Since leaving their posts as working members of the British royal family in 2020, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, have been trying to find their way in the entertainment world.
However, their dream of becoming independent royals has met some serious obstacles. For example, a partnership with streaming giant Spotify failed to deliver the goods and was quickly terminated.
Moreover, Markle’s animated series for Netflix was dumped before it even aired. However, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were able to find great success by sharing some juicy family secrets.
A docu-series, Harry & Meghan on Netflix became an instant hit. Prince Harry’s memoir Spare followed the same path. The success in this specific niche came at a heavy price.
King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince William, and Kate Middleton have all decided to distance themselves from the Sussexes after the major revelations.
Things are not getting any better between the two sides, and a reconciliation is very unlikely, according to experts. The Sussexes have lost all the perks that come with being a working royal.
They now need a second act. There are a few projects that have been announced with Netflix. However, no one expects them to become huge hits and change the prevailing narrative, the Sussexes are failing to make a real transition to businesspeople.
A former royal butler claims that there is a way for them to win while staying in California. They could become top players in the charity business, the de-facto Prince and Princess of Los Angeles. While this idea looks promising, it will require some dexterity.
Grant Harrold said: “I’ve always said they are celebrity royals. They are royals who tried the media route, they’ve tried and it’s partly failed.”
Mr. Harrold continued: “They are well off enough that I’m sure they don’t need to work if they don’t want to but Harry is a doer, he is not somebody who sits there and does nothing so we will still see him out and about. I can see him getting involved in more charity work and projects.”
He then added: “It’s going to be interesting to see how they go forward from now, are they going to risk more partnerships failing or will they go down the royal route where they take on patronages and get involved in more charity work and become the ‘Prince and Princess of Los Angeles.”
Clive Irving, author of The Last Queen and royal columnist at The Daily Beast, also told Daily Express: “Harry and Meghan’s celebrity used to rest on the former’s connection to the Royal Family, but they’ve now been celebrities in their own right for so long that they don’t need to trade on that anymore. That’s no longer part of their lives.”
Since a return to the British monarchy is not possible, the Sussexes can start their own “princedom” in California by mixing entertainment and charity.
If they succeed, King Charles will not be able to take away their newfound symbolic titles.
