Harry and Meghan back to seeking attention for barrage of new endeavors

The cynics at “South Park” might ask: When did Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ever stop seeking attention?

But as Page Six suggested, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have mostly been lying low since the release of Harry’s smash-hit, tell-all royal memoir “Spare” in January. In Harry and Meghan’s sort-of return to the spotlight, Page Six reported on how the couple were photographed Tuesday, looking breezy and stylishly casual as they arrived for dinner at San Vicente Bungalows, a top Hollywood hotspot “for industry power players.”

As noted by some on social media, it’s probably no accident that the paparazzi happened to be outside the exclusive, members-only club to capture the arrival of the smiling duo, just as headlines broke this week about new appearances and upcoming promotional activities by Harry.

Harry also turned up Tuesday night in a pre-recorded segment on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” answering a list of “burning” personal questions and revealing that his “favorite smell” is his wife, People reported. It’s also been reported that “Spare’s” publisher is charging fans $33.09 to listen in on Harry having a virtual “intimate” livestream Q&A on Saturday. New York magazine said the conversation focuses on “living with loss and the importance of personal healing” and wryly lists all the other ways fans have been able to gain Harry’s insights on: Losing his mother, being hounded by the U.K. media and his troubled relationships with King Charles, Prince William and his stepmother, Queen Camilla.

Before “Spare” — in which Harry also inspired reams of memes for writing about losing his virginity and his frostbitten penis — the duke “unpacked his trauma” in his Apple TV+ mental health series with Oprah Winfrey, his and Meghan’s bombshell 2021 interview with Winfrey, the couple’s six-hour Netflix series, and various other interviews they’ve given over the past three years, New York magazine said.

But there’s much more on the Harry and Meghan front. Harry will speak in San Francisco next week at the two-day “Uplift” summit, hosted by BetterUp, the corporate mental-health services startup for which Harry serves as “chief impact officer,” the New York Post reported. Anyone wanting to attend the summit in person was charged $995 each, and those tickets are sold out, but virtual registration was free.

The Daily Beast also reported Wednesday that Harry is planning to add a new chapter to the paperback version of “Spare.” This news should come as no surprise as Harry told The Telegraph in January that the original draft of “Spare” was 800 pages, enough for two books and many more possible revelations.

Meanwhile, headlines this week also focused on the California-based couple cutting — or being forced to cut — one of their last remaining ties to their former life in the United Kingdom.

The UK tabloid The Sun reported this week that Charles is evicting the couple from their British home, Frogmore Cottage, near Windsor Castle, which was given to them by the late Queen Elizabeth II. According to The Sun, Charles initiated eviction proceedings immediately after “Spare” was published, and he’s offered the cottage to his disgraced brother Prince Andrew, who is being forced to leave his nearby mansion because he can’t afford the upkeep.

Harry and Meghan’s journalist friend Omid Scobie reported that the couple “stunned” over Charles’ eviction notice and regard it as a “cruel punishment,” The Sun also said. But lest anyone think Charles was motivated by spite, a friend of the king told the Daily Beast that he wants to reduce the size of the royal estate.

“It’s not a good look for a house to be sitting empty so it can accommodate Harry and Meghan once in a blue moon,” the friend said, referring to the fact that Harry and Meghan only have used Frogmore Cottage on a few occasions since leaving royal life in 2020.

These new Harry and Meghan revelations come as the couple have been at the center of ongoing speculation in the U.K. media about whether or not they’ve been invited to attend Charles’ coronation on May 6 and whether they will attend. It’s hard to know which side — the royal family or the Sussexes — is doing the most to fuel this speculation, likely through the deployment of leaks by anonymous “insiders.” But there’s been much debate amongst “royal experts” about whether Charles should want his son and daughter-in-law there and whether their presence would steal attention from his big day.

Harry and Meghan’s return to the spotlight at San Vicente Bungalows follows a couple weeks of controversy that erupted over “South Park’s” brutal take-down of the couple. In an episode of the Comedy Central adult animated series, a fictional “Prince of Canada” and his wife move to the small Colorado town and embark on a “Worldwide Privacy Tour” — while doing all they can to force their new neighbors to pay attention to them. At one point, Kyle Broflovski, one of the show’s main characters, proclaims, “I’m sick of hearing about them! I can’t get away from them!”

The “South Park” episode came on the heels of polling data from Newsweek that shows “the more Harry and Meghan say, the less Americans like them.” According to data released Feb. 23, Harry’s popularity in the United States has sunk 48 points since December and Meghan’s had dropped 40 points, giving them net approval ratings of -10 for the duke and -17 for the duchess, Newsweek said. The survey also showed that the couple are more disliked in the U.S. than Prince Andrew.

But even if Harry and Meghan’s popularity has taken a hit, the couple didn’t look bothered during their arrival at San Vicente Bungalows, Page Six reported. A source told Page Six that the couple “seemed to be in extremely good spirits” and explained that Harry is really “happy” about his book’s success and has “no regrets” about revealing inside stories about his family or his personal life. “He’s relieved to get his story out into the world,” the source said.

But even as Harry shared his happiness, people on social media shared their suspicions that the photos at the Hollywood hotspot were arranged. Someone on social media even borrowed some “South Park” imagery to note that the paparazzi documenting the Sussexes’ arrival are associated with an agency that’s known for getting tips from celebrities about where they can be photographed when they need to generate positive P.R.