There are a lot of perks that come with dating a prince—the palace, the tiaras, the personal staff— but it’s not all Disney dreams and Netflix movies starring Vanessa Hudgens. We learned as much when Meghan Markle began dating Prince Harry in 2016. For some of Markle’s friends, Harry’s title was more “red flag” than “fairytale.”
It has been previously reported that before her engagement to Prince Harry, the duchess’s home in Toronto was regularly surrounded by paparazzi, and that she was relentlessly bullied on social media. Now, in Harry & Meghan, the two-volume docuseries about the couple’s relationship, Meghan opens up in further detail about the extent of the harassment. She says that the press would knock on the doors of her neighbors asking for information. In some cases, she says, they asked if they could place surveillance cameras aimed at Meghan’s backyard on their homes.
Silver Tree, a producer on Suits, adds that paparazzi were sneaking onto the set and attempting to shoot Meghan coming and going from her trailer. Eventually, the situation became “dangerous,” and the network was forced to physically cage in the area surrounding the set. NBC also hired a private security officer assigned to Meghan, as well as a driver trained in evasive driving.
Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Courtesy of Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.Courtesy of Prince Harry and Meghan,Courtesy of Prince Harry and MeghanThe Duke and Duchess of Sussex
The Duchess of Sussex described her world as becoming more and more “insular” during that time, as her curtains and blinds were perpetually closed. Her friends, she added, were concerned.
“When all of that started happening, my friends and people in my life who love me and care about me would ask me, ‘Is he worth this?’” Meghan Markle says in the docuseries. “Like, ‘We know that you’re happy and we know that you love him—is he worth this? Look at what’s happening to your life.’”
