Inside Meghan Markle's 'depressing' year as she braces for next big launch

Meghan Markle has had a "depressing" year so far, despite all her various business ventures, a royal expert has blasted. The Duchess of Sussex launched several projects this year, including her Netflix show With Love, Meghan, her lifestyle brand As Ever, and a new podcast series titled Confessions of a Female Founder.

On top of that, 2025 saw the return of Meghan on social media, as on January 1st, she relaunched her official Instagram page, where up until recently, she used it frequently. Meanwhile, on Monday, August 4-the Duchess's 44th birthday-Meghan sent a newsletter to all her As Ever fans to pay a small tribute to her special day and announce her new wine launch later today.

It was a stark contrast to four years ago, when the Duchess launched an initiative to help women return to work after the pandemic on her 40th birthday.

Now, according to a royal expert, Meghan did not hit any major milestones this year despite her efforts.

Royal commentator and author, Hugo Vickers, told The Sun: "It [was] Meghan Markle's birthday, and as she looks back over the past year, I can imagine she's pretty depressed.

"She's started off a lot of things, and none of them have come to any great fruition.

"Full marks to her for fully reinventing herself and coming up with new ideas, but it's not working very well."

Meghan's ventures this year have been savaged by various critics.

Critics and fans blasted her Netflix show for having no "substance" and being "out of outch," despite it being renewed for a second season this autumn.

Prince Harry and Meghan's Netflix deal is also ending this autumn, and there are reportedly no plans to renew it.

Meghan's As Ever products received mixed reviews from people around the world, however, her limited stock and sold collections raised questions about whether the brand was prepared to meet demand or whether it was a marketing move.

Her podcast was also not viewed fondly by various critics.

Mr Vickers added: "I don't think she's been at all successful quite honestly.

"Very soon her children will grow up and I imagine they will be quite resentful at the way in which they've been used. She is using them as part of her marketing campaign.

"Prince Harry always invariably seems to pop up at the end to give credence to her to show that he's on side with her, it's all rather depressing.

"I've got no idea what's next but you can be fairly certain she'll come up with something.

"Maybe one of the things she does will catch on."