6 Thirsty Antics From Meghan Markle In Year After The Queen's Death

September 8 marks the first anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The monarch, who reigned for 70 years, passed away at her Balmoral estate in Scotland, surrounded by family and loved ones at age 96, per BBC. So much has happened since then that it feels like an eternity has passed. There's been the seemingly endless thirsty antics from Meghan Markle in the year after the queen's death, King Charles III's coronation and the crowning of Queen Camilla, and the ever-deepening rift between William, Prince of Wales, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, appears to have reached the point of no return.

It was Harry and Meghan's Netflix series that really kicked everything off. Although it has to be said, things weren't exactly peachy within The Firm before its release, thanks to Oprah Winfrey and the hasty postponement of Harry's bombshell memoir, "Spare." However, the tensions ramped up, and the bad blood gushed in the hard Megxit aftermath.

It's safe to say the fall-out has been significant. The Telegraph reports that Harry has become totally estranged from his entire UK family, and Meghan remains persona non grata within royal circles. Still, despite announcing that they were stepping back from royal life, the couple seems to maintain a higher profile than ever, and Meghan's unquenchable thirstiness undoubtedly plays a large role.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, started her thirsty year with a parched Variety interview. The piece was scheduled to run before the queen's death. However, it was ultimately postponed to October 2022 and updated accordingly to include Meghan's take on her mother-in-law's passing. Meghan admitted that she was concerned her comments about the queen would take away attention from her death and the celebration of her life. Still, she threw caution to the wind and carried on regardless.

Meghan shared that she was still grieving for the queen and called her the most "shining example" of female leadership. "It's been a complicated time, but my husband, ever the optimist, said, 'Now she's reunited with her husband,'" she continued. "Saint Meghan... A work of Fiction. A Legend in her own mind," one reader tweeted (via Sportskeeda).

To create some additional thirst, Meghan posed for a "behind the scenes" video that was posted on Instagram. It includes a montage of her busting out with her best Blue Steel, faux laughing, and smiling coyly to the Circus X Sweet Dreams mash-up. "Great audio choice. 10000% a circus," one viewer commented. "Everything about Nutmeg seems fake," another wrote.

When life gives you lemons, buy a bottle of fine champagne at a swanky Hollywood private members club and make sure everybody sees you living it up. That appeared to be Meghan, Duchess of Sussex's aim on the day news broke that she and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, had finally moved out of their official UK home, Frogmore Cottage, after being right royally ejected by his father, King Charles III.

Adding further to the indignity, everybody's most loathed royal, Andrew, Duke of York, was pegged to take over the digs, per the Independent. However, according to Page Six, Meghan wouldn't let losing a home get her down. In fact, she was determined to capitalize on the news by creating some thirst with a bunch of good old-fashioned tabloid pics.

Meghan and Harry headed straight to the favorite Hollywood hangout of the A-List elite, San Vicente Bungalows. It's a hotspot that's guaranteed to be swarming with paparazzi catching every moment of high-profile guests entering and exiting the eaterie. Bingo! A double photo op. And the Sussexes made sure to use the main entrance instead of the private celebrity one. There's a reason that the couple popped up on "South Park" waving huge placards proclaiming, "We want privacy!"

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was noticeably absent when her husband, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, attended the coronation of his father, King Charles III. The BBC reports that Harry didn't hang around for the festivities. Instead, he hot-hoofed it back to the U.S. once the ceremony ended. Obviously, Meghan missed out on the historic event entirely, but that didn't stop her thirsty antics.

Megan made an attention-grabbing power play in the run-up to her father-in-law's big day. A well-placed source leaked the news to Page Six that she planned to become "The Queen of Hollywood" after signing a multi-million dollar deal with the talent industry titan, WWE.

Meghan signed with "Mr. Entourage" himself, Ari Emanuel, to guarantee maximum thirst and headline creation. "This deal is about making Meghan a power player in Hollywood," the insider said. "Even though she is, of course, an actress, this isn't about movies or shows for Meghan to star in; it is about creating projects for her to produce — she wants to run the show." Some would say that far outweighs running a little old rainy country.

Just days after King Charles III's coronation, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, courted the cameras again. This time, she chose to dine with friends at the swanky Gracias Madre, a celebrity favorite, and paparazzi hang out. On this occasion, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, wasn't with his wife. Still, she appeared to enjoy every second of her girl time as she was caught candidly laughing and chatting with her pals on camera.

Hello! reports that the restaurant is a big draw for A-listers, who feel it's a "safe space" to dine in where they won't get hassled by other patrons — just the paparazzi waiting outside. It's a long way to drive for lunch. Like, around 86 miles long. Page Six notes that the drive from Montecito to Hollywood can take up to two hours each way, depending on traffic. But Meghan happily made the trip to celebrate International Women's Day and enjoy some public nosh.

As for how Meghan's plans to integrate her and Harry into the Hollywood insider circle are going, the jury's out on that, "People are so mixed on them, it's interesting," a source said. "Some people are all about them, and some people think they're just bizarre."

With a successful Hollywood career and a spell on the royal world stage, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, knows something about building up a thirst. Page Six reports that Meghan has been teasing her return to Instagram, which she quit in 2020, for over a year. Meghan has yet to post, but she already has 121,000 followers eagerly awaiting with bated breath.

To add to any exposure potential and possible future branding opportunities, Meghan has taken a leaf out of Oprah and Madonna's book and bagged herself the @meghan handle — which is no mean feat.

It's been quite the build-up, as the account was created in August 2022. But an insider told the Daily Mail that the account could go live any day now. "Expect an announcement very soon. She's coming back," a source teased. Meanwhile, a financial expert predicts that Meghan can expect to rake in around $1 million per post. Clearly, thirst pays.

As a former actor, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is no stranger to on-camera smooches. However, for some reason, she wasn't in a public make-out mood while watching the Lakers play the Memphis Grizzlies with Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, on April 26.

A Washington Post reporter sitting among the crowd tweeted a clip of the couple as they were caught on the famous jumbotron kiss cam and beamed onto a massive screen for the entire audience to watch. Harry immediately leaned in for a cheeky kiss, but a giggling Meghan played coy and laughingly batted him away.

Strangely, according to Harper's Bazaar, Meghan was all love and affection and couldn't keep her hands off of Harry when the camera wasn't pointed at her. But then, as any thirst-trapping publicity pro knows, romantic drama generates way more headlines than boring couple PDAs.