Craziest Royal Conspiracy Theories About Meghan Markle
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, SheKnows may receive an affiliate commission.
Meghan Markle’s brief time as a member of the British Royal Family will go down in history for the many upheavals of tradition it set into motion, not least her decision to raise son and future Prince Archie far from the walls of Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately, this era of the royal family will also be remembered for the intense, vitriolic reaction the public had to Meghan becoming a Duchess. Throughout her time at Prince Harry’s side, Meghan was plagued not only by the standard murmurs of royal etiquette gone wrong, but by more wild and persistent conspiracy theories than lobbed at any other UK royal in recent memory — and yeah, we’re looking at the craziest ones right now.
From second-guessing Archie’s birth date to accusing Meghan of a decades-long ploy to snag Harry, a small corner of the internet has been working overtime since the Suits star’s name was ever linked with the Firm. It should go without saying (but we’ll say it anyway) that we are in no way suggesting these theories are true. But taking a look at which rumors have stuck with Meghan the longest paints a revealing picture of why they’re trying to take her down.
Meghan’s fairy-tale story of meeting Harry on a blind date, joining the royal family, and having Archie strikes some Meghan Markle critics as an impossibility in and of itself. They’re determined to find an explanation for how this could have happened beyond her natural charm and plain good luck — but often, the simplest explanation is the best one.
Here are the craziest conspiracy theories that dogged Meghan Markle throughout her time as a royal, from jabs at her Instagram to hints at her political motives. With theories like these, who needs TV?
A version of this article was originally published on Oct 2020.
More from SheKnows
Best of SheKnows
Meet the Bidens! Our Favorite Photos of Joe, Jill, & Their Giant Family Over the Years
40 Times Meghan Markle's Post-Royal Fashion Took Our Breath Away
Meghan Markle Kept Archie’s Birth a Secret for Two Weeks
When Harry and Meghan gave their first post-birth interview with Archie, Harry made a comment about how much babies change in the first two weeks — but what many viewers heard was Harry slipping up and admitting he had been watching his own baby grow and change over the past two weeks.
Meghan’s increased “secrecy” around the pregnancy (basically, her refusal to pose on St. George’s steps hours after giving birth) convinced the public that she was hiding something, and that she was determined to keep Archie away from the public as long as possible. Others watching this interview even believed a doll was used rather than a real baby in the appearance.
Meghan Markle Started the Rose Hanbury Affair Rumors
Okay, buckle up for this one. As many people know, Richard Kay, Giles Coren, and Nicole Cliffe all claimed they knew about the alleged affair between Prince William and Rose Hanbury in 2019, with quite a few writers saying a trusted source told them. There are quite a few Reddit threads claiming they believe Meghan Markle was the one who originally started the rumors as a form of payback.
One Reddit user wrote that “Meghan was furious she was not invited to the shindig that Harry went to,” saying, “We know that Harry went to some gig & was seated next to Rose Hanbury, there’s pix & this was on 13 July 2017 there are 2 pix of Harry & Rose sitting next to each other. He was with Meghan officially then and they were living together.”
So people who believe this theory claim that Meghan was upset that Rose Hanbury was Harry’s date to an event, because the family allegedly didn’t want her there. So her payback was to start rumors about Hanbury and William.
Meghan Markle Is Helping England Take Back the US
In Greg Pollowitz’s defense, he wasn’t quite aware of what he would set off with this theory: “Prince Harry’s kids will be Americans. What if one grows up to be president and is in line for the throne at the same time? Brits are playing long-ball here, but it’s a smart move. They want America back and this is how they’ll do it.”
Though Pollowitz himself was joking, responses made it clear that many view this as a real fear. And with Meghan’s recent comments on voting being met with more backlash than ever, it’s clear that many still believe her intention was to gain political influence through the royal family.
Meghan Markle Was Never Actually Pregnant
Unfortunately, Meghan is far from the only public figure to face this rumor, but here goes: Meghan has long been suspected of hiring a surrogate for Archie, and having faked her highly public pregnancy with a fake belly. The Duchess’ appearances while pregnant were heavily scrutinized and many pointed to screenshots or video clips in which the bump appeared to “wobble” as evidence of its fakeness.
Others were staggered when Meghan successfully squatted down to pat a dog’s head in heels and stood back up seamlessly with her massive pregnant belly, her knees remaining closed. “Saw MM repeatedly crouching in stilettos, knees closed, graceful,” one tweet read. “Don’t care how much yoga she did, it’s impossible. Period.”
Meghan Markle Paid to Get More Instagram Followers Than Kate Middleton
When Meghan and Harry began their Sussex Royal account, their meteoric rise in followers, and their popularity relative to the Cambridge royals’ account, was such a hot topic of discussion even the New York Times weighed in. The issue wasn’t that Meghan and Harry were popular, but that they were too popular, and then suddenly, not popular enough. By initial numbers, NYT and others had predicted they would eclipse Prince William and Kate Middleton’s following — but just before reaching that mark, the numbers slowed and evened out.
A few different conspiracy theories are at play here in how that may have happened — first, some believe Meghan was funding fake followers at the beginning of the Sussex Royal page to cement her popularity over Kate. And second, others believe the royal family intervened when it seemed the Sussexes might actually overtake the Cambridges follower count, and ensured that wouldn’t happen.
Meghan Markle Has Been Posing As Her Own Fake Friends
During Meghan’s tenure as a royal, many anonymous sources have spoken out against the Duchess — and a considerably lower number have stepped forward to defend her. This is believed to be in line with the royal family’s preference not to address royal rumors, which Meghan’s friends would have been aware of and respected. But some believe even the relatively small number of Meghan defenders are a hoax, and that Meghan herself has been posing as these “friends.”
One Reddit user explains the theory here: “It is becoming highly likely that Meghan’s friends are in fact her. All talking to media is done by email only, never on the phone or face to face…. easy to create email addresses. Before she was catapulted to real fame, when she was on cable show Suits, she had a PR person that did her negotiating by email only…The recipient of this email tried to speak to her and was not able to, strictly email only. The PR person’s IP address was traced back to MM’s home, where she lived alone.”
We’d bet the Duchess has better things to do than man a handful of anonymous email accounts, but go off.
Meghan Markle Grew Up With a Plan to Become a Royal Like Diana
While Meghan is believed to have had little knowledge of Harry at the time of their first meeting, a blind date at Soho House, a theory has been swirling that the Duchess had far more knowledge of the royal family than she let on. In fact, some allege that Meghan specifically sought out Diana’s exact perfume, watch, and clothes to subliminally trick Harry into falling for her.
In Andrew Morton’s Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, he further cites a childhood friend of Meghan’s saying she was “always fascinated by the Royal family,” and wanted to be “Princess Diana 2.0.”
So, Meghan may not have been oblivious to the royal family’s existence — but who on earth is?
Meghan Markle Is a Robot
There was a video of Meghan Markle at a Britain’s Got Talent finale, and people thought she looked unreal. Specifically, she didn’t blink or show facial expressions in the video, and then people theorized she is a robot. However, this video was debunked soon after it was released, with people coming forward that it was two people in Meghan and Prince Harry masks.
Meghan Markle Was Wearing a Microphone During Queen Elizabeth II’s Funeral
During Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and the walkaround with Prince Harry, Kate Middleton, and Prince William, people speculated that Meghan Markle was wearing a wire. This theory came to light when photos of her circulated online, with people zooming in on a crease in her dress. Because of this, people thought she had a microphone to pick up audio for a Netflix show.
One user wrote, “Is Meghan markle wearing a mic to use the queens death for her Netflix reality show?” Many people hopped on this theory, and many theorized it was a buckle or a blood sugar monitor.
Meghan Markle Is a Sleeper Agent for the US Government
So this theory started because of Paul Bettany?! In a previous interview with The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, per RD, he joked about Meghan Markle working for the government. “I think that Meghan Markle might be a sleeper agent for the U.S. government. The dad doing the photos thing, it’s like a false-flag event, I think the C.I.A.’s involved—everybody. I think Piers Morgan’s involved,” he joked. However, people ran with it.
One Reddit user spoke about how one book claimed her uncle worked for the CIA? But that’s as far as this conspiracy has gone.
Meghan Went to King Charles III’s Coronation Incognito
During King Charles III’s coronation, many were convinced that composer Sir Karl Jenkins was Meghan Markle in disguise, per Bustle. Obviously, it isn’t true, but this convinced TikTok for a week.
