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The Duchess of Sussex has appeared on the red carpet for the first time since excerpts from a book detailing Prince Harry’s estrangement from his family laid the groundwork for a new royal turmoil.
Meghan Markle, 42, attended Variety’s “The Power of Women” show in Los Angeles on Thursday evening alongside honorees Carey Mulligan, Fantasia Barrino, Lily Gladstone and Billie Eilish.
As she walked the red carpet, the former Suits star said she was “thrilled” to have returned to her on-screen roots, where she and husband Harry hope to position themselves as star Hollywood producers.
She told Variety that she wants to “create things that make people feel” and create “a sense of community.”
Speaking about what she has planned for the future, the Duchess said: “We have so many exciting things planned. I can’t wait until we can announce them, but I’m just really proud of what we’re doing.
“My husband loves it too, which is really fun,” she added.
Meghan’s Hollywood appearance comes as the royal family has faced another claim about her alleged poor treatment of the Sussexes.
The former biographer of Scobie, Meghan and Harry has now published an excerpt from his book Endgame – entitled Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival.
Omid Scobie, author of “Endgame”
(Web Summit/CC BY 2.0)
According to the book’s synopsis, it “delves deep into the current state of the British monarchy – an unpopular king, a power-hungry heir to the throne, a queen willing to go to dangerous lengths to preserve her image, and a prince who wants to “is forced to begin a new life after being betrayed by his own family.”
The book states: “Queen Elizabeth II’s death has brought down the already shattered foundations of the House of Windsor – and torn away the protective shield around it.”
“With an institution long plagued by antiquated ideas around race, class and money, the monarchy and those who prop it up are now exposed and at odds with a rapidly modernizing world.”
“Mr. Scobie’s Endgame goes into more detail about the difficult sibling relationship between Prince William and Harry following Harry’s marriage to Meghan – something that Mr. Scobie says was further cemented in the hours before the queen’s death in September 2022.
Endgame Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival by Omid Scobie
(Haper Collins Publishers/Screenshot)
Excerpts obtained by People Magazine say, among other things, that Harry found out that his grandmother, the late Queen, had died after receiving a notification from the BBC News app announcing the news.
Mr Scobie claims Harry was previously forced to travel to Balmoral alone after his father, King Charles, told him to leave Meghan at home.
But that’s not all, as Mr Scobie’s book aims to “pull back the curtain behind an institution in turmoil to show what the monarchy must change to survive”.
According to the HarperCollins website, “Endgame Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival” will be released on November 28, 2023.
Harry and Meghan stepped down from royal duties in 2020. At the time, Harry said in a speech that there was “no other option” and cited the “mighty power” of the media.
The Duke of Sussex explained why he and his wife Meghan made this decision.
“I want you to hear the truth from me, as much as I can share – not as a prince or a duke, but as Harry, the same person many of you have watched growing up over the last 35 years, but with a clearer frame of mind “Perspective,” he said.
“Britain is my home and a place I love. That will never change. I grew up with the support of so many of you, watching you welcome Meghan with open arms and seeing me find the love and happiness I had hoped for my whole life. Eventually, Diana’s second son married.
“After Meghan and I got married, we were excited, we were hopeful and we were here to serve,” he said. “For these reasons, it makes me very sad that it has come to this.
“The decision I have made for my wife and I to step down is not one I have taken lightly. It’s been so many months of conversations after so many years of challenges and I know I haven’t always gotten it right, but when it comes to this, there really was no other option.”
Since their departure, Harry published his book Spare, in which he revealed private details of his life in the royal family. The Sussexes also released a Netflix documentary called Harry & Meghan, which explores “their courtship to their exit from royal life” as well as “their complex journey in their own words in this documentary.”