Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are truly forging their own path, both within the royal family and the world of Hollywood. After stepping away from life in England and all of the perks and pitfalls that came with their royal duties in 2020, they have continued to use royal titles while making deals within the entertainment industry and continuing their service trips in a way that has drawn concern from those in the palace.
Queen Elizabeth II made it clear that there was no way for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to cash in on private ventures while still fulfilling the obligations they had as senior working royals. Their ensuing move to the United States came with a bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview, a Netflix docuseries and a tell-all memoir from the Duke of Sussex, and their continued moves within Hollywood remain an issue, according to Richard Fitzwilliams. The royal expert told Fox News:
There is a huge difference between what the monarchy has to offer and what Harry and Meghan are currently doing.
Netflix has been a big part of the Sussexes’ plan since moving to the U.S., but it’s seemingly been an up-and-down relationship. A year ago, it seemed negotiations had broken down on their yearslong relationship, only to see the two reach a new agreement — albeit a downgraded one — that kept them in business together. However, speculation remains that all may not be well, with the streaming giant cutting ties with Meghan Markle’s jam brand and other merchandise this year.
As for other Hollywood moves, Meghan Markle is set to return to acting with a small part in the upcoming movie Close Personal Friends and is allegedly being bombarded with offers for leading roles.
The way that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle can do this while still making service trips to places like Nigeria, Colombia and Ukraine that resemble royal engagements highlights those previously mentioned differences from what Harry’s father, brother and sister-in-law are doing as working royal members. Richard Fitzwilliams said:
This was underlined by King Charles’ highly successful state visit to the United States and Princess Catherine's two-day visit to Italy, her first official trip in over three years. However, in attempting to have something similar to the ‘half-in, half-out’ position within the royal family, which Queen Elizabeth rejected, the Sussexes have shown that their brand still gets huge amounts of publicity.
Indeed, they do seem to be both making moves to benefit their own lives while continuing the life of service Prince Harry was born into — but somehow doing it without wholly committing to either Hollywood or the royal family. As British royals expert Hilary Fordwich said:
What Queen Elizabeth II viewed as totally and utterly unacceptable has been adopted by the Sussexes as their modus operandi, blurring the line between being private citizens and wannabe celebrities while leveraging their royal connections. Each trip they make is styled to be rather like a faux royal tour as they seem to monetize almost every moment.
Love them or hate them, you can’t deny that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry know how to keep the headlines coming.
