‘ADRIFT ON REALITY’: Meghan Markle thought Vanity Fair cover would be about her, not Harry

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Former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter dished on the behind-the-scenes action of working on the magazine in a new book.

The memoir, When the Going Was Good: An Editor’s Adventures, hits newsstands tomorrow, but the 75-year-old spoke to the New York Post about a wide range of subjects — including the Duchess of Sussex.

If you recall, Meghan Markle covered the October 2017 issue with the words “She’s just wild about Harry” underneath her face.

Markle was working on Suits at the time and her relationship with Prince Harry had only recently gone public — but Carter had “no idea” who she was at the time.

According to Carter, who edited the magazine from 1992 to 2017, Markle thought Vanity Fair should be more interested in her “charity work and philanthropy,” he told the Post.

“Jane Sarkin, who booked our covers, came in and said, ‘We should do a cover on Meghan Markle,’” Carter recalled.

He asked, “Why should we do a story on her?” to which his colleague replied, “Because she’s going to marry Prince Harry.”

Carter laughed, recalling how Markle challenged the reporter and reportedly snapped, “Excuse me, Is this going to all be about Prince Harry? Because I thought we were going to be talking about my charities and my philanthropy.”

He said of Markle, “This woman is slightly adrift on the facts and reality.”

But Sarkin’s suggestion for the Meghan cover was correct; mere weeks after the VF piece was published, she and Harry announced their engagement in a statement.

In the years that passed, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex left the U.K. for California following a rift with Harry’s brother Prince William and their father, King Charles.

Carter, who was friendly with Princess Diana, believes William and Harry’s late mother “would feel great sorry” that her youngest son is estranged from his family.

“Anytime someone comes between siblings that’s a disaster — horrible for a family,” the Canadian journalist and author said.

It’s not the first time Carter has mocked the actress-turned-royal.

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In 2023, he predicted that her marriage to Harry would not be an enduring one.

He told the Sunday Times at the time, “I would measure the duration of the marriage in years rather than decades.”

Carter continued: “I think she has run rings around poor Harry and gotten what she wanted: notoriety, money, and a title. His usefulness to her diminishes daily.”

He even suggested that a reality star would be in her future, jeering, “If there is a Real Housewives of Montecito show in the works, she’d be a shoo-in.”

Carter wasn’t too far off. Meghan’s eight-episode lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan, began streaming on Netflix last month.

It has already been renewed for a second season, despite criticism over its unoriginal concept that “lacks authenticity.”