Meghan Markle is believed to be strategizing her next chess move to reinvent her public image.
Amid all the media scrutiny following the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix docuseries “Harry & Meghan” in December, followed by Prince Harry’s bombshell memoir “Spare” in January, the former “Suits” star is looking to boost the couple’s image.
The mother of two is currently in a legal battle with her estranged half-sister Samantha Markle. She and Harry, 38, were also the recent subjects of a “South Park” episode in which the couple, depicted as cartoons, held “we want our privacy” and “stop looking at us” signs as they traveled around the world.
The Prince and his wife hold signs that ask the public to respect their privacy. (Comedy Central)
Kinsey Schofield, the host of the “To Di For Daily,” podcast, claimed to Fox News Digital that the former American actress has been quietly eyeing a relaunch of her lifestyle site “The Tig.” A spokesperson for the duchess didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment about a possible relaunch.
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“I still believe the countdown to ‘The Tig’ 2.0 is on,” said Schofield. “Harry and Meghan thought that the book, Netflix series, and [Spotify] podcast would send them off in a completely different direction – a fulfilling and financially successful direction. We know from the Netflix series alone that they started developing some of these projects in late 2019.”
“I have heard that Meghan is dissatisfied with the public and media reaction to their recent projects,” Schofield claimed. “So much so that she is seeking guidance from mentors to redirect her pursuits. Meghan does not handle rejection well and is very sensitive to criticism. ‘Spare’ was the first real shift we saw from the general public about the Sussexes. They went from being seen as victims and heroes to a laughingstock. Lampooned during Hollywood award show monologues, late-night talk shows and now ‘South Park’… She is taken aback by it and unhappy with the negative attention.”
Meghan Markle and her husband Prince Harry have been faced with criticism following their Netflix docuseries and a bombshell book. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
“Some might argue that Harry and Meghan tried to beat Hollywood to the punch by participating in quirky skits for Ellen DeGeneres and James Corden, but those fell flat… and are long forgotten,” Schofield continued. “… Meghan needs a win. Is it the judge throwing out the legal case involving Samantha? Maybe. Is it a new brand deal? Perhaps. A favorable interview and magazine cover? Could be.”
The duchess, 41, shut down “The Tig” months after she began dating Harry in 2017. A trademark for the blog was filed again in February 2022. Rumors were swirling earlier this year that Markle was eyeing a Valentine’s Day relaunch. Schofield said Markle may be putting any projects on pause to avoid further backlash.
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“I don’t think Meghan is comfortable launching a solo venture in the middle of such a negative PR storm because it will attract criticism,” said Schofield. “Aside from the digital pile-on, every article would mention litigation, ‘Spare,’ or ‘South Park.’ Meghan will feel confident enough to introduce us to a new product, project, or launch when she is riding high on a significant win. She was not expecting this.”
Samantha Markle (left) is suing Meghan Markle for “defamation based on demonstrably false and malicious statements made by her half-sister to a worldwide audience.” (Gilbert Carrasquillo/Ben Birchall/WPA Pool)
“The more Harry and Meghan talk, the more they are caught in contradictions,” Schofield warned. “They need to shift the focus and champion meaningful causes and charities and stop talking about themselves because the public is over it.”
“The Tig” recently made headlines for a different reason. A resurfaced entry shared Markle’s candid thoughts about Kate Middleton’s wedding to Prince William. Markle originally claimed she “didn’t know much” about the British royal family.
“The blog post proves that Meghan always intended to be a ‘royal rebel,’” said Schofield. “It’s not a role she just fell into. It was her objective all along.”
The entry about Markle’s future sister-in-law was written in 2014, two years before the former American actress met her now-husband. For her blog, Markle interviewed Princess Alia Al Senussi, a descendant of Libyan royalty.
Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Prince and Princess of Wales, married in 2011. They share three children. (Reuters)
“Little girls dream of being princesses,” wrote Markle. “I, for one, was all about She-Ra, Princess of Power. For those of you unfamiliar with the ’80s cartoon reference, She-Ra is the twin sister of He-Man and a sword-wielding royal rebel known for her strength. We’re definitely not talking about Cinderella here.”
“Grown women seem to retain this childhood fantasy,” Markle shared. “Just look at the pomp and circumstance surrounding the royal wedding and endless conversation about Princess Kate.”
Christopher Andersen, author of “The King,” told Fox News Digital the idea that Markle “once complained about the endless conversation surrounding Kate’s wedding and then went on to have a spectacular royal wedding of her own may seem either hypocritical or simply ironic, depending on your point of view.”
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Meghan Markle, a former American actress, married Britain’s Prince Harry in 2018. (Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Markle became the Duchess of Sussex when she married the British prince in 2018. The wedding drew in an estimated 29 million viewers in the U.S. alone, Nielsen data revealed.
“What I find most fascinating about this posting on ‘The Tig’ is that Meghan wanted to become not simply a princess but the superhero She-Ra, whose full title is ‘Princess of Power, the Most Powerful Woman in the Universe,’” said Andersen. “She-Ra is a take-no-prisoners warrior, a rebel, a disruptor – so in a sense, Meghan has become the princess she always wanted to be.”
Schofield alleged that Markle’s focus has been how the public has been receiving the Sussexes lately.
“I am hearing that Meghan is fired up about everything happening right now,” Schofield claimed. “She feels like she is being shaded in coronation negotiations, she is not happy about the reaction to Harry’s book… they have both become a punchline over it, and Meghan absolutely obsesses over litigation. She’s in the middle of that right now with her half-sister… Maybe this just isn’t the right time [to do a relaunch] with so much negativity surrounding [the Sussexes].”
There were rumors that Meghan was possibly eyeing a relaunch of her lifestyle blog. (Max Mumby/Indigo)
Shannon Felton Spence told Fox News Digital that following the Netflix docuseries and Harry’s memoir, the couple will need to think of new ways to make money — with or without a blog.
“They’ve cashed the checks and now need to think about long-term sustainability,” she claimed. “… I think we’ve also seen that Hollywood has not accepted them in the way that they expected. Any goodwill they had has been blown up with the book. American audiences are sick of them. And there’s no mystique, which is the true power of the royal family’s exclusivity.”
“So no, it would not surprise me if she relaunched ‘The Tig,” Felton Spence shared. “… Why not try to be the next Gwyneth [Paltrow]? And if they had any understanding of who they are, and what they offer, or were willing to take any advice from experts, it’s probably exactly what she should have done during the pandemic. ‘At Home with the Duchess’ could find a real audience, and she could build a lifestyle brand from that.”
Meghan Markle shut down her lifestyle blog in 2017. (TheTig.com)
“I am not saying marrying a prince was her next career move,” said Felton Spence. “But… we’re not talking about Grace Kelly here.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex reside in California with their two children.
