Meghan Markle and Prince Harry made their royal exit in 2020, but 2022 proved to be the year when they officially carved out their new lives in California.
On Monday, Netflix announced that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are serving as executive producers on "Live to Lead," a documentary series that will premiere on Dec. 31. The show, inspired by Nelson Mandela, aims to explore the lives and legacies of leaders and activists. The release came shortly after the streaming giant premiered their docuseries "Harry & Meghan," which made history as their biggest documentary debut ever with 81.55 million viewing hours – and counting.
Harry, 38, a grandson of the late Queen Elizabeth II, married the former American actress, 41, in a fairy-tale wedding at Windsor Castle in 2018. The former "Suits" star became the Duchess of Sussex upon her marriage to the British prince. Less than two years later, the couple left Britain, citing what they saw as the media’s racist treatment of the duchess and a lack of support from the palace. They now reside in the coastal city of Montecito, California, where they have been raising their son Archie, 3, and daughter Lilibet, 1.
Below are the 15 ways the couple has managed to make headlines throughout 2022.
In January, it was revealed that the Duchess of Sussex would receive the nominal sum of 1 pound ($1.21) after a court found that Britain’s Mail on Sunday invaded her privacy. The Guardian reported the figure 10 days after the Mail decided to forego further appeals and published a statement acknowledging that the former American actress had won her lawsuit. The figure covered only the duchess’s claims for invasion of privacy. The Mail would pay another unspecified sum for infringement of copyright and lawyer fees, the Guardian reported, citing court documents.
In February, the couple came forward to speak out about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex posted a statement on their Archewell website that read, "WE STAND WITH THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE."
"Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and all of us at Archewell stand with the people of Ukraine against this breach of international and humanitarian law and encourage the global community and its leaders to do the same," their statement read.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, unleashing airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending troops and tanks from multiple directions in a move that could rewrite the world’s geopolitical landscape. Ukraine’s government pleaded for help as civilians piled into trains and cars to flee.
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In April, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex traveled to the Netherlands for the Invictus Games, marking the couple’s first public appearance in Europe since stepping back as senior royals. The event came a day after the couple visited the queen at Windsor Castle for their first joint visit to the U.K. since moving to America. The week-long games are for active servicemen and veterans who are ill or injured. Harry, who served 10 years in the British Army, has been a champion of causes that benefit servicemen and women. In an interview with "Today," Harry sat down with Hoda Kotb and detailed his visit with the queen. "I'm just making sure that she's, you know, protected and got the right people around her," he explained.
In May, the duchess made a surprise visit to Texas to pay her respects to the victims killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. The mother of two kept a low profile and ignored questions from reporters as she placed a bouquet of white roses at a memorial. Nineteen children and two teachers were murdered in one of the deadliest classroom shootings in U.S. history.
In May, Buckingham Palace confirmed that Prince Andrew, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, would not appear on the palace balcony in celebration of the queen’s 70-year reign. The queen decreed that only working members of the royal family would join her on the balcony to watch a Royal Air Force fly-past after the traditional military review known as Trooping the Color. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex put on a brave face as they were booed by some members of the public after leaving the Service of Thanksgiving. During the couple's stay in the U.K. for the festivities, they photographed their daughter Lilibet. The image was shared in June to commemorate her first birthday.
In July, Harry delivered a keynote speech in honor of Nelson Mandela Day at the United Nations in New York City. He challenged people everywhere to adopt the anti-apartheid leader's spirit of hope in today’s divided world to reclaim democracies and leave a better future for children. He also reflected on the memories of his late mother, Princess Diana, and described Markle as his "soulmate."
In July, a judge in London ruled that the prince can take the British government to court over his security arrangements. The father of two, who wants to pay for his own police security when he visits his family in the U.K., is challenging the government’s refusal to allow it. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex lost publicly funded U.K. police protection after they gave up their status as senior royals.
That same month, Harry won the first stage of his legal battle against the Mail on Sunday. He previously filed a claim against the newspaper's publisher, Associated Newspapers Limited, over parts of an article published in February that he claimed caused "serious damage to his reputation and substantial hurt, embarrassment and distress which is continuing." A High Court judge in London ruled that the article in question was "defamatory."
MEGHAN MARKLE BULLYING CLAIMS: BUCKINGHAM PALACE TO KEEP REVIEW FINDINGS PRIVATE
In July, Buckingham Palace announced it investigated how the staff handled allegations of bullying made against the duchess, but the findings will remain private. Palace officials told reporters that the details of the independent review are not being released to protect the confidentiality of those who took part. Current and former staff were invited to speak about their experiences working for the former "Suits" star after claims surfaced last year, accusing her of bullying several staff members. Following the review, officials said the palace's human resources policies were updated, but the palace declined to say what the changes were.
In August, the duchess officially dropped the first episode of her Spotify podcast "Archetypes." It featured a chat with her longtime pal and tennis champ Serena Williams. During the sit-down, Markle recalled her royal tour of South Africa with Harry and their son Archie, which took place in 2019. She claimed that during the tour, Archie’s room caught on fire. In a separate episode, Mariah Carey stirred headlines when she called Markle a "diva." The singer tweeted, "Yes! I called her a diva, in the most fabulous, gorgeous, and empowering meaning of the word!!!"
In August, the duchess appeared on the cover of The Cut where she weighed in on the "toxic" tabloid culture that led to her royal exit. The outlet also shed light on the couple’s lavish home, which was purchased for $14.65 million.
"The Montecito house is the kind of big that startles you into remembering that unimaginable wealth is actually someone’s daily reality," the outlet described. "It evokes a classic Tuscan villa, a Napa vineyard, and a manicured Beverly Hills country club decorated with careful, considered coastal tones for a casual air – the home equivalent of billionaires dressing down in denim."
"We did everything we could to get this house," said Markle. "Because you walk in and go… joy. And exhale. And calm. It’s healing. You feel free."
On Sept. 8 the queen passed away at Scotland’s Balmoral Castle at age 96. The Telegraph alleged that Harry’s father, King Charles III, told his youngest son that his grandmother had died "five minutes before Buckingham Palace released the official statement." The outlet also claimed Harry was told "sometime after" his older brother Prince William.
Soon after, it was revealed that Harry would not be allowed to wear his military uniform for the funeral. A spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex told Fox News Digital that he "will wear a morning suit throughout events honoring his grandmother." Harry lost his honorary military titles following his royal exit. "His decade of military service is not determined by the uniform he wears, and we respectfully ask that focus remain on the life and legacy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II," the spokesperson added.
While Harry wore a suit for the funeral, he was allowed at the last minute to wear his uniform as he stood vigil over the queen’s coffin beforehand. It was noticeably different as the "ER" initials for "Elizabeth Regina" in Latin were spotted on Prince William and Prince Andrew’s military regalia. "The only reason he was allowed to wear the uniform was that the king granted permission for that moment in Westminster Hall for the vigil, but he is not a serving member of the armed forces. Therefore, the uniform can be adapted to reflect that," True Royalty TV co-founder Nick Bullen explained to Fox News Digital.
In October, Markle’s cover story for Variety was revealed after the mourning period of the queen’s passing. Previously, the duchess was named one of Variety’s Power of Women honorees. In the interview, the duchess detailed how filmmaker Liz Garbus was working on her docuseries. "It’s nice to be able to trust someone with our story – a seasoned director whose work I’ve long admired – even if it means it may not be the way we would have told it," she explained.
PRINCE HARRY’S MEMOIR 'SPARE' CAN 'BE A DANGER’ TO THE ROYAL FAMILY, EXPERT SAYS
In October, Penguin Random House announced that Harry’s highly anticipated memoir, titled "Spare," will be released on Jan. 10, 2023. When Penguin Random House announced the memoir in 2021, the company described it as "an intimate and heartfelt" manuscript by Harry that would be "the definitive account of the experiences, adventures, losses and life lessons that have helped shape him."
"I’m writing this not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become," Harry said in a statement at the time. He added that he was intending to give a "firsthand account of my life that’s accurate and wholly truthful."
In December, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the 2022 Ripple of Hope Gala in New York City as reports swirled over their upcoming Netflix docuseries. The couple’s appearance came days after the Prince and Princess of Wales visited the U.S. for the first time in eight years for the Earthshot Prize in Boston. Harry and Markle were picked to receive the award from the Robert F. Kennedy foundation in "recognition of their work on racial justice, mental health, and other social impact initiatives through their Archewell Foundation," a press release from the human rights organization said.
In December, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex released their docuseries on Netflix titled "Harry & Meghan." It chronicled the couple’s estrangement from the royal family and the societal racism they believe has fueled coverage of their relationship. Promoted with two dramatically edited trailers that hinted at a "war against Meghan," the show is the couple’s latest effort to tell their story after a series of interviews with U.S. media organizations, most notably a two-hour sit down in 2021 with Oprah Winfrey.
