Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been accused of sending mixed signals about their intentions regarding the Royal Family with their website launch, four years after they left the Firm.
Sussex.com has been sold as a one-stop shop for all things Harry and Meghan, with the prominence of their royal titles and Meghan’s crest on the homepage suggesting a desire for them to capitalise on their royal connections.
However royal correspondent India McTaggart wrote in the Telegraph that while in Canada earlier this month to mark one year until the Invictus Games 2025, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex used their “celebrity status” to sell the Games to the press with maximum effect.
Although the couple are unable to use their royal links for commercial ventures, they have not been stripped of their royal titles and have also opted to give their children Archie and Lilibet the titles Prince and Princess.
What’s more they are now reportedly using the surname Sussex for their children rather than the one they were given at birth, Mountbatten-Windsor, with Ms McTaggart writing: “So after trying to find freedom in the US from what they described as the constraints and pressures of the Royal Family, they also appear to recognise four years down the line that those titles do matter after all.”
Since quitting the Firm the Sussexes have attempted to forge their way in the entertainment industry by signing major deals, with mixed results.
They lost their deal with Spotify last year after producing just one series of Meghan’s podcast Archetypes, yet recently the Duchess has signed a new deal to produce audio content for a smaller independent platform, Lemonada Media.
Their relationship with Netflix has also seen some ups and downs, with various projects cancelled while their Invictus series failed to reach the same levels of commercial success as their tell-all documentary Harry & Meghan.
For Harry the Invictus Games is one of his few remaining legacies from his time in the Royal Family, and has arguably been his most successful and popular project.
Meghan joined him in Canada where they both happily interacted with the media and were pictured chatting with veterans and trying out some of the new winter sports that will be on offer at the Games next year.
However while they were there the Duke gave an interview to Good Morning America, during which he talked about his visit to see King Charles after learning he had been diagnosed with cancer.
Harry expressed a desire to reconcile with his family, with some even speculating whether he could make a temporary return to royal duties, claims which Buckingham Palace have shut down.
Ms McTaggart added: “So it seems the Sussexes may continue to be isolated from the rest of the royals, advocating for their various causes while also capitalising on their celebrity status abroad.
“But recent events have begged the question whether the shift towards Harry’s royal roots – and the perceived olive branches extended to his father – signals a recalibration in the couple’s ambitions four years after stepping away from official duties and life in England.”
