It started with a couple of dirty martinis in a Kensington pub. Honestly, if you told anyone back in 2016 that a casual drinks meeting between a British tabloid heavyweight and an American actress would eventually lead to a live walk-out on breakfast TV and a years-long media war, they’d have called you crazy. But here we are in 2026, and the Piers Morgan and Meghan Markle saga is still the gift that keeps on giving for the British press.
The story is kinda legendary now. Piers was a fan of Suits. He followed the cast on Twitter. Meghan followed him back and sent him a DM saying she was a "big fan." They swapped messages for a year before she finally came to London. They met at his local pub, the Scarsdale Arms, chatted for 90 minutes about everything from her family to the show, and then she hopped in a cab.
That cab, as Piers loves to remind everyone, took her to a party where she allegedly met Prince Harry. And that was it. The "ghosting" heard 'round the world.
The Night Everything Changed for Piers Morgan and Meghan Markle
Most people think the feud is just about Piers being a "scorned" friend. It’s more complicated than that. You’ve got to look at how the narrative shifted. Before the royal wedding, Piers was actually defending her. He wrote columns calling her "perfect" for Harry. He even defended her against the "ghastly backstabbing Markles."
But the invite to the wedding never came.
Instead of a seat at St George’s Chapel, Piers got radio silence. By the time 2018 rolled around, the tone changed. He started calling her a "ruthless social climber." He began giving a massive platform to her father, Thomas Markle, on Good Morning Britain. Basically, the "pub-drinking pal" had become his Public Enemy Number One.
That Famous GMB Walk-out (And Why It Still Matters)
We can't talk about Piers Morgan and Meghan Markle without mentioning March 9, 2021. It was the morning after the Oprah interview aired in the UK. Meghan had shared her harrowing experiences with mental health and suicidal thoughts. Piers, live on air, declared: "I wouldn’t believe her if she read me a weather report."
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The fallout was nuclear.
- Over 41,000 complaints were sent to Ofcom.
- Meghan Markle herself actually made a formal complaint to ITV.
- Alex Beresford, the weather presenter, finally called Piers out on air.
"I understand that you’ve got a personal relationship with Meghan Markle—or had one—and she cut you off," Alex said. "She’s entitled to cut you off if she wants to." Piers couldn't take it. He muttered "I'm done with this," and stormed off the set. He quit the show that evening.
The High Court Drama and 2026 Reality
Fast forward to the last year or so. The battle hasn't stayed on Twitter (or X, whatever). It went to the High Court. Prince Harry’s legal battles against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) put Piers right back in the crosshairs. In December 2023, a judge ruled that Piers Morgan knew about phone hacking while he was editor at the Mirror—a claim he has always vehemently denied.
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Harry called the attacks "horrific" and "vile." Piers hit back, calling Harry a "pathetic little brat." It’s a loop. It never ends.
Even now in 2025 and 2026, Piers is still at it on his show, Uncensored. He’s recently been tearing into Meghan’s new Netflix projects, branding them "unwatchable vanity projects." He even took issue with her calling herself "Sussex," pointing out that he actually grew up in the county of Sussex and she’s barely spent six hours there. It’s petty, sure, but it’s high-octane entertainment for his audience.
Is There a Way Out of the Feud?
Probably not. There were rumors recently—mostly fueled by the Piers Morgan Uncensored team—that he offered the Sussexes a two-hour sit-down interview to "clear the air." Some industry insiders thought it could be a "seismic" media moment to reset the narrative.
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But let's be real. The chance of Meghan Markle sitting across from the man who called her "Princess Pinocchio" for five years is basically zero.
The complexity here is that both sides have built their modern brands on this conflict. Piers is the champion of "common sense" and the monarchy; Meghan is the face of "her truth" and modern independence. They are two sides of the same cultural coin.
If you're trying to make sense of the Piers Morgan and Meghan Markle dynamic for your own sanity, here is the baseline:
- Check the sources. When Piers claims something about Meghan’s past, remember he’s viewing it through the lens of that 2016 "ghosting."
- Separate the person from the policy. You can agree with Piers on the "sanctity of the monarchy" while still finding his personal attacks on a woman's mental health distasteful.
- Watch the legal filings. The MGN hacking case and subsequent appeals tell a much more factual story than a 30-second clip on social media ever will.
The best way to stay informed is to look past the "clickbait" headlines. Follow the actual court transcripts from the ongoing MGN litigations and read the full context of the interviews rather than the edited highlights that flood your feed.