MEGA DEALS What next for ‘brand Sussex’? PR experts reveal how Harry & Meghan can ‘make millions’ in UK… and 3 key celebs to copy
What next for ‘brand Sussex’? PR experts reveal how Harry & Meghan can ‘make millions’ in UK… and 3 key celebs to copy
AFTER sensationally stepping down as senior members of the Royal family to pursue a new chapter in the US six years ago, Prince Harry and wife Meghan are moving back to the UK.
The couple will make a shock return at the end of August for “an extended period”, with kids Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, enrolling at school here, The Sun reported in a world exclusive earlier this week.
The Sun revealed that Prince Harry and Meghan will be returning to the UK at the end of AugustCredit: AP
The Sussexes, who will retain their £11million home in Montecito, California, and Portugal bolthole, will move into a non-royal residence and will not be working royals. It is understood Harry and Meghan, 41 and 45, will not receive any money from the public purse while back in the UK.
This weekend, it was revealed that Meghan was in advanced talks for a major role in the gangster comedy-drama The Gentleman by Guy Ritchie.
Sources have told The Sun on Sunday that former Suits actress Meghan will be raking in a seven-figure sum if the contract is finalised.
A source said: “Meghan will be getting at least £1million for a role on The Gentlemen, perhaps even more.
“Signing her would be a major coup for the show’s bosses and it would absolutely be worth parting with a sizeable fee.”
LA-born Meghan appeared in movies Horrible Bosses and Remember Me, and got her big break in TV legal series Suits.
But according to royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams, another key reason the unexpected move has been announced is because ”the Sussexes have failed in the United States”.
“They lost Spotify and were called ‘grifters’ by an appalled executive. Netflix do have first refusal on their projects but only their docuseries Harry and Meghan succeeded and her cookery series was excoriated by critics and viewers were unimpressed,” Richard told us.
“Also their series on Invictus and Polo failed to attract viewers. They have flopped badly and are not A -listers.”
He continued: “Their move to Britain is designed to build on the power of their brand, by being in situ. It’s actually extremely clever PR.
“In all future major royal engagements they will be part of the narrative, whether present or, as seems certain to begin with, not. The hope is clearly, whilst not openly challenging ‘half in, half out’ that Easter and Christmas might be occasions which they could attend.”
Richard said: “It could also pay dividends for As Ever as they will always be in the news. Harry’s inheritance from Diana and the Queen Mother and Meghan’s earnings from Suits enable them reportedly to have reserves to draw from. However, their outgoings are huge and include security costs and three homes, one somewhere in Britain.”
As the couple prepare to relocate back to the UK, The Sun spoke to branding expert and Digital PR Manager at Bulldog Digital Media Georgia O’Brien-Perry to find out what else Prince Harry and Meghan could get up to.
While the pair might not see an “enormous nine-figure deal like their one with Netflix which was reportedly worth as much as $100million (£74million)”, Georgia said she “would be surprised if the move back to Britain did not ultimately generate several million pounds in new commercial opportunities”.
“This next phase is more likely to be built from several lucrative projects rather than one gigantic cheque, likely £1million to £5million each depending on the type and length of content.”
Georgia explained: “Even one or two major commercial partnerships, another successful book and a commissioned television project could plausibly earn them between £5million to £10million-plus over the next few years, with considerably more in the cards if one or more of those ventures really takes off and becomes a long-term success.”
The duo both have already dabbled in the world of books – Meghan with her 2021 children’s storytelling offering, The Bench, and husband Prince Harry with his explosive memoir, Spare, published in 2023.
The latter, though ruffling royal feathers and being slammed by many fans of the family, was undeniably a commercial success – and according to the expert, if the couple want a quick multi-million payday, publishing is their best bet.
Georgia told us: “Spare sold more than six million copies worldwide, and Harry’s publishing deal was widely reported to be worth around $20million (£15million).
“There is undoubtedly still a huge market for another book from either of them, particularly a Meghan memoir or a second Harry book covering everything that has happened since Spare.”
Georgia continued: “However, it should be noted that Spare was somewhat of a ‘joke’ and many didn’t read it due to not truly being interested in Harry, and more out of morbid curiosity for some of the more racy parts of the book, so a new book endeavour should be considered carefully”.
When Meghan launched her lifestyle brand, As Ever, in the spring of 2025, the mum-of-two admitted the experience “overwhelmed her”, with nights spent staying up until 3am worrying about the business. The pricey range, which included jars of honey for an eye-watering £22, coincided with her new Netflix cookery series, With Love, Meghan.
But while the 44-year-old managed to sell a whopping 1million jars of jam, in January a website glitch revealed that the duchess was struggling to flog other spreads. Could this change once the family-of-four return to the UK?
According to Georgia, it can – if Meghan learns from the likes of Sort Your Life Out star Stacey Solomon who regularly comes out with affordable Primark and Asda collabs.
The expert explained: “The collaborations that genuinely work here are the ones built on relatability and a high-street sensibility: think Stacey Solomon or Coleen Rooney releasing collections at Primark, or Molly-Mae using her girl-next-door persona to lock in a multi-year deal with PrettyLittleThing.
“These collabs and product lines worked because we reward the sense that the person is fundamentally one of us, and a £30 jar of jam sold under a royal-adjacent lifestyle label is the exact opposite of that.
“And in that, the ongoing cost of living squeeze and any premium celebrity homeware launch will feel tone-deaf rather than aspirational and likely fall flat.”
She continued: “There is a version of the retail play that could work, but it depends entirely on where Meghan pitches it.
“Trying to sell As Ever as everyday relatable homemaking will never work as it isn’t, but leaning fully into the premium and placing it in the stockists that already trade on heritage and provenance, such as Fortnum and Mason, Harrods, Selfridges or even Waitrose, removes the need to try and make the product seem ‘humble’ and means the price point makes sense.
“The best comparison is King Charles’s own Highgrove and Duchy Originals range, which sits comfortably in the aisles of Waitrose because it is framed around estate provenance and channels profit into charity rather than into the founder, which is the crucial difference that makes a royal-linked food brand palatable to a British audience.
“As it stands, As Ever doesn’t have this, so a premium retail push would need to borrow that logic rather than simply relocating the Montecito positioning to Piccadilly.”
Additionally, Georgia continued, the couple – who have reportedly built a combined net worth of £44million – could also look into public speaking, “mainly because the global corporate circuit will pay handsomely for a Sussex keynote regardless of British sentiment”.
“However, that market is overwhelmingly international rather than domestic, and somewhat ridiculed by people not in the corporate world, so there is a reputational risk,” Georgia warned.
“Every high-fee commercial engagement will feed the narrative that the couple traded service for profit, and doing it from a British base, within earshot of a public that expects a different code of conduct from anyone connected to the crown, will make the reception worse.
“The smartest structural move, and the one their advisers should be pushing hardest, is to stop treating the two of them as a single commercial unit and let each play to their actual strengths.”
For example, Prince Harry, she explained, could shift his focus “on the things that read as service, namely his military background, his sports philanthropy and the Invictus Games”.
“Meghan’s strengths pull in the other direction, towards a polished, aspirational, distinctly American brand of lifestyle influence, and there is nothing wrong with that – provided it is kept ‘classy’ and is not asked to masquerade as girl-next-door authenticity.”
William ‘will be furious’ at timing of move
HARRY and Meghan knew their UK move had to happen before William became king and the “door firmly shut”, a royal expert has claimed.
It is the “worst case scenario” for the future King, who will be furious by his younger brother’s decision to come back, Talk presenter Samara Gill said.
Ms Gill told our Royal Exclusive show that Harry calculated the timing of his move in order to get back in “while he still can.”
The journalist pointed to the ongoing feud between the two brothers, who haven’t spoken since the late Queen’s funeral in September 2022.
She said: “He knows what happened and all the dirty laundry that has been hauled in front of the public and that Harry had a part in.
“So the feud, I think, is still very much between the brothers.
“And I think that Harry is trying to get back in while he still can, because once the king passes, that door is going to be very firmly shut.”
In the six years since fleeing the country, the couple have made a series of stinging claims against the Royal Family, including King Charles.
Across an array of tell-all interviews, books and Netflix shows, the pair have made their thoughts pretty clear.
During an infamous sit-down interview with Oprah in March 2021, Harry and Meghan blasted the “toxic environment” in Britain.
The fiery 200-minute tell-all, which prompted the late Queen Elizabeth II to declare “recollections may vary”, saw Harry lay into his family.
Also in Harry’s memoir Spare, the Duke of Sussex alleged his older brother called Meghan “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive” in 2019.
And Ms Gill believes that Harry’s return will only deepen the cracks in the brother’s relationship.
She continued: “Look, I’m only alleging here, but I think some plates were smashing in the Wales‘ household.
“I think William is absolutely furious at this. I mean, this is worst case scenario. And I think he’s got a good reason for it.
“You know, he was getting along, doing a lot of great work for the royal family.
“He basically was managing that family on his back the last couple of years because of all the different things that have happened.
“And now for this to come into play… I think that it’s going to be a massive rift.”
Ms Gill told The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show that the rift between the two royal brothers will now likely be more evident.
