The new year has brought a chill to the Montecito estate of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. It is January 2026, and sources describe a quiet but distinct friction between Meghan Markle and Prince Harry—a dispute that boils down to how they handle their money.
The issue is Meghan’s plan for her business, As Ever. She wants to turn the two-year-old brand into a retail giant like Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop. But while Meghan sees this as the time to go big, insiders say Prince Harry, 41, is urging caution, reportedly “despairing” over the costs involved.
Individuals familiar with the situation told Radar Online that Meghan has authorized a major international rollout of As Ever products, targeting markets in Europe and Asia. The move is driven by what she views as strong initial sales of her jam line and a conviction that the brand’s early momentum must be capitalized on immediately.
“Meghan genuinely believes this is her shot to make a massive Goop-style move and transform As Ever into a brand with worldwide influence,” said one source familiar with her thinking. “She frequently points to the way Goop has a global appeal and reach, and she is convinced that by moving quickly and decisively now, her own brand can follow the same trajectory.”
This aggressive push has Prince Harry worried. He’s looking at the bottom line. It’s been six years since they stepped back from royal duties, and the financial landscape has changed. The massive checks from partners like Spotify aren’t coming in anymore. Sources say the steady income they expected has been hit-or-miss compared to those early $100 million days, and Harry is focused on stability.
Meghan Markle is the biggest social climber, fake and fraud in modern history.
A narcissist Z-list actress who think she’s so pretty. She’s ugly on the inside and clearly it’s reflecting outwards now. pic.twitter.com/pGwBB7Rjrw
— 𝐍𝐢𝐨𝐡 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐠 ✡︎ 🇮🇷 (@NiohBerg) November 21, 2025
Matters got worse this week when the As Ever website malfunctioned. For a brief moment, the site displayed a large amount of inventory, leading people online to guess that the business was sitting on mountains of unsold product. Critics were quick to call it a sign of failure.
However, a source who knows the business operations pushed back on that idea.
“The stockpiling has nothing to do with the business struggling,” the insider said. “It was manufactured deliberately as part of forward planning for overseas distribution, something Meghan has been mapping out for a long time rather than reacting on the fly.”
Despite this assurance, the optics have reportedly left Prince Harry uneasy. Associates say the Duke is concerned that they cannot sustain the spending.
“He keeps coming back to the same point, telling Meghan they simply can’t afford to pour money in at this speed,” said a source close to the couple. “He isn’t opposed to the business itself, and he accepts that the early numbers looked promising, but what worries him is the pace of spending and how quickly costs are mounting compared with the cash coming in.”
This is really about two people looking at the same problem and seeing different solutions. Prince Harry is reportedly trying to stop the bleeding, focused on financial survival, and potentially working to fix things with his relatives. Meghan Markle is looking at the bigger picture and believes she needs scale to succeed. Sources say she is determined to dominate the U.K. jam market as the first step in a broader conquest.
Her Royal Highness Princess Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex on being ambitious: “Why is it culturally we are equipping girls and women to think that if you are ambitious there’s something negative about that.”#MeghanMarklehttps://t.co/xgSgvsYKwf pic.twitter.com/5cUhmI7RPl
— The Powers (@CRNyakio) January 23, 2026
“From her point of view, this is the moment to pull the trigger on a full-scale expansion, with the U.K. serving only as the first step in a much broader international push,” an insider said.
The stakes are heightened by the couple’s performance in their media projects. Meghan Markle’s Netflix cooking series, With Love, Meghan, which was designed to help sell As Ever products, reportedly saw declining viewership, and a third season has not been announced.
Nevertheless, Meghan Markle remains undeterred. “She knows he’s trying to be careful and protect their finances,” the source said. “But in her mind, hitting the brakes at this stage would be a huge mistake and could mean missing the momentum she believes the brand is finally building.”
For now, the expansion is moving forward. Meghan Markle is convinced that the “Goop model”—high-end curation and global reach—is the ticket to the billionaire lifestyle they are after.
“She genuinely believes this is her moment to act,” the source said. “In her mind, allowing fear or second-guessing to slow her down would mean undermining everything she has been working toward, so she is determined to push ahead regardless of the risks.”
Inquisitr has reached out to the reps for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry for comment.
