Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s failure to be ‘one unified Sussex’ pushed them to ditch ‘forced’ attempts to stay together

The old adage that it’s better to present a united front seems to provide little comfort to the Sussexes, whose attempts to do so have been met with failure after failure. Now it seems like the couple is looking to go their separate ways in the hope that this time, everything will work out as planned.

Since splitting from the Royal family, both Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have launched a number of ventures, from Harry’s tell-all book Spare to Meghan’s struggling lifestyle business — and a collection of media outings thrown in for good measure. The problem for the Sussexes is that none of them has been quite the success they’d hoped for.

Amid speculation about their personal lives, said to be in a “very bad state,” the Sussexes have moved towards solo engagements, appearances, and ventures. This looks to be a bad thing for the duo, an outward sign of cracks in the brand and possibly of cracks in their personal relationship, leading to rampant speculation — but in an exclusive interview with Express, an expert suggests it’s actually a good move.

Speaking to the Express, PR expert Renae Smith of The Atticism marketing and PR agency, had a lot to say about the couple’s struggles for brand recognition. Citing the couple’s “differing interests” as a reason the couple’s ventures “don’t naturally mesh into one unified ‘Sussex’ narrative,” Smith notes that a future with greater professional separation could be a very good thing for the pair “over the long term” since their previous attempt do it all together seemingly fell on its face.

“While each area holds potential, combining them under one brand felt forced, even confusing, to the public.”

It’s easy to see why, as Harry’s focus on mental health and veterans’ issues is tonally quite different to Meghan’s championing of causes like women’s empowerment and social justice. This feels like a hard sell as one unified package — and that’s without combining a struggling lifestyle business with a very Hollywood approach to “wellness” — as people who respond well to one aspect of the brand may be put off by messaging from another part. Smith says a shift to separate messaging could allow Harry and Meghan to “resonate more coherently with their individual audiences.”

In the short term, people see the separation and immediately ask questions about the pair, with the primary worry that the couple is headed for divorce. But Smith is positive about the move, discussing why it’s a good thing and a “natural evolution” of the brand.

“From a PR perspective, this shift might allow each of them to create distinct brands that better reflect their different priorities.”

It’s clear the Sussexes have a lot to say individually, as Harry is very vocal about his work with the Invictus Games, while Meghan is focused on her business launch, her new Netflix cooking show, and its exclusive deal for her lifestyle products.

A professional separation could be just what the couple needs. It won’t solve the family drama, but could fix their professional woes.