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Prince Harry, Meghan Markle's 2023 year in headlines
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex weren’t shy about making headlines in 2023 as they continued to map out a life in California.
Meghan Markle, an American actress who starred in the legal drama "Suits," became the Duchess of Sussex when she married Britain’s Prince Harry in 2018. The prince, 39, is the younger son of King Charles III.
In 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back as senior royals and moved to California. At the time, they alleged palace officials were insensitive to Markle’s mental health struggles as she attempted to navigate royal life. The couple also claimed the duchess faced racist attitudes from the U.K. press, which contributed to their decision to leave the country.
The couple lives in the wealthy coastal city of Montecito with their son, Prince Archie, and daughter Princess Lilibet.
But riding off into the California sunset didn't seem to be in the cards for the royal couple. And 2023 proved to be the year of continued truth bombs as they attempt to live independent lives outside the palace.
Here are some of the couple’s wildest moments of the year.
Prince Harry kicked off 2023 with a bang when his tell-all memoir "Spare" was published in January. The Duke of Sussex’s story is dominated by his rivalry with his older brother, Prince William, and the death of their mother, Princess Diana, in 1997.
The prince left no page unturned, detailing his feelings about his stepmother, the former Camilla Parker-Bowles, losing his virginity at 17, his past drug use, and his years in the British Army. The father of two went on to do several televised interviews to promote the book, where he continued to speak out about his struggles with royal life. Guinness World Records confirmed that "Spare" is the fastest-selling nonfiction book of all time.
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In February, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were brutally roasted in an episode of "South Park" titled "The Worldwide Privacy Tour." Though they weren’t named directly in the episode, it featured characters described as Canadian royalty and dubbed "the prince and his wife." In the show, the pair embark on a worldwide "We Want Privacy" tour before ending up in South Park, where they move into a house across the street from main character Kyle Broflovski, much to his chagrin. Harry’s book was also given a new title: "WAAGH."
In March, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were asked to vacate Frogmore Cottage, their home in Britain, leading up to King Charles III’s coronation. The Sun newspaper reported that Charles started the eviction process on Jan. 11, which was the day after "Spare" was published.
"We can confirm The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage," a spokesperson for the couple said in a statement. They officially vacated in June.
When it came to his father’s big day in May, Harry was in and out. The Duke of Sussex arrived at the festivities alone as his wife stayed behind in California with their children. It was understood that Harry kept his visit brief and swiftly headed back home after the ceremony. According to reports, Harry was invited to have lunch with his family after the ceremony but declined. As Charles and Camilla were crowned at Westminster Abbey, Harry was spotted several rows behind his older brother.
In May, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said they were involved in a "near catastrophic" car chase as paparazzi pursued them after a charity event in New York City. Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland, was with them.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams criticized the "reckless and irresponsible" incident during a press conference but also said he found it "hard to believe" a "two-hour, high-speed chase" happened in the densely populated city wrought with traffic, pedestrians and ongoing construction projects.
"There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging," Julian Phillips, deputy commissioner of public information, told Fox News Digital in a statement at the time. "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination, and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries or arrests."
The cab driver who drove the couple from the police station said he instantly recognized his passengers and that paparazzi "were following us the whole time," though he said he wouldn’t call it a chase, the Associated Press reported.
In June, the couple called it quits with the audio platform less than a year after the duchess launched her podcast "Archetypes." Spotify and Archewell Audio said in a joint statement that the decision was mutual. Archewell landed a multiyear partnership with Spotify in 2020 to create podcasts and shows that would tell stories through diverse voices and perspectives.
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Following the split, the couple was labeled as "f-----g grifters" by Bill Simmons, Ringer founder and head of podcast innovation and monetization at Spotify.
In June, Harry became the first senior member of the royal family in more than a century to testify in court. The Duke of Sussex accused the publisher of the Daily Mirror of using unlawful techniques on an "industrial scale" to score front-page scoops on his life. Before Harry faced questioning in court, an ancestor, the future King Edward VII, appeared as a witness in a trial over a gambling scandal in 1891. In December, Harry won his lawsuit and was awarded more than 140,000 pounds or $180,000.
In August, royal watchers questioned a new photo of Harry that showed a seemingly fuller head of hair than recently documented. The photo was published on the royal’s profile page for the mental health tech start-up called BetterUp, which he joined in 2021. Critics flagged that in "Spare" Harry made a few comments about his brother, Prince William’s, hair loss, describing it as "alarming" and "more advanced than mine."
The duchess had all eyes on her in November when she walked the red carpet for Variety’s Power of Women event in Los Angeles. The 42-year-old’s appearance sparked rumors that the duchess was gearing up for a Hollywood comeback.
"[Her appearances] often seem to happen around key moments in the British royal family’s diary or calendar," True Royalty TV co-founder Nick Bullen told Fox News Digital at the time. "Here she is just days after the king’s 75th birthday, and she’s walking the red carpet in Hollywood. I think she comes from a world of self-promotion, and she knows how to self-promote. She knows when she’s going to make the front pages after her latest Hollywood play."
In late November, Omid Scobie’s book, "Endgame," was published, based on conversations and interviews "with current and former palace staff, trusted friends of the royals and even family members themselves." The Dutch version of the royal tell-all was recently pulled from shelves in Holland after reports surfaced that the copy identified the name of an allegedly racist royal who questioned Archie's skin tone before he was born.
Scobie, a royal writer, has been described by U.K. outlets as the unofficial spokesperson for the duchess. In an interview with "Good Morning America," Scobie said it was two royals who raised questions about Archie’s skin tone but that U.K. laws prevented him from revealing their names in his book.
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