Meghan Markle Prince Harry's Milestones Since Leaving Royal Family

Yahoo

12-05-2025

It's been over five years since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made the difficult decision to take a step back as senior members of the royal family. While we understand the decision now, the news came as a total shock to longtime royal fans. In the time since, however, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have built a life together in Montecito, California, where they're raising their two children, son Archie and daughter Lilibet.
For all the scrutiny that Harry and Markle have had to endure, it's easy to forget the couple is using their platform as a way to reach out to others through their work in public service. From building their Archewell Foundation in 2020 to the small ways the couple gives back, Harry and Meghan continue to work and find ways to leave a positive impact on the world and create a better future for their children.
Recently, Markle launched some long-awaited projects. Not only did she make waves with her Netflix cooking show, With Love, Meghan, but she also released her lifestyle brand, As Ever, and her new podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder. So, what else have Meghan and Harry done and accomplished over the past few years since leaving the United Kingdom? Take a look through this gallery to learn more.
A version of this article was originally published in May 2022.
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On April 8, 2025, Markle released the first episode of her new podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder.
'I've been having candid conversations with amazing women who have turned dreams into realities, and scaled small ideas into massively successful businesses,' Markle said of the podcast concept. 'They're opening up, sharing their tips, tricks (and tumbles), and letting me pick their brains as I build out my own business, As ever. It has been absolutely eye-opening, inspiring…and fun! (Because what's the point if we can't have some fun on this wild adventure?)'
Markle's first guest stars on the show were Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd and IT Cosmetics founder Jamie Kern Lima.
Markle's long-awaited brand, which was initially called American Riviera Orchard and renamed to As Ever, officially launched on April 2, 2025. The first round of products included her homemade spreads, crepe batter, tea blends and her signature 'flower sprinkles.'
As Ever's first release sold out in under 45 minutes.
As part of Markle and Harry's Netflix deal, she released a cooking and lifestyle show on the platform titled With Love, Meghan on March 4, 2025. In the series, Markle cooks and chats with friends, harvests honey from her bees, and arranges a flower bouquet ahead of a dinner party, and much more. Some of the guests include Abigail Spencer, Mindy Kaling and renowned chef Roy Choi.
By March 7, Netflix announced that With Love, Meghan had already been renewed for season 2. Chef José Andrés is the first confirmed guest.
On Dec. 10, 2024, the docuseries Polo was released on Netflix. Both Harry and Markle served as executive producers.
'They were wonderful. They were extremely hands-on,' the showrunner Miloš Balać told People. 'They really had a vision for trying to get polo to be accessible to a wider audience. Prince Harry knows the sport inside and out.'
One of Harry's most enduring passions has been the work he does through the Invictus Games, a global event that helps wounded, injured and sick military service personnel, both serving and veterans, heal through sports.
While the 2020 event was delayed a couple of years due to the pandemic, the Games continued in full swing at The Hague in 2022. In 2023, Harry and his team organized the event in Düsseldorf, Germany. In 2025, the Invictus Games took place in Vancouver-Whistler.
The first Invictus Games happened back in 2014 when Harry was still in the royal family.
On Dec. 12, 2023, Prince Harry and his lawyers won the months-long case against Mirror Group Newspapers, aka the publishers of The Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and more. Among the accusations made by the royal are that the publisher, from years of 1991 to 2011, acquired information in unlawful ways such as phone-hacking and wire-tapping.
'I hope that the court's finding will serve as a warning to all media organizations who have employed these practices and then similarly lied about it,' Harry's lawyer David Sherbourne said in a statement outside the courthouse. 'My commitment to seeing this case through is based on my belief in our need and collective right to a free and honest press. The mission continues.'
As part of Harry and Meghan's multi-million dollar Netflix deal, Harry produced and starred in an in-depth documentary of his passion project, the Invictus Games. The documentary, titled Heart of Invictus, was released on August 30, 2023, on the platform. The docuseries follows six athletes as they prepare and compete in the 2022 Invictus Games.
On May 6, 2023, Prince Harry attended the long-awaited coronation of King Charles III. 'There was never any question on whether he would want to come or not,' royal expert Omid Scoobie declared. Markle, for her part, stayed behind in California to celebrate their son Archie's fourth birthday.
Not long after the release of Harry & Meghan, the two released Live to Lead on Dec. 31, 2022, a Netflix show about leaders from all over the world. 'Leaders committed to making a difference in the world share their inspiring life stories in this series executive produced by Prince Harry and Meghan,' the official synopsis reads.
Highlighted leaders included Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Jacinda Ardern, Greta Thunberg, Bryan Stevenson and Gloria Steinam.
On Dec 8, 2022, the pair released the first part of their two-part docuseries entitled Harry & Meghan. 'This is Harry being able to — for the first time — talk about his own life,' a source told The Telegraph. 'His family are obviously part of his story, but it's less an exercise in record-setting [than] a means of setting himself free. And then he can move on.'
In the series, Markle and Harry remembered their first dates together, talked about the royal family's reaction to their romance and remembered how terrifying their new life became when hate took over public discourse.
In August 2022, Markle's long-awaited podcast first podcast, Archetypes, was released.
'This is Archetypes — the podcast where we dissect, explore, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back,' Markle said in the teaser. 'I'll have conversations with women who know all too well how these typecasts shape our narratives. And I'll talk to historians to understand how we even got here in the first place.'
Among the guest stars in the first season were Serena Williams, Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton and Issa Rae.
Harry made waves with his tell-all Spare, which was released worldwide on Jan. 10, 2023.
In the memoir, Harry talked about the tricky dynamics between Kate Middleton and Markle, the strained relationship with his brother (including their physical confrontation) and his NSFW virginity confession.
In December 2021, Markle won her privacy and copyright infringement case against Associated Newspapers, responsible for the tabloid that published excerpts of a private letter between Meghan and her father, Thomas Markle.
'This is a victory not just for me, but for anyone who has ever felt scared to stand up for what's right,' she said in a statement. 'While this win is precedent-setting, what matters most is that we are now collectively brave enough to reshape a tabloid industry that conditions people to be cruel, and profits from the lies and pain that they create.'
In September 2021, Markle and Harry had the distinguished honor of being included in Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People. The couple even appeared on the cover of the magazine.
'In a world where everyone has an opinion about people they don't know, the duke and duchess have compassion for the people they don't know,' World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés wrote of the couple. 'They don't just opine. They run toward the struggle.'
After revealing to Oprah (and the world) that they were expecting a baby girl, Markle and Harry announced the arrival of their daughter, Lilibet Diana, in June 2021. 'It is with great joy that Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, welcome their daughter, Lilibet 'Lili' Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, to the world,' the couple shared in a statement.
'Lili was born on Friday, June 4 at 11:40 a.m. in the trusted care of the doctors and staff at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, CA. She weighed 7 lbs 11 oz. Both mother and child are healthy and well, and settling in at home,' the statement went on. 'Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honor her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.'
As we all know, Harry and Meghan welcomed their first son, Archie Harrison in 2019.
In March 2021, Markle and Harry made the decision to open up to Oprah Winfrey in a televised interview on CBS. During their conversation, Meghan revealed she struggled with suicidal ideation during her time as a royal and how the royal family, aka The Firm, struggled to support her concerns. It was also the first time they opened up about the royal family's concern over their kids' skin color.
'We have in tandem the conversation of 'He won't be given security, he's not going to be given a title' and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born,' Markle said, per The New York Times.
Harry also shared that his relationship with his immediate family became quite strained after their departure, and how they almost immediately cut all ties, including financial.
Following Harry and Markle's departure from the royal family, the couple started their own foundation, titled Archewell. They launched Archewell's official website in December 2020. 'We believe in the best of humanity. Because we have seen the best of humanity. We have experienced compassion and kindness, from our mothers and strangers alike,' the couple wrote in their joint letter on Archewell's website.
'In the face of fear, struggle and pain, it can be easy to lose sight of this. Together, we can choose to put compassion in action.' Archewell has been the hub through which a number the couple's public service endeavors flow through, and it's used as the place where the couple can highlight organizations with whom they're partnering and more.
In September of 2020, Markle and Harry signed a historic multi-million-dollar deal with Netflix.
'Harry and Meghan have inspired millions of people all around the world with their authenticity, optimism and leadership,' said Ted Sarandos, a co-chief executive and the chief content officer at Netflix, in his announcement. 'We're incredibly proud they have chosen Netflix as their creative home – and are excited about telling stories with them that can help build resilience and increase understanding for audiences everywhere.'