After Prince Harry withdrew his libel claim against a national newspaper last week and is liable for the publisher’s £250,000 legal costs, on top of his own lawyers’ bill, his wife Meghan Markle is furious her husband has made foolish decisions and is demanding he runs everything past her from now on.

An insider says, “Meghan is hyper-concerned about money right now, as well she should be, because they are spending it hand over fist and not bringing in what they had expected. She’s now telling Harry to reign in his spending and consult with her a lot more closely about outgoings. They add, “That means no more lawsuits or high-priced business ventures, at least not without her approval.”

Harry, 39, had sued the newspaper over an article, published in February 2022, which said his PR aides had tried to ‘spin’ a dispute with the Home Office over its decision to downgrade his taxpayer-funded security when visiting the UK, after stepping back as a senior royal. Harry argued this unfairly accused him of trying to confuse the public. But on the day he was due to hand over a list of documents, the claim was dropped, with his lawyers informing the High Court he was ‘discontinuing’ his case. Harry’s total legal bill will cost around £750,000.

The insider explains that Meghan, 42, is now insisting she has more control of their joint affairs moving forward. “Last year she took a big step back from micromanaging their finances, she let him decide what projects to take on and who to go after, and unfortunately that turned out to be a real mistake because all they’ve had are financial losses,” they say.

They add, “Whether he was right or wrong, his latest legal blow has cost them an absolute fortune, not only the payout they’ve been forced to make but the endless legal bills. Going forward she wants to have the last word on every financial decision because the fact is she’s a lot savvier with money than Harry is, he’s never really lived in the real world the way she has.”

Harry’s father, then Prince of Wales, provided 95% of the couple’s annual income before the left the royal family. In the first year of their marriage, Charles’s Duchy of Cornwall estate provided more than £5m to cover the Sussexes public duties – and some private expenses – and of Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, then the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant made up the other 5%. Charles subsequently gave the couple “a substantial sum” to support their transition to financial independence.

When Harry and Meghan made the decision to step back from their roles as senior working royals in 2020, the couple were left with around £13million from Harry’s mum, the late Princess of Wales and the Queen Mother. Meghan is also said to have earned £50,000 per episode of Suits.
Harry told Oprah Winfrey his late mum’s inheritance funded their US move. “I’ve got what my mum left me. Without that, we wouldn’t have been able to do this,” he revealed.

The couple built on those foundations with their media company, Archewell Productions, which makes programmes for Netflix in a deal thought to be worth £81 million. This included the Harry & Meghandocumentary series. They also signed a £15 million Spotify podcast deal in 2020 and Harry published his memoir Spare via Penguin Random House, reportedly earning an advance of at least £15.7 million. Meghan also published a children’s book called The Bench in 2021.

But in June 2022, they were unceremoniously axed from their Spotify podcast deal and there’s also been reports that their Netflix deal won’t be extended beyond 2025.
The insider explains, “As splashy as their deal with Netflix sounded when they signed it, in reality it wasn’t quite as cut and dried as it seemed. In order to get all the money on the table they need to deliver the goods and so far, all they’ve really brought in that’s been successful was their documentary, and even the biggest fans can agree that wasn’t worth it.” They add it’s ‘crunch time’ now and they have one year left to produce more content and impress Netflix enough to keep them on.

Despite being out of the royal family for over four years, Harry is still learning the ropes when it comes to balancing the books post royal life, the sources explains.

“Harry would privately admit he’s still learning the ropes as far as certain practicalities and transitions post royal life. He always had so much guidance handling his finances until moving to America, so it was a little daunting to be plunged in the deep end. For the first year or so he was very dependent on Meghan to show him the ropes as far as getting his own accounts in order, applying for credit cards then putting down deposits on cars and so on, hiring staff and handling paperwork when they settled on a home in Montecito.

They add that she “handled the lion’s share” and slowly gave Harry more responsibility, which he appreciated. But she’s now taking back control. “If he wanted to sink money into a certain investment or purchase she didn’t give him a hard time, provided he didn’t keep her in the dark of course. And she trusted his judgment when it came to legal cases he wanted to pursue, even if it meant putting down big deposits on the best lawyers he could find,” they say.

“But now, with their finances in a very precarious place, she’s taking full control again and being very no nonsense about it all. The polite way of putting it is that Meghan wants them to consider each and every outgoing extremely carefully and figure out a new system that ensures they don’t make bad decisions. But for Harry it’s pretty humbling and emasculating, since it effectively tells him that he’s had a chance to do things his way and now that’s not really worked so they’re back to square one. “What makes it kind of daunting this time around though is that they’ve blown through so much cash and aren’t in anything like the strong position they once were. Meghan’s taking charge and battening down the hatches, but it could be too little too late.”