Is Prince Harry a 'spare part' in his marriage to Meghan Markle? Royal experts question why the Duke took a backseat at the Time 100 Summit on PALACE CONFIDENTIAL

Daily Mail​

25-04-2025

Prince Harry was so fed up with playing second fiddle to his brother Prince William, that he titled his bombshell memoir Spare.
But the Mail's Royal experts have questioned if history is now repeating itself in his marriage to Meghan Markle.
The American actress, 43, wore a £4,000 Ralph Lauren suit as she delivered a rousing speech about the 'Power of Flower Sprinkles' at the Time 100 summit on Wednesday.
Rather than taking to the stage alongside her, the Duke of Sussex, 40, was seen chaperoning his wife to and from the venue in New York, as well as supporting her from the audience.
'There's a really interesting video doing the rounds on social media which shows their car pulling up to the event venue,' the Daily Mail's Royal Editor Rebecca English said on the latest episode of Palace Confidential.
'Meghan is on the side nearest to the photographers who I assume are paparazzi or news photographers or videographers, and Harry is on the far side of the car,' she continued.
'He comes round and tries to chivalrously put his hand on her arm and she literally swerves him and goes to greet the person they are meeting with a big bear hug.
'The word spare part came to my mind. Why is he there and what is he doing?'
Rebecca, who recently accompanied King Charles and Camilla on their state visit to Italy, is joined on this week's episode of the hit YouTube show alongside host Jo Elvin and the Daily Mail's Diary Editor Richard Eden.
'The event is about [Meghan],' Richard explained. 'She is the one onstage speaking.'
'But is that a bit of a sting as well though?' Jo questioned before bringing up the couple's front cover for Time Magazine in September 2021.
Following their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, Harry and Meghan were both named in the magazine's list of the top 100 most influential people.
At the time, the striking cover sparked endless memes on social media, with one critic suggesting that Harry looked more like Meghan's hairdresser explaining what he did with her layers than her husband.
However, this year, the Sussexes have not been featured on any of the five worldwide covers for the most influential people list. Notably, they did not even break into the top 100 names.
Speaking on Palace Confidential, Jo points out that it was just Meghan who took to the stage on Wednesday evening - despite both of them being named as the top 100 most influential people in 2021.
'I think it is a fair point to make,' Rebecca replied. 'It does make you wonder what [Harry] is doing with his life to counterbalance that out in America.'
Prince Harry chaperoned his wife from their private car as she arrived at the prestigious venue
'This year was very much going to be Meghan's year with her podcasts and her TV series,' Richard added. 'I think we are always going to have this situation.'
In what was described by the Sussex website as a 'dynamic conversation' with TIME Magazine CEO Jessica Sibley, the Duchess said it had been an 'incredibly busy' time recently as she launched her Netflix show, new podcast and lifestyle brand As Ever - but being a mother gave her 'perspective'.
The Duchess said of her new ventures: 'I think as a working mom, and again, these are three projects that we're all launching really at the same time.
'The behind the scenes for the past year and a half have been incredibly busy and ambitious.'
Meghan added that Archie is set lose 'his first tooth this week' and that she hoped they would be 'back home in time for it'.
'Frankly, being a parent gives you the most illuminating perspective, because what is seemingly so big, somehow becomes so microscopic in importance compared to what's happening with your children,' she said.
The ex-actress, who rose to fame on the legal drama Suits, was also keen to talk about 'flower sprinkles' - a product associated with her lifestyle brand As Ever.
'They are tiny little flower petals that are dried. I started putting them on salads, I started putting them on scrambled eggs,' she said.
Richard revealed he found Meghan's flower sprinkles 'irritating'
The Duchess urged the audience to take flower sprinkles really as an analogy' for the small ways you can 'add a little splash of magic' to everyday life.
Despite Meghan's rather contagious enthusiasm for flower sprinkles, Richard was not convinced.
'I just think they are irritating, aren't they?' he said on the latest episode of Palace Confidential.
'Here's, you know, an omelette. I'm going to throw a load of dried flowers on top. Big deal.
'Why don't you make a tasty omelette, instead? Sorry, you're starting to wind me up now.'
Laughing along, Rebecca said: 'She puts them on everything from scrambled eggs to a yogurt parfait.
'I was thinking: "I would just be lucky if I get my family with a little bit of cereal down them and out the door in the morning, let alone sprinkle it with flowers."'