Meghan Markle Celebrates 42nd Birthday as Pundits Urge Duchess Not to Throw Herself a …

Meghan Markle is celebrating her 42nd birthday today, and while the Duchess of Sussex certainly has much to be grateful for, these are likely very tense times in the SoCal home she shares with Prince Harry.

The past few months have seen a surprising downturn in Harry and Meghan’s popularity, with some polls indicating that the couple is less well-liked than ever on both sides of the pond.

The decline began with the publication of Harry’s memoir.

The book became an instant bestseller, but received a mixed reaction from readers, some of whom felt that the Duke of Sussex came off as ungrateful and opportunistic.

It could have been a minor setback in the lives of two otherwise beloved figures.

But British tabloids who were on the lookout for any reason to pounce on the Sussexes began running headlines about how the couple was in crisis mode and their career failures were beginning to affect their marriage.

Soon, the streak of bad press became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Meghan’s Spotify podcast was canceled, and sources close to the company jumped on the latest trend by blasting the Sussexes as “f–king grifters.”

Meghan and Harry were denied a ride on Air Force One, and the media treated it as the Biden administration’s way of publicly siding with King Charles (which it wasn’t).

This week brought more bad news for the Sussexes, as BetterUp, the mental health app for which Harry serves as chief impact officer was forced to cut 16% of its staff.

The next few weeks are being described as a crucial turning point for the duke and duchess.

Sometime this month, Harry’s long-awaited documentary Spirit of Invictus will premiere on Netflix ahead of the Invictus Games themselves, which begin on September 9.

The competition for wounded veterans was founded by Harry in 2014 and has remained his number one passion project ever since.

No doubt the courageous competitors will be at the center of Harry’s thoughts in the weeks to come, but as a new article in The Daily Beast points out, the Sussexes’ recent PR struggles are probably never far from their minds.

Royal expert Tom Sykes notes that this is an opportunity for the couple to “burnish their reputations as social activists, banish memories of the lengthy pity party they held after leaving the royal family—and fight their way back into the hearts of the American public.”

Sykes argues that the Sussexes’ recent jabs against the royals — though not without merit — were poorly timed, as the public felt that the duke and duchess were being insensitive to Harry’s family following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Experts say there’s also a feeling that when the Sussexes severed their connections to the royals, they became just another pair of influencers.

“What distinguished Harry and Meghan from other 30-something, rich, philanthropists was their connection to the Royal Family,” branding expert Norah Lawlor tells the outlet.

“America has a short attention span and once the Royal mystique was ripped away by Netflix, you were left with a wealthy, slightly neurotic couple living in a mansion by the Pacific Ocean in California. The net result is that their brand is adrift.”

Already, Harry and Meghan’s comeback efforts are underway, but it may be a while before they bear any fruit.

Mainstream outlets like People magazine are running pieces about the Sussexes ending their feud with Charles, and a source described as being “close to the Archetypes production” has come forward to claim that the failed podcast was all Spotify’s fault.

“They were given no formal lay of the land to kick things off, so they were already on unsteady footing even before the ink was dry,” the insider alleged.

The source went on to claim that they had “a lot of ideas and did pitch them” but there was “too much red tape between Spotify and the Sussexes.”

Another insider noted that “the royal element and, in some ways, the drama around them inflated the price, deals and expectations,” while a third pointed out that “Hollywood loves a comeback.”

That’s certainly true — and Meghan’s background as an actress may come in handy in that respect.

After all, the weeks and months ahead may require the Sussexes to fake like they’re already on top until they successfully make their way back there.

The road ahead won’t be easy, but these two have faced longer odds before.

Meghan Markle Celebrates 42nd Birthday as Pundits Urge Duchess Not to Throw Herself a … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.