While helping Prince Harry mourn the death of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan Markle is losing several high-profile opportunities that were meant to boost her career as a global media superstar.
The latest opportunity Meghan has lost or delayed is an honor from Variety magazine, to grace the cover of its upcoming Power of Women issue. Following the Queen’s death last week, the magazine announced that coverage of Meghan was delayed “out of respect for the recent death of Queen Elizabeth II”.
The magazine also announced that the Duchess of Sussex will not be joining other honorees – Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Ava DuVernay, Malala and Elizabeth Olsen – at its Power of Women event in Los Angeles on September 28.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has been chosen as one of this year’s stellar winners. Coverage of the Duchess will be postponed to a later date, out of respect for the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II.https://t.co/tMeOgru12h pic.twitter.com/Pqiolo2W2a
— Variety (@Variety) September 14, 2023
Meghan, who has lived in California since her acrimonious departure from royal life with Harry in 2020, is expected to remain in the UK with Harry at least until the Queen’s funeral on September 19. She and Harry were in London for a charity event when word came that the 96-year-old Queen’s health suddenly deteriorated on September 8 and she died hours later.
Variety’s delay in coverage is the latest blow to what was supposed to be Meghan’s triumphant media blitz to introduce the world to her new life in America. The blitz began with the launch of the former TV actress’ long-awaited podcast for Spotify, “Archetypes,” and continued with a lengthy profile in The Cut magazine.
Some of Meghan’s statements on the ‘Archetypes’ episodes and in her interview with The Cut have been controversial, largely because she leveled criticism at her husband’s family and veiled threats to smear royal life further. Her critics added to some people’s view that she and Harry can only make money from their various media ventures by positioning themselves in opposition to the Royal Family.
With the death of the world-famous queen, Meghan’s promotional efforts immediately came to a halt. The Telegraph and other outlets have reported that the release of the next episode of Meghan’s podcast has been suspended, possibly for weeks, “as a sign of respect”.
Page Six also reported that the Duchess has postponed an upcoming appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s show. The Duchess was booked for NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” on September 20, while she and Prince Harry were in New York to attend the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Page reported. Six.
With the Queen’s state funeral scheduled for September 19, after a 10-day period of national mourning in the UK, Meghan canceled her appearance at Fallon.
“Meghan was supposed to happen to Fallon,” a source told Page Six. “I don’t even know what she was going to talk about, but it’s obviously canceled now.”It was also reported on Wednesday that Harry’s memoir would be delayed until 2023. The official reason is that Harry wanted to observe a period of mourning after the Queen’s death, but publishing industry sources said that he could also use the time to rethink the way he wrote about his family and whether he still wants to detonate “truth bombs.”
Both The Telegraph and Page Six quoted insider sources as saying the memoir, much feared by the Royal Family, would not be published over the holidays this year. The Telegraph also said the Queen’s death had thrown her publication and publicity plans “into turmoil”.