Sussexes add UK PR executive to their team

New lifestyle and wellness brand from Duchess could become her primary focus if it proves to be a success

THE Duke and Duchess of Sussex have hired a Uk-based public relations executive, The Telegraph understands.

The new person will handle UK and European media and report to the couple’s communications team in the US. It marks the first time the Duke and Duchess have felt the need to have a Uk-based employee since moving abroad in 2020. But it is thought to reflect the team’s growing workload as the couple increase their profiles and independent ventures, as well as the huge international attention they command professionally and personally.

The new PR executive will join ahead of the launch of a new commercial venture that the Duchess has been working on for many months. The initiative, which had been billed as a lifestyle and wellness brand, had been expected last autumn, but was delayed as it “took different shapes”.

Speculation is rife that it will be a version of Goop, Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle business, but aides insist the venture is highly personal and “genuine to who she is”. If successful, it is thought likely to become the Duchess’s primary focus in the longer term.

Meanwhile, the couple’s five-year Netflix deal is due to expire at the end of 2025, with a contract renewal looking unlikely. However, their Archewell Productions arm has various projects in production, including rom-coms and documentaries. Their adaptation of Carley Fortune’s romantic novel, Meet Me at the Lake, is now thought to have been assigned a writer. Netflix confirmed last month that they were also working on a scripted series.

The Sussexes will be under pressure to secure a ratings hit to justify their reputed $100 million payday.

A previous commercial venture came to an end last summer when Spotify prematurely ended its lucrative deal amid reports of disappointing audiences.

The couple spent three days in Whistler, Canada, last month as they marked the one-year-countdown to the Invictus Games 2025. Then the Duchess allowed photographs of herself enjoying a “perfect” ski trip with friends in Utah to appear on social media, while the Duke made a whistlestop dash back to the UK to spend 30 minutes with his father, the King, following his cancer diagnosis.

Yesterday, it was announced that the Duchess had joined forces with actress Thelma and Louise actress Geena Davis to raise awareness about the ways mothers are depicted on television.