Saturday Night Live turned Meghan Markle and Prince Harry into the punchline of a primetime joke in New York at the weekend, with one segment branding the duke a 'British hostage' and his wife an 'American terrorist.' Royal commentators say the sketch reflects what they see as Meghan Markle's growing difficulty in winning over former allies.
Meghan, 44, and Prince Harry have spent the past six years reshaping their public image as California based celebrities after stepping back from royal duties in 2020. They have become regular names on the US social circuit, from awards shows to fashion weeks, which is why their absence from this year's Met Gala in Manhattan on 4 May raised eyebrows.
SNL Targets The Sussexes
The latest SNL swipe at the Sussexes came during the show's satirical news segment, when presenter Colin Jost folded a joke about King Charles into a darker riff on Harry's marriage.
Jost told viewers that the monarch's recent visit to the United States was less about diplomacy and more a secret mission to 'seek the release of a British hostage being held by an American terrorist.' At that point, a photograph of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle appeared on screen, leaving little doubt about who was meant to be the hostage and who was cast as the terrorist.
The language was deliberately extreme, even by US late night standards, and played into a long running caricature of Meghan as the driving force behind the couple's split from the Royal Family, with Harry cast as the captive figure in the relationship. There has been no response from the Sussex camp, and SNL framed the line as comedy rather than commentary, but the moment still suggested that the couple's image in America has soured in some circles.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry had stayed away from the Met Gala that same weekend, and for a couple who have leaned heavily into their celebrity positioning, missing one of the biggest nights on the US social calendar was always likely to fuel questions about where they now stand in the Hollywood pecking order.
Commentators Pile In
Speaking to the Daily Express, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams argued that the SNL sketch was not a one off, but a sign that even traditionally liberal entertainment shows now feel comfortable mocking Meghan Markle.
'The normally liberal SNL finds Meghan funny,' he said, suggesting comedy writers see a recognisable pattern in her public persona. 'One of Meghan's most infuriating characteristics is the way she takes herself so seriously. She seems immersed in positivity. It's relentless but cannot overlook the fact that, apart from her mother she has fallen out with both sides of her family.'
Fitzwilliams went further, accusing Meghan of a 'disastrous habit' of clashing with powerful figures in the entertainment world. 'She also has a disastrous habit of falling out with Hollywood's top power brokers,' he claimed, adding that 'reports have indicated that Netflix's executives don't trust her and can't stand her either.' Those claims were presented as his interpretation, and no direct confirmation from Netflix was included in the material provided.
Even so, his remarks echo a broader narrative that has followed Meghan through her recent ventures. She drew attention at Paris Fashion Week last year and has reportedly secured a deal with an AI powered fashion website, but questions remain over which major studios and streamers are eager to work closely with her after a string of heavily publicised projects.
Veteran royal biographer Phil Dampier, speaking to the Daily Mail, suggested the SNL mockery reflects a wider shift in public feeling. 'I think people in America have generally fallen out of love with Harry and Meghan,' he said. It is a sweeping claim, and no polling was cited to support it, but the willingness of mainstream comedy shows to use the couple as easy material does point to a change in tone from fascination to ridicule.
Taken together, the Met Gala no show, the SNL 'hostage' and 'terrorist' joke, and the sharp criticism from British royal commentators point to a far less forgiving environment for the Sussexes than the one they stepped into in 2020. At that point, much of Hollywood and the US media cast Meghan Markle and Prince Harry as wronged outsiders beginning a new chapter.
Now, at least in the eyes of their critics, the mood has shifted and the joke is increasingly on them.
