Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are no longer official Royals, but they’re not not Royals either. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have become a brand onto themselves, then, both figuratively and literally. Just look at their 2022 Netflix docuseries, simply titled Harry & Meghan.
The duo have even officially renamed their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, with the surname Sussex, further distancing their own clan from the Royal family and establishing their own impact on the world’s stage. Just look at Harry’s recent appearance at New York’s UN Week, in which campaigned on everything from environmentalism to anti-bullying. What’s drawing more attention than Harry’s words, though, is the fact that his wife wasn’t with him.
Harry is making more and more public appearances on his lonesome of late — just like his brief return to the U.K. to host an awards show on Sep. 30. This is in sharp contrast to previous years where he and Meghan appeared joined at the hip. So what does this mean for the Sussexes’ future?
Harry and Meghan are no longer a team and have become “two individuals, pursuing very different careers”
As Meghan can’t so much as sneeze without angering some quarters of the internet, naturally her decision not to accompany her husband on a few jaunts is causing Royal commentators to cast doubt on the duo’s destiny in the most dramatic of terms. As per what expert Angela Molland told Sky News Australia (via TheNews), these recent solo excursions for the duke paint a dismal picture for the state of “Brand Sussex.”
According to Molland, Harry and Meghan have woken up to the fact that their bid to become a Hollywood power couple “hasn’t worked out,” so they are pivoting to make their own “individual” mark on the scene with their own projects and pursuits.
“They went over to America, they were going to be a power couple, who were going to be the next Michelle and Barack Obama or the next George and Amal Clooney and that hasn’t worked out for them,” blasted Molland. “So they’re very much looking into separate professional lives. They’re sort of managing instead of being [seen as] a team, now being seen as two individuals, pursuing very different careers.”
Contributor Louise Roberts even claimed that things are in dire straights for the duo, saying “Brand Sussex as a going concern together clearly is in its death throes.”
Molland, on the other hand, seems to think there is a way back for Harry and Meghan’s joint brand, so long as they move away from their traditional “us vs. the Royal family” narrative and focus on their own identity as a family unit.
“I think they both need to play to their strengths,” Molland opined. “Another mistake they’ve made is pinning their great romance and love story, the big story of redemption and freedom from the ‘evil’ Royal Family to their professional footprint.”
While describing Harry and Meghan’s professional partnership as being in its “death throes” might be a tad melodramatic, the couple pausing any and all joint projects is something we are hearing across the board right now. Likewise, they do appear to be inching away from badmouthing the Royals in public anymore. Unfortunately, that’s what many of their followers find most fascinating. Just look at how disappointed Netflix has become with the couple’s streaming offerings of late, which could end their $100 million deal on a whimper.