From fairytale wedding to US exile… 5 things that’ll never be the same for Meghan & Harry after marriage 4 years ago
PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle are celebrating their four-year wedding anniversary at their Montecito mansion today.
But plenty has changed for the couple after their fairytale ceremony at Windsor Castle - and they now live in royal exile.
It was reported overnight they've signed up to a Keeping Up With The Kardashians-style TV show, with US sources claiming Netflix cameras will be allowed inside their home.
If the stories are accurate, it'll be the first time a member of the British Royal Family has ever allowed such filming to take place.
As well as marking a huge departure from The Firm's "never complain, never explain" mantra, it underlines the massive changes that have happened over the past four years.
Here are some things that may never be the same again.
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Stepping back from the royal frontline
The Sussexes' decision to step down from official duties in 2020 is the most significant change between their wedding day and now.
The move has had huge consequences for both The Firm and the couple, with Meghan and Harry stripped of their titles and honorary positions.
It also means they - along with Prince Andrew - will not be allowed to stand alongside the Queen on Buckingham Palace's balcony for the Jubilee celebrations.
It was initially believed the couple were settling in well to their royal roles.
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They spent £2.4million of taxpayers' money doing up Frogmore Cottage and began carrying out official duties.
However, just months after they were married, the couple began asking questions about living in New Zealand - and then moved to Canada before setting up a permanent home in the US.
The Sun's royal photographer Arthur Edwards claims they never had any intention of staying in the UK. In 2020, he said: "Unfortunately for the last couple of years, [Harry] has gone completely sour.
"He didn't talk to me for a year. I've been photographing him since he was born, and it was down to her."
Harry and Meghan later repaid the full cost of the refurbishment.
They now live in a multi-million pound mansion in exclusive Montecito, California, and Harry says America is now his home.
Their glitzy lifestyle
There can be no doubt that life as a royal has its perks - including public adulation, plenty of cash and glamorous trips abroad.
But many aspects of such committed public service are also gruelling, and the family is surprisingly normal, choosing church services and board games at Christmas and generally staying away from glitzy parties.
Harry's lifestyle now is a far cry from his very traditional childhood.
He has reportedly swapped lifelong friends for celeb pals, and regularly spends time with stars including Serena Williams, Ellen DeGeneres and Zendaya.
Rather than attending public functions, he now meditates and does yoga in the mornings and often attends awards ceremonies during the evenings.
Royal author Tina Brown said she believes he'll "wake up" one day to realise he's living in Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop website.
She likened the Sussexes' lifestyle to Paltrow's much-mocked wellness buisness, which advises vaginal steaming and sells £122,000 gold dumbbells.
And it was revealed overnight that the couple are reportedly allowing Netflix cameras to film them at home for a new Kardashians-style docuseries.
It comes less than two years after he flatly denied that he and Meghan were considering a reality TV show in a statement to The Sun.
Just a year ago, he said royal life was like a "zoo" and compared it to film The Truman Show.
But - apparently under pressure to produce content for the streaming platform after signing a $100million deal - it's now been claimed he has agreed to a series about the family's life.
'A life of service'
The Queen announced in February 2021 that she'd been forced to strip Harry and Meghan of their titles after Megxit because it wasn't possible for them “to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service".
The couple immediately hit back with a statement of their own which pointedly referenced Her Majesty's.
"We can all live a life of service. Service is universal," they said.
They then released a "list of good deeds" to "hang on your fridge" after the snipe, urging fans to "order from a woman-led restaurant" and "pick up the phone and check in on a friend".
Despite claiming they wanted to still serve the monarchy, they have instead made their money with a series of business ventures, and have had little to do with the royals.
It was revealed earlier this year that the couple have set up no fewer than 11 companies in the tax haven state of Delaware as they look to expand their lucrative business interests in the States.
In addition, Harry holds a job with woke start-up BetterUp - although some staff have criticised his "smoke and mirrors" role.
The couple have signed multi-million pound deals with Netflix and Spotify, and Harry is also due to release a bombshell memoir on his life in the Royal Family later this year.
It's understood he and Meghan have asked for the docuseries to be released next year, although the streaming giant initially wanted it to be screened when his book is released.
Harry's relationship with William
When the Sussexes announced their engagement, Meghan said she'd been "welcomed" by the family.
It's understood she and Kate Middleton initially built a warm friendship fuelled by Harry's close relationship with William and his sister-in-law.
Indeed, Harry was the first person William told about his plan to propose to Kate in a remote lodge in Kenya, which is only accessible by helicopter.
But before long, the cracks were beginning to show - and the "Fab Four" parted ways, even separating the households of Cambridge and Sussex.
Omid Scobie, co-author of Finding Freedom, claims Harry was initially upset when William warned caution over the speed of his relationship with Meghan.
The Duke of Sussex was "p***ed off" when William said: "Take as much as time as you need to get to know this girl."
By the time the Sussexes moved to the US, the brothers appeared to be barely speaking.
Harry told Oprah their relationship was one of "space", while William was reportedly furious when Meghan claimed Kate had made her cry in the run-up to the wedding.
When Meghan and Harry returned to the UK before the Invictus Games for a secret visit to the Queen and Charles, William was out of the country.
The men have seen each other just twice since Harry moved - once for Prince Philip's funeral, when they were seen speaking together after the service, and a second time when they unveiled a statue of their late mother.
They will meet again when Harry and his family return for the Jubilee. It'll be the first time the family has met baby Lilibet in person.
The Sussexes' private lives
Harry and Meghan have long insisted they just want to live a private life free from the ravages of media attention.
It was stated as one of the biggest factors behind their decision to step away from royal life.
However, since then critics claim they've relentlessly courted public attention, revealing a slew of information about their lives.
Despite repeatedly denying they'd had anything to do with Finding Freedom, it later emerged during Meghan's court case against the Mail on Sunday that she had contributed anecdotes.
As well as the Oprah chat, Harry has given interviews to James Corden and Dax Shepard, as well as returning to Oprah for show The Me You Can't See.
He is also writing his memoir, which experts fear could attack Charles and Camilla and widen the rift with William.
Announcing the tome, he said it would be written "not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become".
"I’ve worn many hats over the years, both literally and figuratively, and my hope is that in telling my story – the highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learned – I can help show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think," he said.
Meghan, meanwhile, spoke with Ellen DeGeneres, claiming her royal title "embarrasses" her and revealing she and Harry partied in disguise before their wedding.
With reports they'll open their home for an "at home with the Sussexes"-style doc, Harry's biographer Angela Levin claims the pair are "hypocrites".
She told Sun Online: "It's absolutely extraordinary, it shows what hypocrites they are and how they change their minds if it suits them.
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"He just complained that his life was like a zoo being in the Royal Family and yet he's going to have people that are going to film every minute of their life in their own home.
"He said that he wanted to be private, he wanted to be ordinary and every time he heard a camera click it took him back to very sad memories of his mother - and now he's doing all that."
