Since stepping down from their roles as working royals in March this year, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry haven’t been able to do a lot. With the coronavirus pandemic taking a grip globally, the couple – who relocated to LA earlier in the year with baby Archie – have had to put work plans on the back-burner until the world opens up again.
We know the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are concocting big plans for a charitable organisation named ‘Archewell’ – inspired by their young son Archie Harrison – which will focus on the advancement of mental healthresources including a website, films, podcasts and books.
But all that takes a while to set up, and in the meantime it seems Harry and Meghan have been working on another aspect of their future careers. Harper’s Bazaar confirms the couple have just signed a lucrative speaking engagement contract with a New York–based agency, Harry Walker, which also represents the likes of the Obamas, and the Clintons. Admirable company indeed.
It looks like the Sussexes are carving out speaking opportunities as one of their streams of income, which is all part of their wider plan to become financially independent from the royal family.
On a website set up by Meghan and Harry following the announcementthey’d be stepping away from their royal duties, the Duke and Duchess explained that they “value the ability to earn a professional income”, which they were “prohibited from doing” as working royals.
The couple said they looked forward to establishing “future financial autonomy [by working] externally,” and this new deal looks to be the first public steps towards that. The speaking agency will organise paid opportunities for the Sussexes to take part in “moderated discussions, keynote speeches, and community forums,” according to Harper’s.
The magazine’s source reveals that, once it’s safe to carry out in-person work like this again, Harry and Meghan will focus on speaking about “social issues and causes important to them and the world,” including mental health, racial justice, gender equity, and the environment.
