{"id":1267,"date":"2026-06-05T16:37:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T16:37:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1267"},"modified":"2026-06-05T16:37:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T16:37:40","slug":"meghan-markles-business-slump-may-explain-pressure-on-harry-to-get-a-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1267","title":{"rendered":"Meghan Markle’s ‘business slump’ may explain pressure on Harry to ‘get a job’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Meghan Markle has kept busy touting her As Ever brand berry spreads and $256 candle collections, but her influencer-style promotional efforts, including regularly broadcasting images of her young children, may not be working as well she needs for her and Prince Harry to earn enough to enjoy a billionaire\u2019s lifestyle.<\/p>\n

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A new analysis from Newsweek shows that Meghan\u2019s popularity in the American public fell in the first three months of 2026 \u2014 at the same time as visits to her As Ever online shop also dropped. The analysis looked at YouGov America polling and web traffic data, with Newsweek\u2019s chief royal correspondent Jack Royston saying: \u201cMeghan has historically inspired strong opinions from fans and detractors alike, but since January 2023, there has been a measurable dip in her popularity in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

This popularity decline has occurred at \u201cbroadly the same time as a significant drop in U.S. visitors to her website,\u201d Royston also said.<\/p>\n

The Newsweek report comes a few days after entertainment journalist Rob Shuter revealed that Meghan \u201cdelivered a tough message\u201d to her royal husband.<\/p>\n

\u201cMeghan finally told Harry he needs to step up financially,\u201d an insider told Shuter for his Naughty But Nice Substack. Meghan, who comes from a middle-class Los Angeles background and had to hustle to get acting jobs in Hollywood, is reportedly driving concerns about whether she and Harry can maintain their high-profile California lifestyle.<\/p>\n

Given that Harry is not known to have ever had any regular, full-time job, except during his time in the British army, Meghan has grown increasingly frustrated about being the family\u2019s primary breadwinner, Shuter said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s driving the business deals, managing the brand, and thinking about the future,\u201d the source told Shuter. \u201cShe\u2019s tired of feeling like the only one focused on keeping the money flowing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since stepping back from royal duties and moving to California in 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have built a life that comes with significant expenses, Shuter said. That includes staff for their sprawling Montecito estate and their business and philanthropic endeavors, though their Archewell Foundation has faced well-documented struggles and staff cuts in the past year. They also like to travel and dress in style, while expecting round-the-clock security that can cost several million dollars a year.<\/p>\n

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The former TV actor has tried to expand her business portfolio through her lifestyle brand and media ventures, including through her failed Netflix series, \u201cWith Love, Meghan,\u201d Shuter said. Harry, meanwhile, \u201cstill approaches life like a royal,\u201d which means he has never learned how to \u201cbalance a checkbook\u201d or concern himself with making sure money is coming in, Shuter and other royal observers have said. The estranged son of King Charles III seems to be most in his element focusing on passion projects and making occasional quasi-royal appearances at philanthropic events, rather than on developing major commercial opportunities, Shuter added.<\/p>\n

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Insiders also told Shuter that Harry\u2019s once-substantial inheritance, which included an estimated $16 million that he received from his mother, the late Princess Diana, is \u201cno longer the financial safety net many assume it to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMeghan didn\u2019t sign up to carry the financial burden forever,\u201d a source told Shuter. \u201cShe wants a partner who shares the responsibility and helps build the next chapter financially.\u201d<\/p>\n

But as her declining popularity suggests, Meghan has lost some of the public good will she initially enjoyed when she married Harry in 2018 and was seen as a positive, modernizing force in the royal family. Since moving to California, she and Harry have become known for publicly criticizing the monarchy at a time when Harry\u2019s revered grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, was in failing health before her death in 2022.<\/p>\n

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In the YouGov poll for the first quarter of 2026, Meghan was liked by only 29% of the 1,300 Americans who participated in the poll, Royston said. She was disliked by 27% of respondents, giving her a net rating of +2.\u00a0 These figures represent a sharp drop from the third quarter of 2025, when Meghan was liked by 37% percent and disliked by 22% of respondents, then giving her a net approval rating of +15, Royston also said. But in the past two quarters, she has seen a 13-point decline in her net approval.<\/p>\n

As for As Ever, Royston reported that no official sales figures have been released, but website traffic data compiled by Similarweb may give a window into how the business is doing. Unfortunately for Meghan,\u00a0traffic on the As Ever website, especially from American consumers, appears to have slowed over the first four months of 2026, Royston reported.<\/p>\n

In December, Meghan recorded around 246,000 visits to the site, of which around 108,000 were from the United States, Royston reported. In January, her total number of visits rose to 268,000, but U.S. visits fell to 89,000, indicating that U.S. traffic declined despite an overall increase in visits. In February, traffic fell to 213,000 overall visits, including about 83,500 from the U.S. Traffic recovered slightly in March to 226,000, with 94,000 from the United States, before dropping again in April to 178,000, with around 61,500 U.S. users, Royston said.<\/p>\n

Royston said that Meghan\u2019s declining popularity in the United States appears to be reflected in the fall in U.S. site visits, from 108,000 in December to 61,500 in April, Royston said. At the present time, Meghan only ships products to the United States,\u201dmaking the geographic breakdown particularly significant,\u201d Royston added. Meghan has recently said she plans to take her business global, but has not launched internationally yet.<\/p>\n

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As Meghan’s popularity declines in the United States, the duchess-turned-influencer has grown increasingly frustrated about being the family’s primary breadwinner, new reports say.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"\nMeghan Markle’s ‘business slump’ may explain pressure on Harry to ‘get a job’ - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1267\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meghan Markle’s ‘business slump’ may explain pressure on Harry to ‘get a job’ - 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