Meghan Markle's 'Gimmick' Birthday Project Quietly Shelved Despite Rare A-list Backing — as Insiders Claim 'Duchess is Incapable of Organizing Anything Properly'
Meghan Markle quietly shelved a 'gimmick' project which tied into her 40th birthday — despite attracting A-list backing.
Aug. 5 2025, Published 8:46 a.m. ET
Meghan Markle quietly shelved a "gimmick" birthday project despite being backed by top A-listers.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the Duchess of Sussex, who failed to attract big names to appear on her podcasts, actually managed to receive support from female stars including Adele and Stella McCartney for a scheme encouraging women to get back to work after Covid.
A-List Backing
Adele and Stella McCartney were reportedly two of the A-listers lending their names to Meghan's project.
The project, titled "40x40" which was tied into to make Meghan’s 40th birthday, involved the Duchess asking 40 of her friends to commit 40 minutes of their time to mentor and support women going back to work.
But the initiative never materialized and according to royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams, he believes the project was a "gimmick" designed to "boost Meghan's appeal."
He told the Daily Mail: "The idea seemed, on the face of it, an imaginative way to celebrate her 40th birthday.
"It also promoted the cause of gender equality which she had publicly supported for many years.
"What made this particularly significant was that she had several top celebrities on board."
'Incapable Of Organizing Anything'
Meghan has form for her inability to get projects off the ground, according to royal expert.
He added: "Melissa McCarthy starred in a rather dotty video launching the idea with Harry doing some juggling in the background.
"Adele and Stella McCartney publicly backed it, as well as Princess Eugenie."
Apart from Serena Williams, Meghan and Harry have struggled to get A-list support for their projects, being reportedly estranged from, for example, David and Victoria Beckham.
"Some of the big names who attended their wedding hardly knew them," he continued.
"However, this potentially worthy project appears to have been quietly shelved, lending credence to the claim that Meghan is incapable of organising anything properly.
"There was never any clear idea of how it would be funded or how exactly it would be beneficial to spend just 40 minutes with someone.
'A Gimmick To Boost Meghan's Appeal
Meghan has been accused of launching the project solely to boost her own brand.
"Also underlining the Sussexes' global reach, this was supposed to have a 'ripple effect' around the world boosted by social media.
"She called for 'a global wave of compassion and positive change.'
"This has not happened and very few reportedly shared her birthday poem connected to this project.
"It was clearly just a gimmick designed to boost Meghan’s appeal, which she may have overestimated both then and now."
And this was not the only time Meghan, who celebrated her 44th birthday on Monday, appeared to over-reach and under-deliver in her promises.
The royal expert said: "Her new cookery series With Love, Meghan has failed to reach the Netflix top 300 for the first half of this year, which is ominous news for the Sussexes.
"Perhaps she would benefit from 40 minutes of mentorship.
"She recommended 'time spent in service to others', a topic about which she knows very little, though she did, as a senior working royal have the chance to serve and didn't last long in it."
Meghan also launched her Archetypes podcast on Spotify, where she interviewed various power players like talk show host Andy Cohen and tried to "subvert the labels that try to hold women back."
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Meghan struggles to get big names on her podcast, despite having Prince Harry's pulling power.
However the podcast didn't seem to take off as it was promptly canceled after one season. Meghan, Harry and the Spotify team produced only one 13-episode series of a podcast for the company and then parted ways.
RadarOnline.com revealed in April that Meghan struggled to attract big names for her other panned podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder.
Insiders say she's raging at only being able to bag a string of guests who would jump at the chance to appear on any podcast,
A media insider revealed: "She's dialed all the big names, but no one's picked up and the absence of high-profile guests in the lineup is raising eyebrows. Especially hers. I mean, she lives in California and the best she can do is a woman who runs a dating app. Jeez.
"There's no Taylor Swift. No Beyoncé. Not even a Hailey Bieber. And when you're pitching female empowerment, that's a problem! It speaks volumes for her pulling power. She's not happy about her lack of appeal."
