What Could Happen To Meghan Markle If Prince Harry Dies First?

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Royal life is a uniquely complicated situation. "We're not a family. We're a firm," King George VI apparently claimed (via The New York Times). While Queen Elizabeth II understood this concept from childhood, it's often been a little harder for people marrying into the family. Although Prince Philip was a blood royal (his uncle had been the King of Greece), he still chafed at some of the constraints, which led to problems during his long marriage to Elizabeth. When Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, married Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, in 2018, she had an even more tumultuous time. Unfortunately, if Harry were to die first, it's probable that her connection with her royal in-laws would be almost nonexistent. 

Meghan never had the opportunity to build lasting ties to the royals. Her career as a working royal lasted less than two years before she and Harry moved to the United States. In addition, Meghan, Prince Archie, and Princess Lilibet haven't visited the U.K. since 2022, and the possibility of traveling has been hampered by ongoing safety concerns. Harry apparently had difficulty getting security for Meghan, and King Charles made the decision to remove the Sussexes' protection after they left the royal workforce.

However, the biggest obstacle might be the complicated family relationships. William, Prince of Wales, is reportedly thwarting any reconciliation between Harry and Charles, and it's unlikely Meghan would be able to bridge these gaps if she were widowed.

Even without Prince Harry dying first, Meghan Markle's royal status has been on shaky ground since the couple ceased working for the Firm in early 2020. A year later, some people wanted Harry to opt out of the royal line of succession as they apparently couldn't handle Meghan being in line for queen consort. Around this same time, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's interview with Oprah Winfrey reportedly burned bridges with the family. "There were talks at the Palace looking at how you strip him of his dukedom," an insider confided to The Times in 2021. "It has never been done before, but there are people who think it is both feasible and desirable."

While nothing came to pass, royal policy has seen a lot of changes since King Charles took the helm. After Harry's uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, lost his prince and Duke of York titles in 2026, one royal expert thought Harry and Meghan might be next on the list. When William, Prince of Wales, becomes king, the Sussexes could be in an even more precarious position due to the long-running feud between the two brothers.

Meghan and William haven't exactly seen eye to eye, either. In 2025, William was particularly incensed to discover that Meghan used her HRH title privately. While this action was a gray area in terms of royal rules, it's possible that William might be motivated to try to remove Meghan's title if she were widowed during his reign.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have an insanely lavish life. Since they also share two children, the couple needs a lot of capital to support their family. After they bowed out of life as working royals, Meghan and Harry couldn't depend on the monarchy as an income stream. However, they quickly landed some lucrative money-making opportunities, including a deal with Netflix. Harry's memoir, "Spare," also provided a chunk of change. The prince reportedly got a $20 million advance, and he's likely continuing to make money from royalties. Since his publishing contract is for multiple books, he has additional opportunities to bolster his family's financial security.

However, if Harry were to die first, Meghan could continue to support the family through her own ventures. Meghan's hustle goes back to childhood, when she was selling homemade scrunchies. Even though the duchess had some business flops in 2025, she's shown resilience in the face of setbacks. For instance, while Netflix didn't renew the contract for a regular run of "With Love, Meghan," Meghan's company approached the news positively. "We have experienced meaningful and rapid growth, and As Ever is now ready to stand on its own," an As Ever rep informed Page Six in March 2026. "We have an exciting year ahead and can't wait to share more." In addition, the news wasn't all bad, since Netflix did agree to produce occasional specials, ensuring that Meghan's lifestyle TV dreams weren't completely over.