Meghan Markle and Prince Harry quit royal life five years ago, and appear to be happier than ever. While they have criticised their time as senior royals multiple times since quitting, they seem to have finally found their happy place in Montecito, California.
At the time of their royal exit in 2020, Meghan, 43, and Harry, 40, seemed keen to have a “half-in, half-out” approach when it came to royal life, wanting to continue working for the Crown while also gaining financial independence. However as this would not be fitting with normal royal behaviour, the late Queen did not permit this, resulting in Harry and Meghan letting go of all their royal duties.
A royal author has since said he believes it was the Duchess’ “desire” to earn her own money that resulted in this move.
As reported by The Daily Mail, royal author Valentine Low wrote in his tell-all book Courtiers: “Some suspected that in the end she wanted to make money.
“And the only way she was going to do that was by leaving her royal life behind and going back to America.”
Since moving to the US, Meghan has indeed made her own money through various business ventures.
Just this year alone, the Duchess of Sussex has launched her own brand As Ever, her Netflix show “With Love, Meghan”, and her podcast Confessions of A Female Founder.
Over the last five years, the Duchess has also made money through other means, including her first podcast series Archetypes and her children’s book.
With her husband Prince Harry, Meghan has also been involved in other Netflix projects, including the 2022 Netflix docuseries Harry and Meghan, and the Polo series.
While Meghan has very much been wearing her business hat, Harry has tended to shy away from this, instead focusing on his charity work and making money through his bombshell memoir Spare, which he published in 2023.
It is believed that Harry could have an upcoming commercial venture up his sleeve, however details about this have not yet been confirmed.