Back in 2022, just a few months after Queen Elizabeth II passed away, Prince William and Kate were undertaking their first big international trip as the new Prince and Princess of Wales. They headed to Boston in the dead of winter, all for Earthshot. As soon as they touched down in Massachusetts, all hell broke loose. That same week, two things happened. One, William’s godmother, Baroness Susan Hussey, had aggressively questioned a Black British woman about “where are you REALLY from?” in the middle of a palace reception. Two, the Sussexes’ first trailer dropped for their Netflix docuseries. William was incandescent. He must have spent hours spitting down the phone, rage-briefing to every British outlet that Harry and Meghan are “like the Kardashians now.” That was his big talking point and he really thought he was doing something. Well, three years later, and ol’ Scooter King still hasn’t moved on. A Daily Mail columnist was newly tasked with comparing the Duchess of Sussex to Kim Kardashian. Keep in mind, William pays models to hang out with him when his wife isn’t around.

We are witnessing, in real time, Meghan Markle approaching her most natural incarnation: A Kardashian. The signs have been there all along, but have ramped up considerably as A-list pals such as Oprah, Gayle, Jay-Z and Beyoncé, and Tyler Perry appear to have kept considerable distance.

So, too, have the major corporations once in business with Meghan — who has been dropped by Spotify, has seen her and Harry’s deal with Netflix downgraded to a vague ‘first-look’ agreement, has had her brief ‘Confessions of a Female Founder’ podcast reach its end, and whose ‘As Ever’ brand launched just this year — now seems to be floundering.

Of course, Meghan — recently mocked for flaunting her gaudy ‘Duchess of Sussex’ branded tote bag — invited herself earlier this month to the Balenciaga show in Paris, where she promptly posted a video in a chauffeured limo, feet up, while driving by Diana’s death tunnel. Quite the Kardashian feel, yes? Tastelessness plus shock value and a dash of shamelessness — perhaps Meghan’s most compelling recipe yet. The latter stunt raises a very real question: Did Meghan film that heartless footage as part of a potential Diana documentary for Netflix? After all, 2027 will mark the 30th anniversary of Diana’s death. Perhaps Meghan’s compiling their Netflix sizzle reel now. And who better to guide her through such ostensible exploitation than Kris Jenner?

Before we turn to the evidence that Meghan may be in her Kardashian chrysalis phase, let’s look at what the last few days may augur for Meghan and Harry. The public and formal expulsion of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson from royal life and the family itself, with Andrew and Sarah forced to give up their titles, seems to have had the muscle of Prince William behind it. In the battle between the infamously conflict-avoidant King Charles and the clear-eyed, more pragmatic Prince William — well, it seems William won. Harry just got a brutal look at his, and Meghan’s, ignominious future under the future King William.

Does anyone really think William will countenance Meghan, after that Diana stunt, retaining her royal title? Let alone any viable connection to the British royal family? Of course not. And Harry, once again, is in exile — with Charles being the only member of his family willing to entertain a reconciliation.

[From The Daily Mail]

Surely referring to Pont de l’Alma as “Diana’s death tunnel” is much more offensive than Meghan posting her feet up in a car as she was chauffeured past Pont Alexandre, nearly a mile away from l’Alma? Jesus, these people. Incidentally, Kim has her own trauma in Paris – she was robbed at gunpoint in Paris in 2016 and she thought she was going to die. It took her years to go back to Paris. Why associate Meghan, Kim and the city of Paris in this way? And for all of the bitching about the Kardashians, that family is winning at every level. The family has a lucrative deal with Hulu, Kim is a billionaire female founder, Khloe is an extremely wealthy female founder, Kylie is an extremely wealthy female founder, and Kendall is a successful model. Like, if we’re just talking about money and professional success, then the Kardashian-Jenners are doing very well. And they seem to know and like Meghan and her mother. So what’s the scandal again? Just bitterness, misogyny and deflection, I guess. Man, it sure sounds like William is incandescent with jealousy that celebrities want to hang out with the Sussexes.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.