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Elderflower cake, a bronze penguin statue and the relaunch of a $AU90 candle – that was how Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, marked their eight-year wedding anniversary on May 19, and it caused quite the stir.
The duo – who married back in 2018 at St George’s Chapel in Windsor – were unusually active on social media as their wedding date passed, sharing a slew of photos and videos to celebrate the occasion.
Not only did Meghan film herself squealing with delight as Harry gave her a bronze penguin statue as a gift, but there were snaps of them passionately kissing in the kitchen and clips of the couple’s children Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, four, singing “Happy Anniversary to Mama”.
“When mama and papa, when we got engaged, we had a party with all of our friends, and we said, ‘everyone wear an animal onesie’ and we were penguins,” Meghan explained in the video. “Because they’re together for life.”
Over on the Instagram page of the former Suits star’s As Ever lifestyle range, the anniversary marked the perfect moment to relaunch Meghan’s Signature Candle NO.519, which is “inspired by the ease and joy of a day that holds Meghan’s most cherished memories—her wedding day, May 19th”.
The commercial play didn’t go unnoticed online, with PR commentator Star Chaires taking to YouTube to denounce the move.
“Of course, what good is a post without trying to make some money out of it, monetise it and tie it directly to your signature candle number 519,” she said.
“You guys left real life for privacy, healing and freedom and somehow ended up selling us the smell of the wedding.
“I seriously have second-hand embarrassment,” the commentator added.
Other online commenters, meanwhile, labelled the numerous posts “performative” and “bizarre”.
One royal watcher took to X to declare, “This is so so cringe! If these were personal family moments and not contrived then why would you need the world to see them?? Even their anniversary is all about ‘Mama’! What did she buy him? Her presence?”
The posts come at a difficult time for Meghan and Harry, with sources reported as saying “money is tight”.
Insiders previously told Page Six that Meghan is “basically the breadwinner” in the Sussex household as her husband focuses on his philanthropic work.
Now, sources tell Woman’s Day that, behind the scenes, Harry is hoping his father King Charles will help hook him up with referrals and opportunities in the UK when he returns to the country in July for the WellChild Awards, in a bid to bring in more cash.
“It may not be what people want to believe but Harry and Charles are in touch, they are even having long conversations. Harry is very transparent with his father about how tough things have been,” the source says.
“There are the issues with Invictus, the Australian government has pulled funding and now they’ve got to find replacement money. And on a personal level the monthly expenses are massive and, as everyone knows, nearly all their deals have fallen apart.”
While the insider claims the request for help from Harry has “not come out of the left field” they explain that it has still “left the entire Firm appalled”.
“Even the few courtiers that were coming around and being supportive of his renewed relationship with Charles are pushing back on this,” the source claims, adding that Prince William is the most vocal about his displeasure over what he sees as his brother’s “self-serving mission”.
“Harry’s stance is that he doesn’t want to be doing this,” the insider adds. “It’s his last resort and he can’t believe his brother would be so cold as to want him to be left to rot. He refuses to believe his dad would be that cold.”
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