Touching down in the UK last fortnight, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry began their new life in England, as they are expected to continue. Flying in on a staggeringly huge private jet, the ‘spendy Sussexes’ as we may now refer to them, are then believed to have headed straight to the Cotswolds, AKA the ‘Bel Air of the UK’. They no doubt hope to continue a life of privacy in an area that you only have to take a brief meander to bump into the likes of local residents Kate Moss, Hugh Grant, Liam Gallagher – and even members of the Royal Family, who they fled 5000 miles to get away from in 2020.
Meghan, 45, then opted to explore the local area, and is reported to have found herself waltzing through the doors of Soho Farmhouse – an exclusive club much loved by local celebrities that shuns mud in place of plush furnishings, soft lighting and a luxe swimming pool.
And in continuing in this apparent bid to mix with the great and good of the Cotswolds, it’s been reported that Meghan had hoped to reconnect with one of her old pals – Victoria Beckham, the matriarch of the so-called ‘Chipping Norton set’.
However, we’re told Posh Spice has other ideas, and after their reported fallout around eight years ago, has no desire to meet Meghan whatsoever, despite the Duchess living right on her doorstep and socialising in exactly the same spots – Vic is also a regular at Soho Farmhouse.
An insider says, ‘There was a time when Victoria and Meghan were as thick as thieves. There was even some talk when they were friends that they might team up on a project, so to now be completely out of touch is pretty sad.
‘It is very sad from both Meghan and Harry’s perspective that things have fallen apart so badly with the Beckhams because they genuinely feel that what happened in the first place was more of a misunderstanding than anything else; they certainly never expected it to be a reason for David and Victoria to ghost them and end an entire friendship.
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‘They have both tried very hard to fix things, and there’s been nothing in return, not even a welcome back message, so the Beckhams’ stance has become even more clear since she and Harry arrived back in England.’
Meghan, 45, and Victoria, 52, previously had a history of friendship after first being introduced to each other by their husbands, David and Harry. Unlike many of Meghan’s own pals and former Suits co-stars, former Spice Girl Victoria and football legend David even managed to bag an invite to the couple’s wedding back in 2018, with reports suggesting that Victoria had gone out of her way to support and befriend Meghan.
In turn, Meghan supported Victoria’s own fashion line, opting to wear her designs to some of her most public engagements within the Royal Family, including her 2017 engagement announcement with Harry, 41.
But it wasn’t to last. In 2018, just months after the wedding, David, 50, is said to have been left ‘furious’ after receiving a call from Harry, who is alleged to have accused Victoria of leaking stories about Meghan to the media. The Beckhams have never spoken out about this publicly.
There were suggestions that Meghan had later wanted to extend an olive branch to her former friend when she wore a VB design during her ‘tour’ of Colombia in 2024, but Meghan’s apparent gesture of goodwill proved to be too little, too late.
And now her alleged accusations may have come back to haunt Meghan, as the source says the recent success of Victoria’s own eponymous fashion brand would have placed her in the perfect position to mentor Meghan through the UK launch of her own lifestyle brand.
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We’re told, ‘Having to be reminded of how successful Victoria’s brand has become is tough because there’s no doubt Meghan would love her advice when it comes to turning her own brand around, and that’s simply not an option.
‘She’s in a position with her brand where she could really use Victoria’s help. In an ideal world, Meghan would love to have Victoria as a mentor, but instead, she’s got her as an enemy; it’s no wonder she’s bitter about this.’
To make matters worse, the source says Meghan and Harry fear that Victoria – who remains very influential in the showbiz world – now has the contacts to sabotage their UK return if she ever decides to wreak her revenge.
‘What’s worst is the fear that Victoria could go so far as to sabotage Meghan’s chances in the UK since there’s obviously some pretty bad blood on her part,’ the source says.
‘Victoria is known to be very competitive, and Meghan will be going for a similar target audience with her lifestyle brand As Ever, so it’s not out of the question. It can’t help that Guy Ritchie, who is very close friends with Victoria and famously Team Wales, has reportedly been back and forth with Meghan around an acting offer for his Netflix drama, The Gentleman.’
However, their rift goes much deeper than the accusation of leaking stories, with both the Beckhams and the Sussexes said to have been ‘stung’ by the part each has played in their respective family ‘betrayals’.
While Harry and Meghan have a notoriously difficult relationship with the Prince’s family, David and Victoria have grown close to the rest of the royals, in particular Kate Middleton and Prince William, with David receiving a knighthood from King Charles as part of his birthday honours list last year.
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Meanwhile, we previously reported how Victoria had been left upset over Meghan and Harry’s one-time blossoming friendship with their estranged eldest son, Brooklyn, and his wife Nicola Peltz-Beckham, who the Sussexes are believed to have invited over for a private dinner at their Montecito home last year.
And now we’re told the Sussexes believe that William may well be behind their struggle to make amends with the Beckhams.
‘Naturally, they are going to assume that William has a big hand in the way this has all shaped up and how long it’s dragged on. Everyone knows how big he is on loyalty; he always wants to see who is on his side and who’s not,’ the source says.
‘Anyone that’s friendly with Harry and Meghan is automatically seen as an enemy by William, and he and Kate are the next King and Queen, so it makes a lot of sense that David and Victoria would want to be Team Wales and do whatever William asks.’
But the source says this hasn’t made the Beckhams’ snub any ‘less hurtful’ – especially for Meghan.
‘They [Harry and Meghan] still feel that they were very unfairly tossed aside,’ they add. ‘It was particularly bewildering for Meghan because she genuinely idolised Victoria and was so thrilled to be her friend. She was able to sort of forget about it these last few years in California since they didn’t have to cross paths much, but now that she’s back in England, that’s not easy to do.’
