While there were always naysayers predicting that the couple would have trouble supporting themselves, no one ever thought that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry would have a hard time making friends in the US.
But according to new claims from Paul Burrell — who was butler to Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana — the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have become persona non grata among Hollywood’s elite.
“Harry and Meghan’s circle is getting smaller and smaller,” Burrell recently told Closer magazine (via Yahoo! News).
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle: Have Their Friends Really Cut Ties With the Couple?
Burrell went on to allege that some of Sussexes’ most famous friends have distanced themselves in recent months.
“I think the A-list stars are dropping like flies,” the butler said.
“Some already have done — Oprah [Winfrey] no longer seems involved with them and some other celebrities have also dropped them.”
“Back in the day, the A-listers were riding on the moment — Harry and Meghan were the most popular couple in the country at one time, when they got married, but there’s since been a decline,”
Burrell claims that several Hollywood stars have “turned down recent invites” from the pair, including other famous couples like George and Amal Clooney, and Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom.
The cause of this supposed decline in popularity?
According to Burrell, it’s mostly due to the fact that the novelty of British royals living in California has lost its sheen.
Burrell says that while Americans still “love the royal family,” they are now realizing that Meghan and Harry are a “sideshow” and not the “main event.”
Meghan and Harry’s Branding Crisis
In recent comments to Spin Genie (via The New York Post), Burrell theorized that Harry and Meghan have “downgraded” themselves by cutting ties with the royals.
“Meghan and Harry have divorced themselves from the brand, which is the royal family. They’ve downgraded themselves,” he said.
“They are disassociating themselves with them because it ruins their brand,” he said.
The former butler added that A-list stars like the Clooneys “would rather be associated with [Prince] William and [Princess] Kate.”
“The true A-listers, who move in those circles, realize that Harry and Meghan’s brand isn’t as popular or as valuable, to be associated with as the real royal brand, and I can see people dropping like flies around them,” he explained.
“[The royals] just don’t trust him … It’s very sad. If his mother [Princess Diana] was alive, it just would not be happening.”
Burrell concluded that Harry has “worn away all the trust that they had in him.”
Tumultuous Times For Harry and Meghan
Of course, if Burrell’s claims are true, then there are likely various, complex reasons for why Harry and Meghan are less popular these days.
The couple has endured some bad press in recent months, including claims that Meghan is difficult to work with.
And then authorities declared Harry and Meghan’s charity delinquent due to a paperwork mixup. The couple has since cleared that matter up.
And with Kate Middleton and King Charles both battling cancer, sympathy for the London royals is likely at an all-time high.
In short, the news that Meghan and Harry might be moving back to the UK seems more plausible with each passing day.
Meghan Markle & Prince Harry’s Friends Are ‘Dropping Like Flies’ … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.