Experts warn the Sussexes risk becoming ‘boring’
DailyMail
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are at risk of losing out on more lucrative media deals by being seen as ‘boring’, a public relations expert said today – as he warned the success of Harry’s controversial memoir would be crucial to their financial future.
The Duke of Sussex‘s autobiography, which has the pointed title Spare, was unveiled yesterday. He was reportedly paid a £18.4million advance for the book as part of a three-title deal worth £36.8m.
The book will be published on January 10, just weeks after Harry and Meghan’s equally controversial Netflix documentary – believed to be part of a £100m deal – is due to be aired.
Together with a £100m deal with Spotify, which includes Meghan’s Archetypes podcast, the agreements provide the couple with significant financial firepower.
But this could be at risk in the future if the public begins to tire of their regular pronouncements, according to PR and marketing expert Mark Borkowski.
‘The most important thing in the modern world is that they generate column inches and eyeballs – everything will come down to the success of the book and the deals with Netflix and Spotify,’ he told MailOnline.
‘If they do well then they could still be attractive to media outlets looking for subscribers. Given they’re no longer connected to the Royal Family with the exposure that brings they need to create their own energy. The danger is they become boring.’
Mr Borkowski said the couple’s expensive lifestyle – which revolves around their £11million Montecito mansion – could see them partner with a Silicon Valley tech firm such as Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta.
The firm’s share price recently plummeted amid concerns Mr Zuckerberg’s multi-billion dollar investment in the idea of the ‘metaverse’ – a series of virtual worlds where users can engage with each other in virtual reality – would fail to pay off.
‘There’s a bit of a downturn in tech at the moment but I’d expect that as the dust settles we could see them sign another deal in that industry,’ Mr Borkowski said.
‘Meta are facing huge problems so who better to generate a conversation around their idea of the metaverse than Harry and Meghan? They could be promoting it or creating their own virtual world themselves.’
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