With the Sussexes stepping away from their roles as senior royals and making a bid for financial independence, there’s been much talk about exactly how they could earn money in the coming years.
Product endorsements, speaking engagements, and book deals have all been mentioned, and the Sussexes filed a trademark on their foundation last June covering more than 100 items ranging from shirts to posters to printed material.
“This will just be the stepping stone for higher-value products being launched later down the line,” said retail expert Andy Barr, co-founder of online price tracking website, www.alertr.co.uk. “Undoubtedly this will be a multi-million-pound revenue business given they are effectively trading on the back of the royal name, which is ironic given they are seemingly trying to escape its clutches.”
Barr told Royal Central that the Sussexes could make £400m a year or more if their plan to earn income outside of the royal family comes to fruition.
“We would conservatively estimate that the ‘MegRy’ revenue will dwarf that of Prince Charles’ various Duchy business fortunes. With his revenue estimated to be £200m in the last year, we would not be surprised to see Harry and Meghan more than double that from scratch with their combined global appeal.”
PR expert Mark Borkowski told the Daily Mail that this global appeal will help them cash in not just in their new home base in North America, but worldwide. “I think around the world – China, America, South East Asia, India, parts of Europe – people will be falling over to get brand connections with them. They will make a fortune.”
He added, however, that they’re going to need this fortune if they plan to be totally financially independent. “…They have to make a lot of money to fuel the lifestyle and everything that they need,” he said. “It’s not that easy to separate yourself, security issues alone are enormous, and they are a target for security – how they live, how they operate.”
