What’s on my mind?
There’s a lot to be said for chats at the kitchen table and meals made with love. There’s a lot to be said for beer slugged from the bottle, ’n’ cheese ’n’ beans ’n’ whoops! There’s a lot to be said for belly laughs, and a lot to be said for an untroubled life of simplicity - say what you mean; mean what you say.
Harry, the Duke of Sussex, is a decent - but troubled - man.
Both Harry and brother William, who’s second-in-line to the throne, have been dogged by mental health problems linked to the loss of their mother. Harry was 12 and William,15, when Diana died in a car crash, 24 years ago. Each son has been open about seeking help, and has encouraged others to do the same. It takes courage to expose vulnerability - particularly as a senior member of the royal family.
Which is why a casual comment from Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, struck me as poignant and even cruel. During the couple’s recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, as a seemingly withdrawn Harry sat staring at the rescued chickens in son Archie’s “Chick Inn” pen, Markle told Oprah: “I love rescuing.”
Markle didn’t say: “It was important to us to save these chickens” or “Rescuing these chickens was the right thing to do.” What she said was: “I love rescuing.” I work with words: I recognize the power of shaded meanings. I believe the brevity and choice of these particular words was not accidental.
As Markle aired the perceived miseries of her privileged life within the royal family, she agreed with Oprah’s suggestion that she felt “trapped.”
Harry, too, told Oprah he was “trapped, but I didn’t know I was trapped …” Asked if he would have stepped back from his royal role were it not for Markle, he said he wouldn’t have.
During the interview, Markle denied “manipulating” Harry, instead suggesting she’d sacrificed a lucrative acting career for the royal family. How noble and brave to sacrifice herself so! The interview’s old news: Forgive me for dwelling on it (this is the last time I will), but the couple’s comments were revealing.
Who’s driving this bus? Just as Harry didn’t know he was trapped, he may not recognize the perception in some quarters that he’s been occupying in the passenger seat. After Harry expressed his desire to move to Canada, the bus stopped there briefly before trundling to Los Angeles, city of angels and ambitions, which just happens to be Markle’s birthplace. Her mother is there; her friends are there; her Hollywood contacts are there; and now, she and Harry are there.
If clocks could be rewound, I’d be surprised if HRH Prince Harry envisioned moving to LA three years ago. But with his and her HRH honorifics stripped away, the couple now lives in Montecito, 90 minutes north of Los Angeles. Theirs is a nine-bedroom, 16-bathroom, US $14.65 million house bought last June. As any financially responsible couple might do, they’re working hard to address the US $9.5 million mortgage they’re carrying. Very hard.
Show Me the Money, Honey:
Through his private estate, Prince Charles had at one point paid 95 percent of the couple’s personal and professional expenses. As working royals, Markle and Harry also received an income through the Sovereign Grant British taxpayers fund. When they “stepped back,” announcing they would no longer shake all those hands and embark on all those goodwill tours as working Royals, the Grant - and Charles’ financial support - stopped.
Which came first? Harry’s squeaky indignation that the royal family had “literally cut me off financially” or the couple’s claim of seeking financial independence? As Harry admitted, without the money his mother left him, “we wouldn’t have been able to do this.” Diana left Harry an estimated £6 million - slightly more than US $8 million. Other estimates suggest US $10 million.
And so the ostentatious Duke and Duchess went to work, as most blokes do. Except that their income, employment, and staff weren’t quite the same as most blokes’. Some might say their networking and multi-million dollar business deals have landed them in the category of “nouveau riche” - an unfortunate status, unworthy of Harry’s lineage.
By January, 2020, with the couple still ensconced in the royal family, it was already rumored (and later confirmed) the limelight-loving Duchess had signed a deal with Disney+ two months before the announcing their decision to “step back” as senior working royals. In a nice bit of charitable public relations, Markle’s agreement to do a voice-over for a documentary about elephants specified her fee be channeled to an elephant conservation fund, rather than into her pocket.
But then things changed. Not long after their arrival in the US, the couple inked a deal with the world’s top speaker’s agency at a rumored $1 million per talk. While Oprah made clear the couple wasn’t paid to bare their souls in the early March interview, their heightened profile from the interview didn’t hurt their chances in the working world.
This week, it was announced that Harry would become “chief impact officer” of BetterUp, a Silicon Valley start-up promoting mental health and proactive coaching. In an email announcing his new role, he wrote: “I intend to help create impact in people’s lives.”
The nebulous statement attributed to Harry is not unlike those the couple has issued on signing a maelstrom of multi-million dollar deals. Whether Harry will or won’t draw a one-time payment, a salary, shares in the company, or mere recognition is unknown, but the exposure is certain to help BetterUp.
Netflix: In a multi-year deal, Netflix will pay the couple’s Archewell Productions to make documentaries, docu-series, feature films, scripted shows, and children’s programming. Another report refers to “documentaries, docu-series, feature films, scripted shows and children’s programming.” To my knowledge, no word when. Says a statement on behalf of the royal couple: “Our focus will be on creating content that informs but also gives hope … impactful content that unlocks action.” Fuzzy, fine-sounding words. An unsubstantiated article in Marie Claire magazine reports the deal to be worth $100 million-plus.
Spotify podcasts: In December, The Guardian reported: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced a multi-year partnership with Spotify to produce and host podcasts that highlight and elevate diverse perspectives and voices … The specifics were vague: “Programming that uplifts and entertains audiences around the world.” The deal promises“different perspectives” and interviews with “amazing people.” Spotify aired their first podcast, a holiday special in December. The world has anxiously awaited the next.
Apple TV+: In April, 2019, Before relinquishing their Royal Highness titles, the Duke and Duchess entered into an agreement to produce an Oprah Winfrey/Apple TV+ project involving mental health.
Note: Archewell Productions is not to be confused with the Archewell Foundation, through which the Duke and Duchess’ “core purpose is to uplift and unite communities - local and global, online and offline - one act of compassion at a time.” Well intended, to be sure, but more undefined fuzzification.
Then there’s sweet, innocent Archie, the wunderkind who will be two in May. Is the boy named after the brand, or is the brand named after the boy?
Coming up in a couple of days: My final post in this series … A close look at the delightfully named Duck! Rabbit!; a rah-rah from Markle’s supporters; and a few words from the ever-unpleasant, ever-brash, ever-vulgar Donald Trump.
© Nicole Parton, 2021
