They live in the heart of LA, surrounded by people and celebrities in all directions – but it seems Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle are more alone than ever. The couple are said to have been losing friends left and right in recent months, after a series of embarrassing professional disasters and a public clash with former besties, David and Victoria Beckham. In fact, Closer’s insiders say the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have become “radioactive” in Tinseltown, with the former actress insisting to anyone who’ll listen that they don’t need friends anyway…

“The Sussexes are being shunned in Hollywood and beyond right now,” says an insider close to the pair, who live with their two children, Archie, four and LIlibet, two, in a $15million mansion in Montecito, close to celebrity neighbours that include Jennifer Aniston, Oprah Winfrey, Ariana Grande and Arnold Schwarzenegger. “It seems to have happened almost overnight. They’ve gone from highly sociable, outgoing people to serious lone rangers. It’s so strange for them to suddenly be so radioactive with the A-list, but Meghan’s putting a positive spin on things by insisting they don’t need to have friends to be happy.”

It follows the resurgence of news that the Sussexes have fallen out with David and Victoria Beckham after a past heated phone call. Former England captain – and once good friend of Harry’s – was said to be “absolutely bloody furious” when Meghan suggested the former Spice Girl had leaked stories to the tabloids about her. An irate source close to the fashion designer insisted, “Any making up now is so unlikely.” The Beckhams have been friends with Harry and Meghan for many years now and were just two in a sea of famous faces at the couple’s star-studded wedding back in 2018. The guestlist included the likes of Elton John, Priyanka Chopra, George and Amal Clooney, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, James Corden, Carey Mulligan, Serena Williams and Oprah. But many of these relationships have reportedly cooled since the couple quit royal duties and embarked on their anti-monarchy campaign, which included their Netflix docu-series, Harry & Meghan, and the prince’s bombshell memoir, Spare. A source last week revealed that George and Amal are “no longer pals” with the pair, while Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom are, “now closer to King Charles.” There have also been whispers that things have deteriorated with talkshow host, Oprah, after it was claimed in February that “the relationship between the neighbours has become fraught”. The 69-year-old was once their closest ally, with the pair giving her their first tell-all interview in March 2021, revealing tension with the royals and accusing an unnamed relation of racially-charged comments.

It’s not the first time the pair have accused those closest to them of leaking stories. In Spare, Harry claims his family were all at it – particularly his stepmother, Queen Camilla. He wrote that she often left “bodies in the street” with her press briefings, claiming she “sacrificed me on her personal PR altar.” Our insider explains, “There’s a level of paranoia when it comes to their friends and who they can and can’t trust. They’ve sabotaged relationships and friendships like the one they had with the Beckhams, because they struggle to trust anyone. Meghan spends a lot of her time with a neighbour, Victoria Jackson but that’s it. It’s hardly the star-studded circle of pals she envisioned hanging out with when she met Prince Harry.” As Closer has previously reported, Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, had hoped for a fresh start in the US, setting their sights on befriending the A-list elite when they moved to Montecito in 2020. But things haven’t exactly gone to plan. We’re told, “When they first got to Hollywood, they were embraced and celebrated by the who’s who, it all seemed so perfect. Meghan was planning to host garden parties and dinners with Montecito’s finest; she was confident they’d by rubbing shoulders on a regular basis with the likes of George Clooney, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Cameron Diaz. But it quickly became obvious they weren’t interested – and now even lesser celebs like Ellen DeGeneres and Katharine McPhee are backing off.”

The drop in their social status seems to have coincided with their recent professional downward spiral. Following the revelation that Spotify have ditched their $25million deal with the couple – as a network exec branded them “fucking grifters” – there has been blow after blow. Top Hollywood talent agent CEO Jeremy Zimmer denounced the actress publicly, saying “Meghan Markle was not a great audio talent, or necessarily any kind of talent… Just because you’re famous doesn’t make you great at something.” The Sussexes were left fuming yet again in recent weeks, when their six-part series, Harry & Meghan was snubbed by the Emmys awards, receiving no nominations. Our source continues, “They’ve been licking their wounds after everything that’s happened, but Meghan’s determined she’s never going to let people see her sweat. She’s used to making adjustments to her plan, and now says they’ve given up trying to schmooze the A-listers. Instead they’re narrowing their circle of friends down to a core group of people they totally trust – but many are business acquaintances or spiritual advisors rather than actual friends. It’s a total shift in strategy from where they were just a few months ago, when Meghan was taking every meeting possible, in the hopes of joining the Hollywood elite. She’s now trying to spin this like it’s all her choice, and telling people they have to keep their circle super small because there were too many information leaks.”

And friends say Harry is doing as he’s told. “To be honest, he’s pretty bored and frustrated to be living like a hermit,” says the insider. “But he also knows it’s not like he or Meghan have any real choice. They’re on the same page publicly, and he’s been saying he’s not the least bit interested in kissing up to these Hollywood types anymore. He’s gone so far as to throw a charity event on the other side of the world in Singapore, just to avoid Hollywood! Knowing how proud Harry is, this could be about him thumbing his nose at his neighbours, but it’s also a chance to get out of town and have some fun. Of course, Harry loves being a dad and a husband but no doubt he also misses having a social life. Being ostracised like this is extra hard on him because he’s always been so popular. But he won’t be begging for anyone’s friendship, and neither will Meghan.”