NEWS

‘You could lose everything’

After Prince Harry is hit with eye-watering costs following a failed legal case, insiders say wife Meghan Markle has been forced to ‘rein in’ their extravagant spending as their popularity crisis continues

Admitting defeat in his libel trial against a major newspaper last week, Prince Harry and his legal team abandoned the case just hours before important documents were due to be handed over.

And while he had last year vowed to keep “slaying dragons” in his ongoing fight against British newspapers, Harry suffered a huge blow last week as reports emerged that he’s likely to be forced to pay around £750,000 in legal fees.

The news comes at the start of what could be another challenging year for Harry, 39, and wife Meghan Markle, 42, as they continue to face increasing financial pressures.

Now a source tells Closer that Meghan – who lives in California with Harry in their £11.4m Montecito mansion – has been forced to rein in her husband’s extravagant spending before it’s “too late”.

BLOW

The insider says, “Whether Harry was right or wrong, his latest legal blow has cost them an absolute fortune, not only the pay-out they’ve been forced to make, but the endless legal bills.

“Meghan is hyper-concerned about money, as well she should be, because they are spending it hand over fist and not bringing in what they’d expected.

“What makes it kind of daunting this time around though is that they’ve blown through so much money so quickly and aren’t in anything like the strong position they once were. Meghan’s taking charge, but it could be too little too late.”

Last year saw the pair very publicly struggling to fulfil the terms of the multi-million-dollar deals they blazed their way through when they ditched royal life back in 2020.

With the loss of their £15.6m Spotify deal last June signifying a huge downturn for their star power in Hollywood, reports have also emerged suggesting their £78m deal with streaming giant Netflix could be at risk.

In November, Meghan announced that she and Harry have “so many exciting things on the slate” – but the only thing that has materialised since then is Meghan taking part in an Instagram advert for coffee brand Clevr, which she has investments in. And Hollywood insiders and TV experts appear to back reports that the couple are struggling to create popular content.

GRIFTERS

While Spotify boss Bill Simmons famously dubbed the pair “f***ing grifters”, an insider now says the Netflix deal isn’t as cut and dried as the couple had hoped for, either.

A source says, “It’s crunch time