RICHARD EDEN: My idea on Meghan and Harry’s enterprise pursuits
When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved to California to seek their fortune, their cheerleaders claimed they would be a new power couple, like George and Amal Clooney, who attended their wedding, but with added royal mystique. Comparisons were even made with former US president Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, whose highly lucrative move into books and podcasts they hoped to emulate.
This week, we have seen evidence of how that dream lies in tatters, with Prince Harry and Meghan travelling in different directions when it comes to their careers. It is a new strategy – but to explain why they felt the need to adopt it, we have to go back to the moment they arrived in America.
The Sussexes’ ambition to harness their power as a couple became clear soon after they landed in Los Angeles on what Harry described as a ‘freedom flight’ from Canada during the Covid pandemic in 2020.
Meghan has filmed a cookery and lifestyle show, expected to be broadcast next year
While living in a mansion generously lent to them by American TV star Tyler Perry – whom Harry admitted he did not know – the pair started plotting how they would establish themselves as a new force in the US.
They set up Archewell, a mixture of for-profit and not-for-profit business organisations, registered in tax-friendly Delaware, that they hoped would help give them the same sort of status as that which former US presidents including Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary derived from the foundations they had established.
Then came the crucial business of cashing in on their royal connections as a couple. They did this by signing multi-million-dollar deals with media titans Netflix and Spotify.
Making clear that audio giant Spotify had signed them as a pair, both Harry and Meghan appeared on the pilot episode of their podcast. A string of famous guests, including Sir Elton John, James Corden and Tyler Perry, were enlisted in an attempt to demonstrate their ability to attract big names.
Three months later, they sat down for their explosive television interview with their Santa Barbara neighbour Oprah Winfrey. Following Meghan’s claims in the interview that the future Princess of Wales had made her cry, and her allegations of racism among unnamed senior Windsors, the sofa chat caused a devastating rift with the Royal Family. It also alienated millions of people who had previously been sympathetic to Harry and Meghan.
The negative reaction to the interview may have been the turning point, when the first seeds of doubt crept in about the wisdom of their ‘power couple’ strategy. They had, however, signed a deal with Netflix for a rumoured $100million, so still went ahead with their tawdry ‘docuseries’ or reality show, Harry & Meghan, which was broadcast the following year.
By the time their first series of podcasts was released by Spotify the same year, poor Harry’s voice had been silenced. Instead, the dozen episodes of the series, Archetypes, were presented exclusively by Meghan.
The former actress had, apparently, decided that she deserved top billing. Fat lot of good it did her, though.
While living in a mansion lent to them by American TV star Tyler Perry, the pair started plotting how they would establish themselves as a new force in the US
The series turned out to be their first and last for Spotify, with the company announcing in 2023 that it had ended its deal. Adding insult to injury, Spotify executive Bill Simmons described the couple as ‘f***ing grifters’ and ridiculed Harry’s attempts to contribute ideas for podcasts.
Meghan’s solo series set the pattern for their future careers. She left Harry to promote his memoirs alone, as the book further antagonised the royals and their admirers around the world.
Their forthcoming projects for Netflix are separate: Meghan has filmed a cookery and lifestyle show, expected to be broadcast next year, while Harry’s made a programme about polo, his favourite sport.
This week, Harry has been in New York on his own, carrying out charitable engagements connected to his late mother, Princess Diana, that would once have held much appeal for Meghan.
What’s been most noticeable is that the duke has appeared far more relaxed than on his previous appearance in the city with his wife. That visit turned into a fiasco, with claims of a ‘high-speed car chase’ with paparazzi that were denied by the police.
Harry’s smiles have also been in contrast to the frowns he often seemed to be wearing when he visited Colombia with Meghan last month.
A source in California claims that Meghan has decided that their interests are best served by pursuing separate careers.
‘They will still carry out some charitable engagements together and embark on foreign visits, but their work projects will be separate,’ the source tells me.
Perhaps Meghan has decided that she is the bigger attraction when it comes to showbusiness. That would leave Harry free to continue trying to mend fences with his family on visits back home that are likely to become more frequent and longer.
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