When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle embarked on their faux-royal Australia tour, the money-making was blatant and stifling - but are such pseudo tours now their only way to pay the bills? The 2020 'Sandringham Summit' with the late Queen Elizabeth II sparked Megxit as she torpedoed Harry's dream to be a half-in-half-out working royal, who made mounds of cash by exploiting the family name.

Harry and Meghan fled to California and for a time were feted as a new generation of US royalty, invited to the best parties, befriended by the most powerful women on the other side of the Atlantic. But after not only alienating but infuriating USA 'Queenmakers' like Vogue's Dame Anna Wintour, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's wife Lauren Sanchez and the Kardashians, has Meghan's ego killed off many of her possible avenues to commercial success?

And it was surely not lost on Meghan that as Wintour fawned over Queen Camilla last week during her and King Charles' US State Visit, there was no invite for her on the royal trip.

One source recently said: "They have truly lost the plot. I hear she is spiralling badly because she knows nothing is working. The whole thing about her [As Ever brand] stuff selling out isn't true anymore. I don't think either of them is happy."

So what has caused the Sussexes to go from being bombarded with commercial deals in the US and invited to all the top galas and charity parties to becoming seemingly social outcasts?

Some claim it is simply Meghan herself. Take powerful fashion guru Dame Anna Wintour, for example.

For someone like Meghan, desperate to flog fashion as she did in Australia using the OneOff app that allows you to buy similar clothing to that worn by celebs while giving a percentage to the stars - having Wintour onside is vital.

It is claimed Wintour turned against Meghan in 2019 when she collaborated with then British Vogue editor Edward Enninful, her boardroom rival, on a 'Forces for Change' issue of the magazine.

Now Enninful has gone and Wintour has become even more supreme as Global Editorial Director and Chief Content Officer at Vogue publisher Conde Nast. One source now claims: "Anna hates her."

There is also no doubt that Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos are people not to get on the wrong side of - but it appears Meghan's done exactly that.

It has been alleged that despite Lauren trying to befriend Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex thought her a bit "trashy" and snubbed her invites. Now that door has closed too. And her husband owns streaming service Amazon.

Then there's streaming service Netflix, with which she once had a £100m deal for her 'With Love, Meghan' show and other royal documentaries.

Netflix boss Ted Sarandos tried to help the Sussexes after Megxit but gossip columns now claim Meghan has 'fallen out' with his wife Nicole Avant.

After news broke that Netflix was pulling out of supporting Meghan's 'As Ever' lifestyle brand, Sarandos invited the couple to the Netflix launch of the prestige drama *Beef* in April.

But it has been alleged that some pictures of the couple were removed from the Getty Images website 24 hours after being published, amid rumours Meghan disliked the way she appeared to be clinging to Avant in them.

Meghan has also allegedly irritated the powerful social media Kardashians clan in an incident dubbed 'photogate'.

The tension stems from a major social media controversy following Kris Jenner's 70th birthday party in November 2025, which reportedly saw the Sussexes request that images showing them partying with the family be deleted from social media on the eve of Remembrance Sunday.

If Meghan has fallen foul of all these people, it seriously restricts many commercial opportunities in the States.

The couple's expenses are huge: that Montecito mansion, taxes and upkeep, security and travel, with some estimates reckoning they need to clear £3.6 million-a-year.

It has been suggested that the Australia trip could now be the blueprint for their money-making, with more commercial and charity-mixed tours lined up - such as heading to Africa next.

This was not the Megxit dream Harry and Meghan sold themselves. But when it comes to who is to blame, maybe - just like in 'Snow White' - only a mirror can provide the answers.