In 2017, then-Meghan Markle appeared on the October cover of Vanity Fair. The cover story was about Suits, Meghan’s philanthropy and, obviously, how she was dating one of the most famous bachelors in the world at the time. When the VF cover story came out, there were no freakouts from the palace or from Meghan’s camp. That’s because it was widely assumed that the palace had implicitly or explicitly approved of the piece. For years after that cover, palace sources never included the VF piece in their litany of grudges against Meghan. It wasn’t until Tom Bower decided, in 2022, to make up some completely ridiculous lies about the VF cover that anyone even thought to use that as another piece of slander against Meghan. Bower lied about everything, to the point where Sam Kashner, the journalist who profiled Meghan, publicly called out Bower’s lies.
So, why are we still talking about a Vanity Fair cover story from nine years ago? Because the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden has run out of things to complain about or lie about. According to Eden, palace sources felt the VF cover was “like a punch to the solar plexus.” Eden posted this bizarre video last week:
Meghan Markle set alarm bells ringing before her engagement to Prince Harry was even announced
– and what Palace insiders told me is brutal! Sign up to find out for free
https://t.co/75wZQU0DEx pic.twitter.com/Hkj7yjdIuq
— Richard Eden (@richardaeden) May 20, 2026
So I actually looked into this because I was like “why is Eden bringing up this particular story?” He’s obviously trying to get people to sign up for the Mail’s newsletter, but it looks like he’s recycling one of his own lies from early 2025. Look at what I found on the Mail Plus, dated January 23, 2025:
While Meghan was jubilant at the prospect of her double-whammy – bagging a prince and a Vanity Fair cover – royal officials were perturbed by the article when it was published.
‘It was like a punch to the solar plexus,’ a royal source told me this week. ‘We do not expect friends of members of the Royal Family to give such interviews.’
The source pointed out that Kate Middleton and Lady Diana Spencer, for example, waited until after their engagements had been announced before they gave an interview. And, in both cases, it was organised by Palace officials for the TV cameras under the strictest of conditions.
Harry and Meghan’s engagement was not announced until two months after the Vanity Fair article was published.
‘While people were pleased that Harry had found a serious girlfriend, the article did set alarm bells ringing,’ the source told me. ‘It made people worry that Miss Markle was seeking to use the relationship for publicity purposes.’
A source close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex insisted this week that Kensington Palace had ‘signed off’ Meghan’s interview in 2017.
However, while Palace officials may have reluctantly agreed to the idea of an article, they did not know what it would contain.
So… Eden is trying to reheat his own nachos and use sixteen-month-old quotes about a 2017 Vanity Fair cover, and the whole thing is entirely false in the first place. The palace wasn’t mad about the cover, and Meghan didn’t reveal anything intimate about Harry or the Windsors whatsoever. The craziest part is that the cover was timed to coincide with the new season of Suits, not with any engagement announcement. It was literally her job to promote her show, and btw, she’s not writing Vanity Fair’s cover lines.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, cover courtesy of Vanity Fair.
