Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ‘have to make money’ to survive – unlike the royals back in Britain, a pro-Sussex source has claimed after they were accused of hypocrisy.
The staunch defence of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex came after their own charity released a report saying young people want role models who are not ‘driven by profit’.
The official Archewell Foundation document also criticised ‘inauthentic’ online influencers and declared that ‘true leadership is not about money or followers’.
Meghan and Harry’s critics have pointed out that their deals with Netflix and Spotify since 2020 alone were worth at least $120million (£90m).
Meghan has also relaunched her Instagram account and used it promote her Netflix shows and As Ever lifestyle brand. But she denies being an influencer, calling herself an ‘entrepreneur and a female founder’.
Along with lucrative speaking events and other well-paid business roles, it has allowed the Sussexes to settle in a $14million Montecito mansion with their two young children.
‘That they have to make money is a moot point’, a Sussex insider has said in their defence, adding pointedly: ‘We all do, unless you’re a member of the institution (the Royal Family)’.
The couple’s supporter insisted that their financial independence has allowed them to give huge sums to charity compared to the ‘ordinary Joe’ over the past five years.
It came after their own Archewell Foundation released a new report where they interviewed more than 100 young people aged between 10 to 25 about what it means to grow up in the digital age.
These young people, from Meghan’s native United States, Harry’s UK as well as Australia, Canada and Panama, said they are exhausted by the inauthenticity of influencer culture.
The Sussex source claimed that the couple have become a global ‘activist-driven brand’ like Ben & Jerry’s ice cream since Megxit, pursuing profits to support their philanthropy.
Archewell’s Insight Report, released on November 20, said those interviewed want their role models to be motivated by causes they care about – rather than ‘driven by profit’.
‘Across geographies, youth describe influencers as ‘performative,’ ‘inauthentic,’ and ‘profit-motivated’. Meaningful voices are often drowned out by harmful or shallow content’, the document says.
Newsweek has said that the Sussexes’ ‘pivot to authenticity’ causes them a major problem’.
The publication’s Chief Royal Correspondent, Jack Royston, wrote that Archewell’s own findings ‘chime with numerous major criticisms of the couple throughout their post-royal lives’.
He wrote: ‘The findings are striking but make difficult reading alongside the facts of the first five years of Harry and Meghan’s US lives, which saw them sign multimillion-dollar deals for content creation’.
But a source close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has launched a staunch defence of them and their motives.
The insider said the couple’s decision to accumulate wealth after Megxit has allowed them financial independence from the Royal Family and to ‘give a disproportionate amount of their wealth’ to good causes.
‘To cast all young people as though they would take umbrage with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for making money, is just an oversimplified assessment of who they are as people and what I think that report is trying to say’, the source described by Newsweek as being ‘sympathetic to the Sussex position’ said.
‘Young people, as it relates to the brands and the things that they associate with or feel an affinity to, are largely driven by activism. It’s why young people love Ben and Jerry’s. It’s why young people love Patagonia.
‘It’s why young people love activist-driven brands and if you were to look at Harry and Meghan as an activist-driven brand, which I would argue they are, they focus on showing up, doing good, and handing over a disproportionate amount of their wealth compared to the average Joe to good causes’.
A spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex declined to comment.
Since Megxit in 2020, the couple have been making themselves busy with a host of lucrative deals – earning an estimated £100million in the process – after Harry claimed Charles had ‘cut him off financially’ following Megxit.
These claims were later refuted by the Royal Family in the first of a series of never-ending public spats between the palace and the prince now in exile.
Megxit has also coincided in a sharp decline in popularity for the couple, whose net approval rating in the UK and US is as low as plus 15%.
Harry’s brother William’s net approval is the highest in the Royal Family, reaching plus 72% in the UK and plus 55% in the US.
Harry and Meghan were last seen out together before Thanksgiving, supporting a charity.
The ‘protective’ Prince wrapped his arms around his wife in a very public show of unity as they returned to royal-style engagements after a series of self-inflicted PR disasters.
The couple shared a new picture of them cuddling at Our Big Kitchen Los Angeles where they had prepared meals for the poor and hungry to be delivered on Thanksgiving.
‘Harry has his arms around Meghan to stress their closeness after recent controversies’, a royal source told the Daily Mail.
It came after a PR problem sparked by their attendance at Kris Jenner’s 70th birthday, a row over disputed accusations that the Duchess had been taking dresses from cover shoots without permission and negative headlines related to Meghan’s recent Harper’s Bazaar cover story.
The image, posted by their Archewell Foundation with the caption ‘Show up, do good’, showed a grinning Harry behind his wife, wrapping his arms around her tightly.
Meghan is also smiling broadly having taken her husband’s hand and leant back into him surrounded by a huge team of Our Big Kitchen staff and volunteers.
The Sussexes went to Our Big Kitchen Los Angeles with their children, who were involved in making cookies. A smiling Meghan held hands with Lilibet, who wore a tartan dress and had her hair in a plait, and watched on as Harry dished up a meal of mince, rice and peppers into a tupperware box.
The charity event came after Harry and Meghan’s trip to Kris Jenner’s 70th birthday party at Jeff Bezos’ mansion backfired after pictures of them partying inside were mysteriously deleted by the birthday girl and her daughter Kim Kardashian, making headlines around the world.
Meghan was revealed as the cover star of the latest edition of Harper’s Bazaar land spoke of how Harry loved her ‘deeply’ and will always have her back.
But its writer caused a storm when she revealed that Meghan was announced as the ‘Duchess of Sussex’ to a near-empty room and was served a cappuccino with her face in the froth at the exclusive Beverly Hills Hotel.
And her spokesman furiously denied claims in the US press that she had taken a £1,300 green Galvan dress from 2022 photoshoot with Variety, saying it was ‘highly defamatory’ to suggest she had done so ‘without the full knowledge and agreement of the on-set stylists’.
Meghan, 44, posted a montage on Instagram of her and husband Harry, 41, grinning as they took part in the baking session.
