Meghan Markle and Prince Harry ‘Need to Establish What Their Purpose Is,’ Author Says (Exclusive)

While Prince William and Kate Middleton were increasingly settling into their roles as future king and queen, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were heading into an uncertain future.

“When I’ve talked to people in their orbit, they admit it didn’t quite go according to plan,” author Omid Scobie, whose new book Game over out Nov. 28, PEOPLE writes in this week’s cover story. “They really need to determine what their purpose is.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have experienced growing pains as they navigate their way to success in their next chapter. In January 2020, Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, announced their intention to “retire as senior royals and work towards becoming financially independent” before moving to Meghan’s home state of California a few months later.

In April 2020, they launched their non-profit organization Archewell. The Archewell Foundation website was launched that October within the larger Archewell organization, which currently includes the business verticals Archewell Productions and Archewell Audio.

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have struck multi-million dollar deals with Spotify and Netflix, delivering Meghan’s hit podcast Archetypes in August 2022 and Netflix’s record-breaking series Harry & Meghan last December. Harry’s memoirs Spare, published by Penguin Random House, also became a bestseller. However, over the summer the Sussexes split from Spotify, where they reportedly had a deal worth $20 million, and were criticized The Wall Street Journal to produce low-end content on Netflix (where their business is valued at $100 million).

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During a surprise appearance at Variety’s Power of Women event on Thursday, Meghan hinted at future projects in the works.

“We have so many exciting things on the list,” she said Diversity on the red carpet. “I can’t wait to release them. We’re really proud of what we create, and my husband loves it.”

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends the 2023 Variety Power Of Women on November 16, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

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While Harry and Meghan forge a new life in the United States, William and Kate remain focused on their destiny in the United Kingdom. The last time the two couples appeared together – after the death of Queen Elizabeth in September 2022 – “all four proved to be able to turn it on and do what’s right in the moment,” says Scobie, who has followed the royal family more since decades.

He later said, “The first question I had to the sources was, ‘Do you think this is going to lead to something else?’ ” The answer: “definitely not.”

In a fantastic new book, Scobie reveals the depth of the damage between the royal brothers — and why their broken relationship threatens the future of the monarchy.

Prince Harry laid bare the painful rift between himself and his family in the pages of his memoir Sparepublished last January, and the world learned the extent of the split between Harry (39) and Prince William (41).

Almost a year after Sparepublication, “absolutely nothing has changed,” says Scobie.

The hurt and anger between the two brothers – one the Prince of Wales and the future monarch, the other the Duke of Sussex and the Californian – has now hardened into something colder and more steadfast, says Scobie: indifference.

Prince William and Prince Harry at the unveiling of a statue of their late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace in July 2021. Yui Mok – WPA Pool/Getty Images

“I saw Harry’s release Spare as his last attempt to tell his family how he’s been feeling for years,” says Scobie, who notes both the disintegration of the royal family and the weakening of the modern monarchy in Game over. “Because apparently there’s never been an open enough forum for those kinds of conversations or the sharing of those feelings.”

In the months following their grandmother’s funeral, the rift between the brothers widened following the release of Harry and Meghan’s Netflix docu-series and the Duke of Sussex’s revealing memoir.

And while King Charles and Prince Harry are still on speaking terms (the Duke and Duchess of Sussex called Charles to wish him a happy birthday on Tuesday), Harry is “in the rearview mirror” for William.

Prince William and Prince Harry walk behind Queen Elizabeth’s coffin during her funeral in September 2022 Justin Setterfield/Getty Prince Harry and Prince William’s relationship is beyond repair: ‘There is no going back’ (Exclusive)

“William has progressed so far in his journey that what matters today is very different from what mattered 10 years ago,” says Scobie. “You really feel that when you talk to people who work in the palace, that they really feel that what Harry and Meghan, but mostly Harry, they say, is just annoying noise. This man’s feelings are worthless. This is typical of any large corporation. I know it’s different because they’re family. But as we have known for a long time, the meaning of family for them is very different.”

While Meghan has “walked away” from the royal family, Harry “still has unfinished business,” says Scobie.

Endgame: Inside the royal family and the monarchy’s fight for survival.

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“Quite early in [book-writing] process, some of those Meghan sources that I really relied on in earlier years were like, ‘You know what? She wants nothing to do with it,’ says Scobie.

“It’s different for Harry. There is still unfinished business when it comes to fights with journalists,” adds the author. “His challenge will be to find something that balances that so that we can see him working in a space that is not bound by the ties that bind him from the past.”

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the 2023 Invictus Games in Germany.

Karwai Tang/WireImage

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Source: HIS Education