Meghan Markle and Prince Harry may have made over $204 Million (£150 million) in multi-media deals with top brands like Netflix and Spotify this year. However, some royal critics called their financial choices a "tacky" move.
Royal commentator Andrew Pierce said on Good Morning Britain that Meghan and Harry's increasing "commercial activities" make them look like "royals for rent" or for hire. Their contracts with large media companies in the U.S. will apparently impact the review of their status with The Firm with Queen Elizabeth in March 2021.
Pierce also cannot believe that Meghan has invested her money in a superlatte brand endorsed by no less than Oprah Winfrey on Instagram. The royal expert recalled that when Prince Michael of Kent did the same years ago in America, Her Majesty immediately stopped her cousin's commercial venture.
Presenter and Daily Mail columnist Piers Morgan said that Meghan and Harry are "two absurd ultra-woke freeloading chancers" who are using their royal titles to secure their deals. Morgan believes that the pair won't land such lucrative contracts if they are not the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
But industry experts have said Harry and Meghan could potentially cash in billions of dollars after they decided to become financially independent from the royal family. Their Netflix deal, signed and secured in September, is reportedly close to $100 million. This afforded the pair to pay off the renovation cost of Frogmore Cottage, their house in the U.K., where they barely stayed for a year.
Harry and Meghan will be producing various documentaries and family-friendly shows or movies that will cover their advocacies on the popular streaming platform. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is confident that Sussex pair's shows will be their "most viewed content" in 2021.
This December, Harry and Meghan landed a Spotify contract valued at about $40 million. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are preparing to air their first episode over the holidays, but their actual shows under Archewell Audio will be released in 2021.
Aside from the coffee start-up investment and their contract with two media brands, the Duke of Sussex also teamed with Winfrey to produce a documentary that will exclusively screen on the Apple TV+ streaming platform. Harry closed this deal before he and Meghan signed with Netflix.
Harry and Meghan also signed with the Harry Walker agency for their various speaking engagements, commanding at least $430,000 to $1.5 million per appearance. The couple usually talks about their advocacies like mental health, racial equality, women empowerment, and the environment.
