Will shock revelations end Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s American dream? Royal experts says claims of duchess’s bullying, staff having therapy and the duke’s loneliness will ‘do enormous damage’ to their US reputation

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s carefully curated image as a picture-perfect Californian couple appears to be in serious jeopardy following explosive new claims about the Duchess of Sussex’s alleged bullying of staff and the couple’s struggles to settle into their new life in the United States.

A damning profile in Vanity Fair has sparked a wave of negative reactions, with royal experts warning that the revelations could destroy the Sussexes’ reputation in America just as they gear up for major projects, including Meghan’s upcoming Netflix series, ‘With Love, Meghan’.

The profile details allegations from former employees of Meghan who reportedly felt mistreated during their time working with her. 

These claims, which echo accusations from her time at Kensington Palace, paint a troubling picture of a woman whose behaviour left staff ‘having therapy’ and led to allegations of ‘bullying’ behind the scenes.

Tom Bower, the royal author and investigative journalist, described the revelations as ‘devastating’ for Meghan, especially given her recent attempts to reshape her public persona as a warm, loving mother and wife. 

‘Having strongly denied the accusations that she bullied her staff in Kensington Palace, the revival of her image of the Difficult Duchess who torments her staff into seeking therapy to alleviate the misery of working for Meghan is a disaster just on the eve of the launch of Netflix‘s ‘With Love, Meghan’.

The series comes as Markle is in process of launching her lifestyle brand, American Riveria Orchard, something she teased last year by sending out packages of her products, like jars of jam, to A-listers Kris Jenner and Chrissy Teigen

Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams weighed in on the new show to DailyMail.com 

‘Having invested so much to re-brand herself as a loving, caring Californian mother and wife, the VF disclosures have poisoned the smiling image of the welcoming home-maker. 

‘Worse for Meghan is the obvious breach of the draconian Non-Disclosure Agreements which all her staff have been forced to sign.

‘Clearly their huge anger overcame any fear that she would seek legal retribution. It’s a bad weekend.’

Prince Harry, too, faces growing scrutiny, with experts noting his portrayal in the Vanity Fair piece as ‘lost, out of his depth, and naive.’ 

Richard Fitzwilliams, a royal commentator, warned that the couple’s reputation in the US could be severely damaged. 

‘Harry is portrayed as lost, out of his depth and naive. Neither, according to the article, appear to understand what a successful career in show business actually involves.’

According to Fitzwilliams, the couple’s attempts to project a caring, philanthropic image through efforts like helping victims of California’s wildfires are unlikely to gain traction in light of the ongoing allegations. 

‘The Sussexes are attempting to project a caring image by helping some of those affected by the cataclysmic wildfires currently ravaging California. They won’t get far after publicity is given to this. 

‘Her With Love, Meghan cookery series is, judging from the trailer, saccharine and silly. This was postponed and is now scheduled for a release on 4th March but unenthusiastic online reaction might make the streaming giant think twice and dump it and, when their contract runs out later in the year, preserve very little of it, if any. 

‘The Sussexes have made so many accusations against the royal family. They, especially Meghan, now have a lot to answer. Nobody likes bullies, especially entitled bullies!’

He continued: ‘It speaks volumes that the Sussexes were not available for interview. This is a probing, balanced article that has been researched with interviews from the Sussexes’s admirers and detractors.

‘It also makes the case that they are now way out of their depth in showbiz. Also they are far from being admired by their neighbours in Montecito. They left Britain to escape press scrutiny. 

‘Yet in the US, they want favourable press. The article concludes there is precious little to them, with Harry wanting to reconnect with his family. I fear whilst he is with Meghan, this is unlikely to occur.’

Meghan Markle’s friends have denied rumours that the Duchess of Sussex was approached about a book deal detailing a potential divorce with Prince Harry 

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have famously worked on many different projects over the years, from Harry’s tell-all memoir Spare to Meghan’s podcast Archetypes

Brand expert Nick Ede also weighed in, noting that these allegations come at a particularly bad time for the Sussexes, as they are still attempting to find their footing in Hollywood. 

‘They don’t seem to be able to do anything right in the eyes of the media but now it seems in the eyes of their neighbours too. 

‘For such a well respected publication to go all out against the couple is bound to have negative effects on their brand and status and all eyes will be on them to see what happens next.

‘Their brand keeps on getting battered and it feels that the tide is turning on them in the US and it’s going to be hard for them to establish themselves properly as part of the Hollywood elite and as darlings of the nation which they obviously wanted.

Ede added that the couple’s dreams of being embraced by Hollywood and establishing themselves as beloved public figures might now seem increasingly unlikely. 

‘With the backlash and accusations of ‘disaster tourism’ and the postponement of her Netflix show through no fault of her own, there isnt much they can do to win favour at the moment.’