When it comes to writing about royals, to a certain extent the Sussex’s are the easiest. Meghan’s need to constantly influence her public profile means that stories come out daily addressing this or that issue. But at the same time, her and Harry’s incessant need for privacy, or really secrecy, has resulted in a variety of conspiracy theories.

Did Meghan use a surrogate for her first pregnancy? No, she clearly gained weight and struggled to get it off for a couple months. Absolutely no shame in that, just a statement of fact.

Is she using a surrogate now? There’s a higher probability that they would use a surrogate in their second pregnancy. Laws surrounding surrogacy are almost nonexistent in the states, so it would be fairly easy. And she clearly struggled to lose weight after her first pregnancy and may be keen not to go through that experience again so close to 40. It’s also highly likely that they used IVF and sex selection to ensure that they had a girl.

Speaking of that, is Meghan 39, 40 or 42? This one is entirely up to debate.

Where was Archie born? When was Archie born? They announced that Meghan was in labor after she gave birth, so was he born on May 6 or another date and is the hospital they publicly claim correct? It’s highly likely that he was born on May 6, as that is what his public birth certificate publicly says. If they lied about this or released a fake one, that would be utterly shocking. They probably just liked the power play of lying about when he was born at first, but deception, unless it is a matter of national security, was unnecessary. They also failed to share who actually was on her medical team.

Has she been married one time before her marriage to Prince Harry, or twice? Again, up for debate but the picture of her in a white dress with all of her friends in the same burgundy color is compelling. If this did happen, she supposedly got it annulled.

Did they live at Frogmore Cottage or somewhere else? This one I’m not sure about, but I don’t think Frogmore was up to her standards, she apparently wanted to live in Windsor after all at one point. I don’t think any location, except for entirety of Buckingham Palace, could have lived up to her standards.

Who are his godparents, and why couldn’t the public know that information? This one, I just don’t get. If they were out of the royal family from day one and making their way in California without titles, they can cite privacy reasons. But all his and his parents’ expenses were being covered by the taxpayers. They deserve to know in that instance. 

Did Meghan pad her nonexistent bump on the Australia tour? Did she do it at other points during her pregnancy to look more pregnant? This one I believe. The size of her bump changed all the time and she was barely pregnant in Australia. She does have a short torso so that could explain it, but I don’t think so.

When did they actually meet and what were the circumstances? The flat earth theory is about as probable as Meghan going to her date with Harry completely blind. She surely Googled him and it’s doubtful that it was really a blind date. Meghan was trying to find a British man to raise her profile, after all.

Is Archie even their biological child? Due to her age, they could have used IVF and a donor egg, but he is most likely their biological child.

Did she get an invitation to the funeral or not? This one could go both ways. The family, to a certain extent, wanted Harry there and knew he needed to come, but likely didn’t extend her the invitation and announced the medical reason to save face. She could have also declined the invitation, knowing that her reception by the public and the family would have been frosty to say the least.

Is she merching through Mirror Meg website and social media groups? According to the founders, they created the website before she was connected to Harry because they loved her style and thought she was going places (though that’s not what the website says anymore). Since that makes no sense, she was being written out of a cable television show, her acting skills are subpar at best and her blog was only okay, the Meghan’s Mirror website is likely done in partnership and she gets kickbacks.

All of these conspiracies have been floating around the internet, some far-fetched and others are likely true.

And this is one that I want to add to the mix, despite a colored Christmas card showing Archie with a head full of red hair, is that not his actual color? Is it really a dark auburn or brunette?

Their video of him in the Oprah Winfrey interview was in black and white. That could be done, in part, to continue concealing him from the public and maybe his true hair color as well.

When he and his mother were papped recently, which in and of itself was shocking as they’ve been very, very, very careful about shielding him for a year, he had a beanie over his head. In California, it can be cold in the morning but not beanie level cold, especially in April, so why have it on? No one has seen a clear picture of him in a year, no one would know it was him.

I want to be clear here, in no way am I trying to disparage or attack Archie. I’m just asking the question, and it’s uncomfortable. The idea that parents of a young child might be concealing some aspect of the physical appearance of is strange, but that’s what Harry and Meghan encourage in their cloak and dagger approach to the media. They conceal and hide, not for privacy but so that they can control every aspect of the messaging and their image, but instead it results in people commenting, speculating and encouraging doubt about their character, actions and, by extension, their children.

For example, there aren’t really any conspiracies about the Cambridges, except the affair rumors and there were some discussions that Prince William wasn’t at home much in the immediate months after Prince George was born. There are a couple others here and there, but nothing’s been proven.

That’s why truth and transparency would serve Harry and Meghan much better than attempting to control every aspect of their image. Once you have a large public profile, the media machine will never stop. But speculation and crazy stories can mostly be avoided by displaying a level of authenticity, which is something that Harry and Meghan, despite supposedly paying for three public relations company, lack.

What’s your favorite Sussex conspiracy?