Inside Meghan McCain's Bad Blood With Harry And Meghan

One thing about Meghan McCain is that she's always going to make her opinion known, whether it is unwarranted, unpopular, or downright controversial. The commentator and daughter of the late former U.S. Senator John McCain has branded herself as an outspoken woman who is not afraid to let her voice be heard, and one topic the podcast host has been vocal about for years is the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

In early January 2025, Netflix released the trailer for Markle's upcoming show "With Love, Meghan" which offers a closer look into the actor's life, her friendships, and cooking tips. In the trailer, she's portrayed as playful, while she bakes cakes and breads and hosts Hollywood A-listers including Mindy Kaling and celebrity chef Roy Choi. The Duchess is also shown gardening and beekeeping — in other words, simply doing things the public never knew she was involved or interested in. Perhaps unsurprisingly, McCain wasn't a fan of the lavish glee the trailer portrayed. The former talk show host from "The View" took to X and wrote, "All of this even in the trailer is highly curated, produced and out of touch." McCain expressed that given the current world crises and the plight of struggling Americans, the trailer seemed disconnected from reality. "This concept is ill-advised. I would have told her to do a show helping bring fresh food to food deserts in low income neighborhoods," McCain said.

She further stated that Markle's tone-deafness was part of the reason she didn't like the Duchess. Commenters under McCain's post agreed with her sentiments, with some offering comments like, "But also, it's 2024, not 2014. People don't want more curated lifestyle influencers. Even Martha Stewart pivoted her brand. People crave authenticity. They no longer idolize perfectly crafted celebrities anymore."

When Meghan McCain released her opinion on Markle's Netflix trailer, she made it known that there was once a time when she was fond of the former "Suits" actor. "I was originally a Meghan Markle supporter, I thought she was cool, stylish and refreshing," McCain revealed on X. Yet, she made it clear that the fondness dissipated when "she disrespected the royal family." Though the former senator's daughter was not clear what the form of disrespect was, she hinted at the fact that it could be about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's decision to leave the United Kingdom for the United States. "Now that she wants to be American again instead of British aristocracy what she seems to forget is Americans want real, raw, uncensored," McCain wrote.

In 2020, Markle and Prince Harry announced they'd be leaving the U.K. for the U.S. The couple left amidst rising tensions between Prince Harry and his family, especially his brother William, Prince of Wales, that stemmed from the royal family's treatment of his new wife. In 2024, McCain expressed her disapproval of the couple's move to America on the TikTok account for her podcast "Citizen McCain." She said, "Apparently, Prince Harry is now taking official residency here... I don't want them here. I don't want them to be American," (via Newsweek).

In the next breath, she declared that Markle could rightfully live in the U.S. as she is an American, "...but, like, I don't want him to be an American, I don't want their drama here." These statements from the commentator came shortly after news broke that the U.S. had become Prince Harry's official residence.

The Sussexes' move to the U.S. has bothered more than Meghan McCain. President Donald Trump has said on several occasions that Prince Harry's residence in the U.S. is not something he approves of. In 2023, The Heritage Foundation filed a lawsuit against the government, urging them to release details about the Duke's visa application. This was prompted by details in Harry's memoir "Spare," released that year, which indicated he used drugs in the past, including marijuana and cocaine. Therefore, the foundation claimed that the Prince should not have been allowed into the U.S., and wanted to clarify that his drug use was appropriately mentioned in Harry's application. However, Judge Nichols declared that the Duke had the right to have his records remain private.

President Trump commented on the issue in 2024, stating that the authorities would have to take "appropriate action" if it was revealed that Harry lied about his drug use on the application (via NY Post). He also proclaimed that he wouldn't protect the Prince once he was back in power. With Trump back in the Oval Office, some royal experts are worried about what that means for the Sussex's place in the U.S. Ingrid Seward told The Sun, "I don't think Harry and Meghan will be too worried about what Trump might say, it's what he might do that's the issue."

As of early 2025, as officials continue to urge the President to release the Prince's visa records, McCain thinks it would do Trump good, per a post she made on X in early January 2025. "If Trump deports Prince Harry, they will put him on Mt. Rushmore," McCain wrote on the social media platform. A court hearing for the lawsuit is set for early February 2025.

Did Meghan McCain actually say something nice about Meghan Markle? Yes, yes she did; and in true McCain style, she did so while simultaneously mocking the royal family. The words of grace were offered to Markle in 2021, following her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey. In the interview, the "Suits" actor detailed how difficult it was dealing with constant scrutiny from the British media about her life and her relationship. She even noted that she received no support from the royal family, which affected her mental health and left her with suicidal thoughts. McCain empathized with the actor during an episode of ABC's "The View," from which she eventually had a harsh exit. 

"I do think when you're in places ― whether it be work or a family like the royal family ― and you are not protected and people are trafficking in gossip with the intention to make you look bad and hurt your reputation, I can see how they felt like there was no other option for them and their family to put them in a safe space specifically when she was pregnant and she had a new, young child," McCain said at the time (via HuffPost). This was followed by a post on X that said, "Monarchy has been an archaic and toxic concept since 1776." She ended up caught heat for offering compassion to Markle, but she defended herself by saying she simply understood the effects of living in the limelight.

She then took another dig at the monarchy while on "The View," saying, "Monarchies are stupid, the American experiment is the way to go," (via People).

The empathy Meghan McCain felt for Meghan Markle, or the Sussexes generally, went out the door in 2021 when Prince Harry criticized the U.S.' First Amendment, which gives people the right to free speech and press. The Duke was making an appearance on an episode of the "Armchair Expert" podcast, and during the conversation, he said the First Amendment was "bonkers." "I've got so much I want to say about the First Amendment as I sort of understand it, but it is bonkers," the royal said specifically. "I don't want to start going down the First Amendment route because that's a huge subject and one which I don't understand because I've only been here a short time, but you can find a loophole in anything."

Commentator McCain did not take these comments lightly. She immediately took to X, writing, "We fought a war in 1776 so we don't have to care what you say or think." She then pointed out that the royal was seeking refuge in the U.S., and therefore he should be more respectful of our rule of law. These sentiments were echoed by several others, including TV host Laura Ingraham who also left the Prince a note on X that said, "Don't let the door knob hit you, Windsor." McCain told Piers Morgan on Sky News Australia that the statement was disrespectful and held the same weight as if she had said something insulting about Queen Elizabeth III.

By this point, it's evident that Meghan McCain does not like the Sussexes. After the Duke of Sussex bashed the U.S. First Amendment, all bets were off for McCain. In a 2021 interview with Piers Morgan on Sky News Australia, he pointed out to the commentator that she once cared for the Prince and his wife, referencing her sympathy for Meghan Markle following the Oprah Winfrey interview, but McCain made it clear that was no longer the case. "I was a fan in the beginning because I thought they were interesting and sort of modernizing the royal family, but they're way too woke for me," she said (via Newsweek).

A year after she made this statement, she slammed Prince Harry in an article she wrote for the Daily Mail, in which she labeled the royal as a hypocrite. This came after the Duke delivered a speech at the United Nations headquarters in New York for Nelson Mandela International Day, where he considered the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe vs. Wade as one of the world's greatest catastrophes. The 2022 decision changed the right to an abortion for many women across America, but McCain still insisted that Harry's speech was insulting. To the Prince, she wrote, "This is not your home country... The American Constitution is a sacred blueprint upon which this country thrives. It is what makes democracy possible."

She even went on to say, "I find few things as distasteful and disrespectful as a foreigner living in another country and having the hubris to trash it." Since then, her criticism of the couple has only continued, and given her track record of sticking to her opinion, we haven't heard the last of McCain's feelings on the Sussexes.