her any name from Hollywood to sit down with her, it is certainly not enough to rope in one of the biggest pop stars in the world.

7. Meghan Markle's microphone mishap at Kevin Costner's event:

Meghan accompanied Prince Harry at a star-studded fundraiser hosted by actor Kevin Costner in September.

During her brief time onstage, Meghan ended up suffering not one, but two snubs from the host. 

In the first moment caught on camera, the host walked towards her with a microphone, prompting the Deal or No Deal alum to try and grab it.

However, the host did not let go of it and the duchess was forced to release her grasp.

In another instance, Harry directed the host to give the microphone to his wife so she could say a few words; it’s unclear whether the host didn’t understand the royal’s gesture or simply chose to ignore it.

Whatever it may be, it was one of the few moments Meghan would certainly want for to be erased from the internet.

8. Harry and Meghan roasted on Family Guy:

The Sussexes dealt with a rather petty blow in October when American animated satire adult cartoon mocked their non-existent Hollywood career.

In one of the episodes, Harry and Meghan could be seen resting by the pool when a butler brought them a pile of envelopes and said, “Sir, here are your millions from Netflix, for no apparent reason.”

The Spare author covertly dismissed him, asking him to “add it to the others.”

Meghan chimed in to remind her husband of the millions-dollar promotional post they need to do for fast-food chain, Del Taco, a blatant aim at their relegate from a royal to an influencer.

“I should never have thrown around made-up nonsense,” sighed Harry, implying the former royal regrets leaving the royal family in Britain.

9. Meghan Markle asked to 'move along' at Variety’s Power of Women gala:

The former actress exuded every bit of confidence as she walked the black carpet in an elegant beige colored maxi dress at the glitzy LA gala in November.

However, her photo session with the paparazzi was awkwardly interrupted by a woman, who appeared in the frame to try and move her out of the limelight.

For a good few seconds, Meghan seemed unfazed as she continued flashing her best smile for the cameras before the woman defeatingly uttered: “That’s fine.”

Fortunately, the Suits alum noticed the woman and moved out of the way shortly after, leaving a trail of embarrassment behind.

10. ‘Biggest Hollywood Losers of 2023’:

The Hollywood Reporter curated an annual list of the biggest winners and losers of 2023 in entertainment, tactfully adding Harry and Meghan in the latter category.

To support their claim, the publication pointed out the Sussexes’ ‘whiny’ Netflix docu-series, Harry’s autobiographical venture, and Meghan’s ‘inert’ podcast Archetypes, among others.

"Still," they jibed, "all the scorn and mockery beats otherwise having to attend 200-plus official royal family engagements a year, which sounds hellish."

Rest assured, though the year is ending, Harry and Meghan's problems are far from over.

The former royals are still reeling from the blows across 2023 as they continue to tackle aims and jibes propelled by critics with their best smiles.

If it could get any worse, their future in the Royal Family has also been threatened in the wake of Scobie's book venture as members of British Parliament have proposed the revocation of Harry and Meghan’s royal titles, due to their former association with the royal author.