Losing brand ‘Sussex Royal’: What it means for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle learned this week that they will not be able to continue using the brand Sussex Royal. This is what it means for the former royals.
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What’s in a name? To mangle Shakespeare, a royal by another name would smell as sweet.
Harry and Meghan have learned this week that they will not be able to continue using the brand Sussex Royal.
While this was obvious to most people when they announced they were walking away from their royal roles last month, it seemed the couple and their advisers did not read the tea leaves.
There was never any way to be half-in and half-out of the royal family. It was as preposterous as being half divorced, or half pregnant.
However, despite losing their titles, they still have the chance to become billionaires in their own right.
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They were paid up to $A1.5 million for a speaking engagement by JP Morgan Chase bank to have a chat to billionaire investors, and that will be the first of many endorsements.
Ingrid Seward, editor in chief of royal bible Majesty Magazine, told News Corp Australia that Harry and Meghan were so famous, it didn’t matter if they lost the royal moniker.
“Oh yes, absolutely,” she said when asked if they would still be able to rake in the cash.
“But every time they do something they are going to be criticised because the people who have the kind of money to pay them may not be the kind of people they want to associate with.”
Harry and Meghan had been plotting for about a year of their escape from the royal family, based on when they trademarked the Sussex Royal name.
They have 11.2 million followers on the @sussexroyal Instagram page, which started shortly before the birth of baby Archie in May last year.
There is also a sussexroyal.com web page, which detailed their reasons for leaving the royal family.
And they trademarked it for all sorts of souvenirs in preparation of cashing in as they planned to become financially independent. But the Queen said no.
That was not based on her love for Harry or Meghan, but on UK legislation.
“It seems their advisers are just not that good,” Ms Seward said.
“The Sussexes are not picking a fight with the Queen, they have picked a fight with the government on what the royal name can be used for. It is to stop people from putting the royal coat of arms on anything and people thinking, ‘oh well, that’s royal, it must be good’.”
A royal source said this week that the use of the term by Harry and Meghan “needed to be reviewed” and that discussions were ongoing.
“As the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are stepping back as senior members of the royal family and will work towards financial independence, use of the word ‘royal’, in this context, needed to be reviewed,” the source said.
“As part of the process to transition the Duke and Duchess of Sussex into their new chapter, planning has been well underway around the launch of their new non profit organisation.”
Harry and Meghan have caused a seismic shift in the royal family, with their bombshell last month that they planned to quit.
They wanted the best of both worlds, which in Harry’s case was certainly genuine.
He was devastated he lost his military roles when he decided to step back from his royal role.
Harry chose the love of his wife over the trappings of the royal household, saying that he wanted to avoid a repeat of his mother’s life and tragic death.
Meghan did not seem to fit with the British establishment that she married into, despite saying in her engagement interview that she knew what she was taking on.
Isolated from her friends on the other side of the Atlantic, the couple moved to a small cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle after finding sharing Kensington Palace with Prince William and Kate and their children too difficult.
Now they are living in Canada and striking their own path after sacking all 15 of their UK staff and closing their Buckingham Palace office.
They included Australian press officer Marnie Gaffney, who had been a loyal part of their Sussex household, under the Buckingham Palace umbrella.
Ms Gaffney, who travelled with the couple on their tour of southern Africa last year, had received an award from the Queen for her service.
Ms Seward said Harry and Meghan had scored several own goals with the help of their new staff.
“They’re Hollywood advisers,” she said.
Meghan posted a video on the @sussexroyal Instagram page this week, which her UK advisers had strongly advised against putting out in public.
It showed Meghan with British Vogue editor in chief Edward Enninful. They were discussing how the August edition that Meghan guest edited had sold out within 10 days and was the highest selling of a decade.
Then they showed the moment they called the women, who were faces of change, that were to grace the cover, including actor Jane Fonda.
Meghan and Mr Enninful also put on, at best, quirky party hats and blew party whistles like they were enjoying a few drinks late on New Year’s Eve on the Brighton Pier.
Royal officials had cringed when the video went out, according British media reports, saying it could be turned into an embarrassing meme.
They had blocked its release for months, but now free from the royal shackles, Meghan dropped it this week.
There is a culture clash between the Royal Family and Harry and Meghan, and it’s not just her American heritage and Hollywood connections.
There is a significant change in the way younger people engage with the world, and Meghan at least, appears to be happy to make fun of herself online like a teenager. Perhaps a post with the popular Instagram dog face filter is next?
The couple are also suing the British press for reports about Meghan’s father Thomas, as they continue to rip up the rules of the family they were once a part of.
The Queen has left open the door and they are due to attend a Commonwealth Day event in the UK on March 9.
It remains to be seen what the fallout will be from this royal divorce, and how Harry and Meghan shape their future.
But this week they moved another step out of the family.