It's been three years since Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan left the UK and started a new life in North America. The couple ended up in Montecito via stopovers in Toronto, Vancouver and Los Angeles. Located on California's Pacific coast, the town is about 90 minutes' drive from the Hollywood dream factory.

But have the two actually found happiness in their new home? Nick Ede doubts that. Meghan's former friend and colleague suspects that the couple had speculated: "I think they came to Hollywood and thought they were number one," says the 49-year-old "New York Post". However, the two are far from that. Ede sees it this way: "Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were not prepared for how far down the Hollywood pecking order they would be."

Nick Ede is a British TV presenter and pop culture expert. According to his own statement, he knows Meghan Markle from her time before she met Prince Harry and joined the Royal Family.

But their royal titles were of little use to the two in Hollywood, according to the Scotsman. The royalty there is not based on family origins, according to Ede J.Lo, Sharon Stone and Beyoncé are the queens of the dream factory. He even sees the Kardashians ahead of the Sussexes.

Particularly bitter: Even former presidents like the Obamas or the Clintons are still above the emigrated royals in the Hollywood hierarchy.

Harsh words from a former friend. But does this assessment really bother Harry and Meghan? Business is going great for both of them right now. According to "Forbes", the two are said to have pocketed around 100 million dollars for their deal with the streaming giant Netflix alone. In addition, Prince Harry is said to have received a sum of 35 to 40 million dollars from Penguin Random House for his contract for four books.

Given this income, the couple can probably not care who is above them in Hollywood's pecking order.

Source used: "New York Post"