Meghan's friends claim she was 'used' by Netflix to promote Guy Ritchie's series The Gentlemen

Meghan Markle spent years building a career as an actress, finding fame through her role in the long-running legal drama Suits, before leaving Hollywood behind to marry Prince Harry.

The 45-year-old lived in America for the past six years after she and Harry dramatically stepped back from their roles as senior working royals in January 2020.

Since establishing a permanent family home in California, Meghan has pursued a string of business and philanthropic ventures, including launching her lifestyle brand As Ever, hosting a Spotify podcast and publishing a children’s book, The Bench.

Their return follows speculation in August that Meghan could be preparing to revive her acting career, with reports suggesting she was in “advanced talks” to join the cast of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix crime drama The Gentlemen for its third season.

Giancarlo Esposito, Joely Richardson, Ray Winstone, Theo James, Kaya Scodelario, Jasmine Blackborow and Vinnie Jones attend "The Gentlemen" Season Two World Premiere at The Guildhall

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However, those discussions are understood to have fallen through amid intense public scrutiny surrounding the possibility of the Duchess returning to the screen.

Now, friends of Meghan have suggested that rumours of her potential involvement were deliberately leaked to drum up publicity for the show's second season, which premiered around the same time.

According to Deadline, viewing figures for the second season's debut fell by 15 per cent compared with the first, representing a drop of approximately 500,000 viewers.

A source close to the couple told The Telegraph: “Some people in her camp feel she was used to help promote season two, because they knew it wasn’t as good as the first season and had already commissioned a third.”

They continued: “It’s the oldest marketing trick in the book: get a big name to read a script, then leak that you’re ‘in conversation’ with them when, in reality, nothing is particularly far along.

“The whole thing left a bit of a sour taste in the Sussex camp’s mouth. Needless to say, Netflix got what it wanted: huge viewing figures for season two and a lot of publicity.”

The couple have already faced issues with security following their return to the UK, after Meghan’s personal phone number was leaked in a parent’s WhatsApp group.

The couple carried out their first official public outing since returning to the UK on Thursday.

Well-wishers, predominantly under the age of 30, cheered, presented flowers, and requested selfies. One woman shouted, "We love you, Duchess Meghan," and others gave her big hugs upon arrival. But, there were some reports of heckling as well.