AND MEGHAN INC
themercury.com.au royal career in fashion, The Sun reported. Givenchy – the luxury label that designed her wedding dress – is among the brands that Meghan has already spoken with.
“Meghan is very connected in the fashion industry and there are a lot of major labels who would like to partner with her on projects,” a source told The Sun.
“There have already been
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THE BIGGEST HURDLE FOR EXTREMELY HIGHPROFILE PEOPLE IS MANAGING THEIR PRIVATE VERSUS PUBLIC LIVES. THAT, SO FAR, HAS BEEN THE BURNING ISSUE FOR HARRY AND MEGHAN … THEY MUSTN’T PRETEND TO BE SOMEONE THEY ARE NOT
active discussions with Givenchy. Some of these deals could be worth millions of pounds.”
The Duchess of Sussex frequently wears Givenchy, including to red carpet occasions, and she made a surprise appearance at the 2018 British Fashion Awards to honour Givenchy designer, Clare Waight Keller.
Another brand alignment for Meghan may also lie in an ongoing association with either American or British Vogue, the latter of which she last year guest edited the September issue.
For it, Meghan – who once had her own lifestyle blog titled The Tig (it closed when she became a royal-in-waiting)
– interviewed Ms Obama and featured Australian supermodel Adut Akech, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and Hollywood actor and activist Jane Fonda.
But one massive hurdle for Prince Harry and his former Hollywood actor wife is their public image, which has taken
CRISIS MANAGEMENT EXPERT PETER WILKINSON a huge hit after the “Megxit” backlash.
“The biggest hurdle for extremely high-profile people is managing their private versus public lives,” crisis management expert Peter Wilkinson said.
“That, so far, has been the burning issue for Harry and Meghan … they mustn’t pretend to be someone they are not, which is Meghan’s current reputation,” Mr Wilkinson told News Corp.
“These two are smart, and the royals have learnt a lot since the clumsy Fergie days.
“And Harry is far cleverer and more dynamic than Prince Andrew. That doesn’t mean he won’t make mistakes, but his charm will carry him a long way.”
Royal expert Giselle Bastin said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in a position to earn “big dollars” on the celebrity speaking circuit “much like the Obamas and Clintons”.
“Only time will tell how long they will be in demand, however, because unlike the Obamas and Clintons they haven’t actually been in a position of actual power on the world stage,” Ms Bastin – an associate professor at Flinders University and British royals expert – told News Corp.
“It is hard to assess what their ‘worth’ will be,” she added.
“They will supposedly be free to write books in order to ‘survive’, though this backfired for Fergie.
“What the value of their marketing wares will be is, as yet, an unknown.”
The very public “Megxit” saga – played out in the British and US tabloids – was a “loselose” in terms of public relations for the royal couple.
“No break from the centre of the royal court was going to go unnoticed, and it was certainly never going to be uncontroversial,” Ms Bastin said.
“Brand Sussex might suffer the further it strays from the royal fold. This latest development might be a slippery slope into Kardashian world for the royal pair.”
(Of course, Andy Cohen – the executive producer of the lucrative Real Housewives reality TV franchise – joked that the royals have an open invitation to join the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.)
Ms Bastin continued: “I’m not sure that the money side of things is the central facet of Harry’s and Meghan’s decision to step away; quite simply, they’d had enough of being on the frontline of the royal firm, and unless they’d done something relatively drastic like this, they were destined to plod along as famous, but not inner-circle in terms of line of succession royals, for the rest of their days.
“Clearly, they’ve decided that this is not for them.”