Meghan Markle’s strategy to make it in Hollywood “hasn’t delivered” says PR expert, but this could be her year. Prince Harry seemed to be everywhere in 2023 – releasing a memoir, battling the press in court and attending events like the coronation and the Invictus Games.
But Meghan had a low-key year in contrast, appearing at events like Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, Beyonce’s Renaissance Tour, Kevin Costner’s charity fundraiser and Variety’s Power of Women event.
“Look, if you’re appearing on red carpets and premieres, that means you’re putting yourself on show for the type of people who might cast you, book you, use you,” said PR expert Mark Borkowski. “That’s what Meghan’s been about.”
The Duchess of Sussex did not attend King Charleses coronation, leaving her husband to go alone.
Royal author Omid Scobie said that this was to avoid royal drama and allow her to “launch businesses and more creative projects that no one can ever say she’s riding on the coat-tails of her royal connections”
The couple seem to be looking for people to back the kind of projects they want to be linked with. Mr Borkowski said. “But the trouble is, all this high-ended stuff around the values that they portray, it hasn’t delivered for them.”
The Sussexes £100million Netflix deal has produced docuseries Harry & Meghan and Heart of Invictus. They are reportedly now adapting Carley Fortune’s romance novel Meet Me at the Lake.
And their £20million Spotify deal was ended by “mutual” agreement after just one season of Meghan’s Archetypes podcast, with the streamer’s head of podcast innovation reportedly labelling the couple as “grifters”.
“Netflix hasn’t really worked, Spotify hasn’t really worked, and that is because the sort of content that they feel they want to produce, the platforms don’t believe it has any value,” said Borkowski.
The couple’s charity Archewell has also had a bad year, with a significant £9million drop in donations, sending them into the red.
Mr Borkowski said the couple needs “critical friends” around them, “good people who can get them in the zone”, and not operate in an “echo chamber”.
“Harry clearly wants to be of value. They have to produce something that is meaningful, that captures their values. But, unfortunately people don’t want that. People want the ‘sidebar of shame’ sort of stuff, and turning up moaning and shouting and being disruptive,” said Borkowski.
According to Omid Scobie, Meghan wants to build “something rooted in her love of details, curating, hosting, life’s simple pleasures and family” and “something safe and timeless … that won’t be accused of riding on the back of anything royal”.
