Meghan Markle will ‘raise the issue of race in Britain’ and the ‘impact that living in UK had on her mental health’ during Oprah chat, reveals ITV News Royal Editor amid fury at channel paying ‘£1m to air interview’ while Philip is sick
Daily Mail
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will discuss the issue of race in Britain with Oprah Winfrey, it was revealed today.
The Duchess of Sussex will also open up about her self-esteem while living in the UK after her husband claimed the pressure of being in London was ‘destroying’ his mental health so they needed to emigrate to the US and quit as frontline royals.
Meghan, whose mother Doria is African-American and father Thomas is white, became the first mixed race member of the Royal Family after walking down the aisle with Harry at Windsor in May 2018.
ITV’s Royal Editor Chris Ship has revealed that the issue will be discussed with Oprah in the tell-all interview due to be broadcast on CBS in the US on Sunday night and on ITV1 in the UK on Monday at 8pm.
‘I know that she is going to mention things like mental health and the impact of being in the UK had on her mental health. I know that she’s going to mention about the press intrusion, but also she’s going to raise the issue of race in Britain’, Mr Ship told Good Morning Britain.
It is another hint that Meghan will not hold back after a trailer for the show revealed that she calls her 20 months as a royal ‘almost unsurvivable’ and the interviewer brands her account ‘shocking’ and proof her friend was at ‘breaking point’ before moving to California. Oprah also asks if she was ‘silenced’ by the royals.
During the teaser a visibly pregnant Meghan, wearing a $4,700 black Armani dress and £13,000 bracelet belonging to Diana, says nothing, and is only shown looking emotional or nodding while either cradling her baby bump or holding on to her husband’s hand on location in Santa Barbara.
Last year Ms Markle praised the Black Lives Matter protests in America as a ‘beautiful thing’ and she and Harry both spoke out against alleged structural racism in Britain while promoting Black History Month in the UK from their £11million Los Angeles mansion.
ITV has today been branded ‘deplorable’ after it bought up the Duke and Duchess and Sussex’s ‘grossly insensitive’ two-hour interview with Oprah despite warnings its broadcast could detonate a ‘diplomatic bomb’ if the Duke of Edinburgh’s health deteriorates. Philip is starting his third week in hospital after being moved to a cardiac unit, and hasn’t seen his wife the Queen for more than a fortnight.
The Oprah deal is said to have cost the broadcaster around £1million, having beaten Sky to the rights after talks with ViacomCBS were completed yesterday. It was a largely open field in the UK after the BBC declined to broadcast it.
But some experts have questioned whether ITV will make any money from the deal because businesses may not want to advertise during the ‘toxic’ two hour show as Philip battles heart problems in hospital and claims the public have more affection for him than Meghan and Harry.
Some ITV viewers have already vowed to boycott the show completely due to the ‘horrendous timing’.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams, who was editor of International Who’s Who for 25 years, told MailOnline today: ‘ITV’s decision to purchase the rights to Harry and Meghan’s highly sensational interview with Oprah is deplorable. Who knows how matters linked to the Duke’s health will play out over the coming days. ITV have made the wrong decision and they would do well to await events before deciding when to screen it here’.
But the couple’s decision to sign up with a commercial broadcaster means they are unlikely to be able to stop it, with PR guru Mark Borkowski declaring: ‘The timing is just horrendous. This could be a real reputational mess for everybody involved. I think brands have to take a considered view about whether they want their advertising anywhere near this’.
Royal expert Phil Dampier, author of Royally Suited Harry and Meghan in their Own Words said: ‘They can only hope and pray that the Duke recovers and goes home. If something happens to him it would look terrible. Even if Harry and Meghan wanted to stop it they probably can’t and it’s out of their hands’.
One TV insider said that the interview would be a ‘diplomatic bomb’ if it goes ahead and Philip’s health worsens, telling the Mirror: ‘CBS has sold millions of dollars worth of advertising around the interview, but bosses are aware of the delicacy of the Duke’s health.’ The newspaper’s Royal Editor Russell Myers added: ‘The history is there with these types of interview – they never end well – this is a disaster waiting to happen’.
But Prince Charles’ biographer Tom Bower hopes it goes ahead. He said: ‘I think ITV was right to buy the interview. We want to see how Harry and Meghan have sold their souls and are wilfully destroying themselves’.
MailOnline has asked ITV to comment as critics demanded they reverse their decision to show it.
The sit-down, which Oprah promises will be ‘shocking’, has been extended by half an hour, from 90 minutes to two hours, to allow CBS to rake in more money from advertising – a 30-second slot is reported to be costing $200,000, around £144,000. ITV will also set to try to cash in on the deal with up to 24 minutes of advertising time available during the 120 minute show.
But media consultant Chris Hayward believes that ITV may not make money from the £1million deal, however, the broadcaster will believe it will be worth because of the press coverage and getting one over rivals including Sky and streaming giants Netflix and Amazon Prime.
He said: ‘If the idea for ITV was to buy it to draw in advertisers, then I don’t think it will work because Meghan and Harry’s decision to exile abroad is a Marmite subject. But ITV won’t worry about that if they get a big audience because this is about making a big noise and securing one of the biggest TV shows of the year’. He added: ‘This is about PR, and battling Netflix and Amazon’.
The row over the Sussexes’ bid to break America with Oprah’s help came as:
- Experts warn that ITV is taking a gamble by buying the Oprah interview because businesses may be put off advertising during the show with viewers also vowing to boycott it;
- A sombre-looking Prince Harry and Meghan drive themselves around California with her mother Doria after recording Oprah interview about their ‘unbelievably tough’ exit from ‘un-survivable’ royal life;
- The Royal family are ‘united in prayers’ for Prince Philip, 99, as he begins first full day under care of specialist heart doctors at St Bartholomew’s hospital and experts claim he may be there for six weeks;
- Philip’s poor health means the royals have ‘more important things to worry about’ than Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s ‘shocking’ bombshell interview, Buckingham Palace aides insisted;
Brand guru Mark Borkowski told MailOnline that going ahead while Prince Philip is severely ill ‘could herald terrible consequences’ for the royal couple, and damage the ‘caring’ brand they want to build in the US that experts believe could be worth £1billion.
He said: ‘A sensible call would be to put the encounter on hold. It would demonstrate sensitivity. Which lies at the heart of their brand. However the genie is out of the bottle, it might be impossible to halt transmission as it’s scheduled. From the shape of the hype this is going to be a disruptive storm. I believe this might not end well. It just can’t be all about their narrative whilst Harry’s grandfather is ill’.
He added: ‘But I don’t think ITV will lose money. The eyeballs are on this huge TV moment. But the downside for all involved is huge if Prince Philip takes a turn for the worse. No one knows outside Buckingham Palace knows the true extent of his health emergency.
‘Anybody who looks at this through the optics of a caring family, even a family who are estranged from one another, it’s very uncomfortable as you edge towards Sunday’.
‘Surely the disruption, particularly to the Queen… but they’re going ahead with this juggernaut.’
If Philip’s health were to worsen, Mr Borkowski said Harry and Meghan’s fate would be ‘in the lap of the gods’.
‘If you were strategically giving advice about mitigating reputational damage, you would show huge empathy by postponing,’ he said.
Mr Borkowski said a deterioration in Philip’s health would also raise serious issues for ITV as to whether the screening should go ahead in the UK, and could cause problems for advertisers airing commercials during the programme.
Royal biographer Robert Jobson told MailOnline: ‘With the Duke of Edinburgh clearly very unwell, the fact that the couple plan to go ahead with airing their self-indulgent, no holds barred interview with chat show queen Oprah Winfrey makes them appear heartless, thoughtless and supremely selfish.
‘For US broadcast network CBS this interview is a coup, all about securing big viewing figures and big advert sales around the airing of their exclusive interview. So even if they wanted to Harry and Meghan probably couldn’t dictate terms to Oprah Winfrey and the network now. Too much has been invested. I can’t see them having the clout to pull it’. He added: ‘This is the problem when royals swap big bucks for duty and sign up to big paying commercial contracts. They lose the power to dictate terms’.
Harry and Meghan are being urged to ask CBS to postpone the broadcast of their bombshell interview after the Duke of Edinburgh was moved to St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London because of ‘a pre-existing heart condition’ hours after a 30-second trailer of the Sussexes’ tell-all interview with their friend Oprah was released.
With Philip set to be in hospital for the rest of the week at least or even longer, royal experts and fans have suggested that Harry should step in and ask for a postponement ‘out of respect’.
Other royal experts have suggested that Prince Charles may have reassured his father about Harry and the continuing turmoil in the Royal Family caused by Megxit during a visit a week ago.
While Grace Armstrong-Jones tweeted: ‘I would hope, given his grandfather’s deteriorating health, that Harry would ask Oprah to postpone the broadcast of the interview. This is the last thing the Royal Family need with Prince Phillip so unwell’. Sandra Meier said: ‘Prince Philip is seriously ill. I hope CBS or Oprah will postpone or cancel Harry and Meghan’s interview’. Another wrote: ‘Out of respect to Prince Philip, they should postpone this fantasy drama fest’.
MailOnline has asked CBS to comment.
Royal fans vow to boycott ITV’s Oprah interview with Harry and Meghan over its ‘horrendous timing’ with Prince Philip’s hospital battle – as channel is blasted over ‘paying £1MILLION’ to air ‘toxic’ two-hour chat
Royal fans vow to boycott ITV’s Oprah interview with Harry and Meghan over its ‘horrendous timing’ with Prince Philip’s hospital battle – as channel is blasted over ‘paying £1MILLION’ to air ‘toxic’ two-hour chat
- Prince Harry and his pregnant wife Meghan Markle joined Oprah for CBS interview airing on CBS on March 7
ITV1 will show Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A Primetime Special at 8pm UK time on Monday March 8
Show extended from 90 minutes to 2 hours – allowing broadcasters to rake in £140,000 per 30 second ad
Some ITV viewers have already vowed to boycott the show while advertisers may also be put off by furore
Harry says that he took family to LA because of his mother’s ordeal and feared ‘history repeating itself’
Meghan does not speak in the 30-second trailer but Oprah hints that ex-actress uses the word ‘unsurvivable’
ITV has today been branded ‘deplorable’ after it bought up the Duke and Duchess and Sussex’s ‘grossly insensitive’ two-hour interview with Oprah Winfrey for £1million despite warnings its broadcast could detonate a ‘diplomatic bomb’ if the Duke of Edinburgh’s health deteriorates, it was revealed today.
Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A Primetime Special will be shown in the UK at 8pm on Monday, March 8, around 24 hours after it is first shown in the US on Sunday night.
The deal is said to have cost ITV around £1million, having beaten Sky to the rights after talks with ViacomCBS were completed yesterday. It was a largely open field in the UK after the BBC declined to broadcast it.
But some experts have questioned whether ITV will make any money from the deal because businesses may not want to advertise during the ‘toxic’ two hour show as Philip battles heart problems in hospital and claims the public have more affection for him than Meghan and Harry.
Some ITV viewers have already vowed to boycott the show completely due to the ‘horrendous timing’.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams, who was editor of International Who’s Who for 25 years, told MailOnline today: ‘ITV’s decision to purchase the rights to Harry and Meghan’s highly sensational interview with Oprah is deplorable. Who knows how matters linked to the Duke’s health will play out over the coming days. ITV have made the wrong decision and they would do well to await events before deciding when to screen it here’.
But the couple’s decision to sign up with a commercial broadcaster means they are unlikely to be able to stop it, with PR guru Mark Borkowski declaring: ‘The timing is just horrendous. This could be a real reputational mess for everybody involved. I think brands have to take a considered view about whether they want their advertising anywhere near this’.
Royal expert Phil Dampier, author of Royally Suited Harry and Meghan in their Own Words said: ‘They can only hope and pray that the Duke recovers and goes home. If something happens to him it would look terrible. Even if Harry and Meghan wanted to stop it they probably can’t and it’s out of their hands’.
One TV insider said that the interview would be a ‘diplomatic bomb’ if it goes ahead and Philip’s health worsens, telling the Mirror: ‘CBS has sold millions of dollars worth of advertising around the interview, but bosses are aware of the delicacy of the Duke’s health.’ The newspaper’s Royal Editor Russell Myers added: ‘The history is there with these types of interview – they never end well – this is a disaster waiting to happen’.
But Prince Charles’ biographer Tom Bower hopes it goes ahead. He said: ‘I think ITV was right to buy the interview. We want to see how Harry and Meghan have sold their souls and are wilfully destroying themselves’.
MailOnline has asked ITV to comment as critics demanded they reverse their decision to show it.
The sit-down, which Oprah promises will be ‘shocking’, has been extended by half an hour, from 90 minutes to two hours, to allow CBS to rake in more money from advertising – a 30-second slot is reported to be costing $200,000, around £144,000. ITV will also set to try to cash in on the deal with up to 24 minutes of advertising time available during the 120 minute show.
But media consultant Chris Hayward believes that ITV may not make money from the £1million deal, however, the broadcaster will believe it will be worth because of the press coverage and getting one over rivals including Sky and streaming giants Netflix and Amazon Prime.
He said: ‘If the idea for ITV was to buy it to draw in advertisers, then I don’t think it will work because Meghan and Harry’s decision to exile abroad is a Marmite subject. But ITV won’t worry about that if they get a big audience because this is about making a big noise and securing one of the biggest TV shows of the year’. He added: ‘This is about PR, and battling Netflix and Amazon’.
The row over the Sussexes’ bid to break America with Oprah’s help came as:
Experts warn that ITV is taking a gamble by buying the Oprah interview because businesses may be put off advertising during the show with viewers also vowing to boycott it.
The Royal family are ‘united in prayers’ for Prince Philip, 99, as he begins first full day under care of specialist heart doctors at St Bartholomew’s hospital and experts claim he may be there for six weeks;
Philip’s poor health means the royals have ‘more important things to worry about’ than Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s ‘shocking’ bombshell interview, Buckingham Palace aides insisted;
Brand guru Mark Borkowski told MailOnline that going ahead while Prince Philip is severely ill ‘could herald terrible consequences’ for the royal couple, and damage the ‘caring’ brand they want to build in the US that experts believe could be worth £1billion.
He said: ‘A sensible call would be to put the encounter on hold. It would demonstrate sensitivity. Which lies at the heart of their brand. However the genie is out of the bottle, it might be impossible to halt transmission as it’s scheduled. From the shape of the hype this is going to be a disruptive storm. I believe this might not end well. It just can’t be all about their narrative whilst Harry’s grandfather is ill’.
He added: ‘But I don’t think ITV will lose money. The eyeballs are on this huge TV moment. But the downside for all involved is huge if Prince Philip takes a turn for the worse. No one knows outside Buckingham Palace knows the true extent of his health emergency.
“Anybody who looks at this though the optics of a caring family, even a family who are estranged from one another, it’s very uncomfortable as you edge towards Sunday’.
Mr Borkowski added: “This could be a real reputational mess for everybody involved.
“Harry and Meghan are supposed to be a sensitive, caring and empathetic brand.
“Surely the disruption, particularly to the Queen… but they’re going ahead with this juggernaut.”
If Philip’s health were to worsen, Mr Borkowski said Harry and Meghan’s fate would be “in the lap of the gods”.
“If you were strategically giving advice about mitigating reputational damage, you would show huge empathy by postponing,” he said.
Mr Borkowski said a deterioration in Philip’s health would also raise serious issues for ITV as to whether the screening should go ahead in the UK, and could cause problems for advertisers airing commercials during the programme.
Royal biographer Robert Jobson told MailOnline: ‘With the Duke of Edinburgh clearly very unwell, the fact that the couple plan to go ahead with airing their self-indulgent, no holds barred interview with chat show queen Oprah Winfrey makes them appear heartless, thoughtless and supremely selfish.
‘For US broadcast network CBS this interview is a coup, all about securing big viewing figures and big advert sales around the airing of their exclusive interview. So even if they wanted to Harry and Meghan probably couldn’t dictate terms to Oprah Winfrey and the network now. Too much has been invested. I can’t see them having the clout to pull it’. He added: ‘This is the problem when royals swap big bucks for duty and sign up to big paying commercial contracts. They lose the power to dictate terms’.
Harry and Meghan are being urged to ask CBS to postpone the broadcast of their bombshell interview after the Duke of Edinburgh was moved to St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London because of ‘a pre-existing heart condition’ hours after a 30-second trailer of the Sussexes’ tell-all interview with their friend Oprah was released.
With Philip set to be in hospital for the rest of the week at least or even longer, royal experts and fans have suggested that Harry should step in and ask for a postponement ‘out of respect’.
Other royal experts have suggested that Prince Charles may have reassured his father about Harry and the continuing turmoil in the Royal Family caused by Megxit during a visit a week ago.
While Grace Armstrong-Jones tweeted: ‘I would hope, given his grandfather’s deteriorating health, that Harry would ask Oprah to postpone the broadcast of the interview. This is the last thing the Royal Family need with Prince Phillip so unwell’. Sandra Meier said: ‘Prince Philip is seriously ill. I hope CBS or Oprah will postpone or cancel Harry and Meghan’s interview’. Another wrote: ‘Out of respect to Prince Philip, they should postpone this fantasy drama fest’.
MailOnline has asked CBS to comment.
Royal Oprah: How chat show queen Oprah has built an empire Meghan Markle would love
The Sun
ROYAL OPRAH How chat show queen Oprah Winfrey has built an empire Meghan Markle would love
IN her exclusive Californian enclave of Montecito she is treated like royalty as she spreads her philanthropy around the world, making a fortune in the process.
No, not Meghan, but chat show queen Oprah Winfrey.
Last week she travelled on her £50million private jet to interview Meghan, alongside Prince Harry. And the chat, due to be screened next Sunday, is one that will send shockwaves through the Royal Family as the duo air their grievances.
Mainly known in the UK for her talk show, Oprah, 67, was born into poverty but has built up a fortune worth £1.8billion. Now many are asking whether her empire — which includes her own TV network, website and portfolio of stunning homes — is exactly what Meghan aspires to achieve.
British PR expert Mark Borkowski told The Sun On Sunday: “What Oprah has done over the past 30 years is phenomenal. You didn’t see black, female entrepreneurs until she did it.
“She did everything the hard way, but she has incredible nous and became the poster girl for the diversity generation. Meghan would definitely be wise to study how Oprah’s empire has been built.
“Like everyone who has made it, Oprah has employed sensational people and deal-makers around her. Whether it’s books or TV, the money has followed her. Meghan could certainly look to copy that.”
Oprah has her own production company, Harpo Studios, which is behind popular American shows Dr Phil and Super Soul Sunday.
She launched her cable channel Oprah Winfrey Network in 2011 and maintains a 25.5 per cent stake in it, worth more than £46million.
She signed a £70million deal with Apple for TV, apps, books and other content, and has a magazine called O which attracts eight million readers, and a successful website.
Like Meghan’s former website The Tig, Oprah’s site allows fans to enjoy her wisdom and get their hands on her many books, which include three self-help volumes and a memoir.
Her enormously popular book club, which she launched in the 1990s, has the power to make the careers of her featured authors. Even classics can benefit — she rocketed Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina on to the bestsellers list.
The Oprah Effect, as it is known, has seen her influence everything from literature to politics, with the megastar backing Barack Obama before his 2008 election win.
Her endorsement is believed to have been crucial for his historic victory as America’s first black president. New US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on her platforms before their win in November last year.
After retiring her chat show in 2011, Oprah, who lives with her long-term partner Stedman Graham, 69, now rarely conducts interviews.
But when she does, they make waves. Whether seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong owning up to doping in 2013, Lindsay Lohan wanting to overhaul her image or Tom Cruise professing his love for Katie Holmes, they all came to Oprah to tell their story.
She groomed Meghan for years before landing their chat — and received an invitation to the royal wedding in 2018 after only having met the duchess once. But Meghan and Harry may have been a little shocked by their chat with Oprah.
PR expert Mark added: “Oprah is an operator. There is a lot for her brand to lose if the interview is just a bit of a patsy exercise. The end product might be a bit of a surprise for Meghan and Harry.”
In a landmark move, Oprah signed a syndication deal for her talk show, which ran from 1986 to 2011, to be screened across the US.
She had previously broken into Hollywood and was nominated for an Oscar for her role as Sofia in 1985 Steven Spielberg film The Color Purple. She went on to both star in and produce acclaimed films, including Selma in 2014 and A Wrinkle In Time in 2018.
Her own life would make a remarkable movie. She was born to a teenage housemaid in the southern state of Mississippi in 1954. She suffered emotional and sexual abuse, later revealing she was molested by a cousin, uncle and family friend from the age of nine. She became pregnant at 14, but her son died after being born prematurely.
She eventually went to live with her uncle in Nashville, Tennessee, where she won a scholarship to study communication at university. While still a teen, she went to work at a local radio station, before becoming the first black female news anchor at a prominent TV network in Nashville.
By 1983 she was in Chicago hosting her own talk show, dragging it from the lowest performing prog-ramme to the highest.
It is a rise to glory that Meghan, whose early career began as a “briefcase girl” on quiz show Deal Or No Deal in 2006, would be ecstatic to follow.
https://www.the-sun.com/news/2420221/oprah-winfrey-empire-meghan-markle-explosive-interview/
Meghan’s Oprah interview ‘not that significant’ as Harry derided as ‘pretty desperate’
The Express
MEGHAN MARKLE and Prince Harry’s Oprah interview won’t “be as big” as Princess Diana’s Panorama interview or Prince Andrew’s Newsnight interrogation, but “many millions” will be made by TV companies on both sides of the Atlantic, says broadcaster Andrew Neil.
Their CBS interview with the Hollywood chat show queen will be shown next Sunday but it will not have as much impact as Harry’s mother’s sensational broadcast in 1995 or his uncle’s grilling in 2019, said Mr Neil. His comments come as a royal author urged the Duke of Sussex to rebuild bridges with his family in Britain…before it is too late. Margaret Holder, writing for today’s Sunday Express, believes Prince Harry should be as focused on his ailing grandfather, Prince Philip, who turns 100 in June, as the rest of his relatives.
Meanwhile, a feared biographer planning a book on the Duchess of Sussex has labelled Prince Harry’s appearance on James Corden’s The Late Late Show “desperate” and “unfortunate”.
Best-selling writer Tom Bower said: “My feeling is that it is pretty desperate. Harry is now pushing himself into extremes.”
The segment on the US series saw Harry ride on an open-top tour bus in Los Angeles and take part in an assault course alongside Corden, as well as rapping.
Asked to put the Oprah chat in perspective to other big Royal sit-downs, former top BBC political interviewer, Mr Neil said: “Not nearly as big as the Diana interview, which was historic and made global news.
“Depending on what they say, maybe not as big as [Prince] Andrew either, which was not intended to be big – but became so when he opened his mouth.
“The interview is 90 minutes of CBS primetime with Oprah, so worth many millions in ad revenues. Plus millions more in global sales (unlike the Diana interview, the interviewer is as famous as the interviewees).”
Soon to launch his own channel, GB News, Mr Neil believes the Sussexes may still make money from the venture despite reports they are not taking a fee from the interview.
Mr Neil said: “Mr and Mrs Sussex must surely have cut themselves a stake in the overall deal.”
CBS bosses believe next Sunday’s primetime special will attract a “Super Bowl-sized audience” in America with massive syndication deals in other countries.
The British TV channel which broadcasts the interview will command a high price for adverts and up to half-a-million pounds per ad break, said Gideon Spanier, from advertising and marketing industry magazine Campaign.
ITV continues to be the frontrunner to win the broadcasting rights over Sky News, and Mr Sanier said: “On a mass-market channel such as ITV, if it could get a large audience of over 10 million, a 30-second spot might command £100,000.On a subscripion or cable channel with a smaller audience, a similar ad spot would be £20,000 or less.”
Writing in today’s Sunday Express, Margaret Holder warns that Harry “grows further from his heritage” with the looming prospect of next weekend’s TV interview with Oprah.
Ms Holder declares: “Possible breaches of protocol could raise huge problems when they should all by focused on Philip’s recovery.”
She points to Prince Charles’ tearful visit to his father’s hospital bedside last week, adding: “It took Charles 72 years to see his father in a new light. Let’s hope Harry reaches a similar epiphany a lot sooner.”
The “tell all” interview will actually air in the US on the same day the Queen and other members of the Royal Family are due to appear in their own TV special honouring Commonwealth Day on the BBC.
CBS chiefs are keeping the contents of Oprah Winfrey’s show a strict secret, with one senior production executive confirming: “They are building this up as a ratings blockbuster.
“Super Bowl sized figures of 30, 40 and even 50 million are being bandied around in advance and there is no doubt the audience is going to be massive.” Ms Winfrey’s friend, American journalist Gayle King, one of only a handful of people believed to have seen the final edit, said: “Nothing is off-limits. Nothing at all.”
A senior ITV source told the Sunday Express that he “wouldn’t guide anyone away from the idea” that the commercial broadcaster was still in the battle.
High-level negotiations are also continuing at Sky News although senior executives wouldn’t comment directly.
Channel 5, although owned by Viacom who also have control of CBS, didn’t bid for the exclusive rights to the interview, while Channel 4 are not believed to be part of the bidding war.
The BBC, meanwhile, have stepped away from the media event, having rights to the Queen’s Commonwealth Day message next Sunday.
The Oprah interview will be shown in the US next Sunday night, British time, around 1am in the morning.
Any UK transmission is likely to be scheduled for Monday evening.
PR guru Mark Borkowski said the story is all about Oprah.
“Oprah is very clever, and there’s a lot riding on this for her.
“She’s not going to give them a soft ride otherwise it will put her integrity into question.
“It’s a big win for Oprah, and this is about a broadcaster getting a scalp.”
Regarding the Sussexes, he said, “are on a full-tilt publicity drive to build their brand”.
He added: “They’re building a foundation in America and Harry has already signalled this in being positive about The Crown with a nod to his Netflix paymasters, while causing consternation back in the Palace who hate the portrayal of the Royal Family by writer Peter Morgan.”
If Boris were a CEO
Management Today
This crisis has needed politicians to be bloody tough. You’ve got to deliver the facts and make people believe that we’re on a course and that “this is how it is going to be” and not flinch from that, which takes determination and direction.
We’ve seen a communication strategy with too much flip-flopping, too much leaking of information and a message that has been lacking in emotional intelligence. They’ve tried to bang ideas into soundbites that channel well through social media but this is too complex a situation for soundbites.
There’s been a lack of real purpose and also too much hope injected at the wrong times. The only one who has come through it with any credibility is Rishi Sunak.
A crisis will find you out. Sometimes you need to face your critics by being very well prepared, going into the worst possible interview and coming out virtually unscathed, but the government has run away from their biggest detractors. There’s been blind panic occasionally and then rushing to judgment or making it up as they go along to deflect criticism.
This just wouldn’t last in industry. If you were a chief executive, running a family business or FTSE 100 company, you would have had to fall on your sword by now because there’s a lack of credibility, but Boris is just too deep inside the bubble.
https://www.managementtoday.co.uk/management-today-winter-magazine-issue-available/article/1705866
Queen wants to move on from Meghan and Harry with new dawn for ‘Magnificent Seven’
The Mirror
EXCLUSIVE: The Queen has given the go-ahead for seven senior royals to take up public engagements as soon as possible after Harry and Meghan Markle were stripped of their titles
The Queen has vowed a “new beginning” for the royals after Harry and Meghan chose mega-money deals over duty.
As their divorce from The Firm was finalised this week, Her Majesty, 94, gave the go-ahead for the seven senior royals to take up public engagements as soon as possible.
Dubbed the “Magnificent Seven” by Palace officials, it is hoped Prince Charles and wife Camilla, Prince William and Kate, Princess Anne and Prince Edward and his wife Sophie will “put on a united front” to herald a new dawn for the monarchy.
Royal sources have revealed how the Queen wants to draw a line under a tumultuous period.
She now “considers the matter closed”, after her swift decision to strip Harry and Meghan of their last roles after they moved to the US.
The Duke and Duchess, as they will continue to be known, have rapidly secured “financial freedom”.
Last year they agreed contracts with Netflix to make documentaries and “original programmes” for a reported £100million as well as lifestyle podcasts with Spotify for £30million.
Top PR agent Mark Borkowski told the Sunday People: “Harry and Meghan need to look after themselves now they’re completely detached from the royal household.
“But it’s not just about money, it’s about power and influence and I’m sure Meghan’s ambitions politically over the next 20 to 30 years.”
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/queen-wants-move-meghan-harry-23536813
POUTRAGEOUS FORTUNES From Kylie Jenner to Rihanna… the stars making hundreds of millions from make-up
The Sun
MORE celebrities than you can shake a lipstick at are cashing in on their famous faces by launching their own beauty brands.
But we revealed yesterday how Victoria Beckham’s skincare and make-up line had LOST £4.7million – and she is not the only big name whose cosmetics side hustle has lost its lustre.
Brand expert Mark Borkowski warns celebs: “Fans are buying into the idea they could also look like you. But it’s difficult to sustain. No sooner are you the story of the moment than you are yesterday’s news.”
Here, we give you the top ten most lucrative celebrity beauty brands, by net worth, while Mark explains what makes them winners.
1. Rihanna – £2.2bn
THE SINGER launched Fenty Beauty in 2017 and immediately wowed with her diverse range of make up shades.
Rihanna says: “There needs to be something for a dark-skinned girl, there needs to be something for a really pale girl, there needs to be something in between.”
The line sold £51.6million of products in just one month of trading, with posh department shop Harvey Nichols shifting a bottle of foundation every minute. In just 15 months, Forbes reported in 2018, Fenty Beauty accumulated £409million in revenue.
Last year, Forbes reported Fenty’s net worth as £2.2billion.
Mark says: “She’s got a very strong team behind her, she’s incredibly savvy and she’s incredibly hard-working.
“She has a selection of stylists and people who look at the zeitgeist ahead of her and she’s very good at crashing into that with the next thing – in an affordable way.”
2. Kylie Jenner – £856.3M
SAVVY reality star and model, half sister to the Kardashian girls, capitalised on interest in her plumped lips by starting a lipstick company in 2014.
The £20 lip kits were so popular, her website crashed on launch day and she soon branched out into skincare.
In 2019, she sold the majority share of her business to make-up giant Coty.
Mark says: “The whole Kardashian-Jenner franchise is equivalent to Unilever or Johnson and Johnson. Kylie targets an her contemporaries, who are growing with her.”
3. Kim Kardashian West – £723M
SELFIE queen started KKW Beauty make-up and skincare range in 2017 after collaborating on a lipstick kit with her little sister Kylie.
Last year, Max Factor and Rimmel owner Coty bought a 20 per cent stake.
It valued the firm at £723million – with Kim making a £143million profit from the sale.
Mark says: “Everyone is curious what Kim can do. She’s one of the rare celebrities who can break the internet. The way she uses content and photography is a work of art. She matches the mood of the crowd.”
4. Jessica Alba – £717.6M
FANTASTIC Four actress Jessica started selling eco-friendly nappies and baby wipes in 2012.
But since then her venture The Honest Company – named for daughter Honor – has branched into natural beauty.
It includes a £20 mud facemask and £10 lip balms are sold in the UK through Boots and Cult Beauty.
Mark says: “She connects to zeitgeist, knowing what is coming, and is close to the tech community who back her. She’s got influence with the right people to make her stuff work.”
5. Gwyneth Paltrow – £191M
VAGINA eggs, orgasm candles and £90 golden dumbbells – the movie beauty’s wellness comp Goop has generated more than just a laugh.
Unleashed on the world in 2012, it is now worth serious money.
Mark says: “It’s not really aimed at high- street girls but at high-end women Gwyneth’s age, with massive disposable income.
“The healthy side of her has been an advantage but I’m not sure her coming out and saying she has long Covid will do her favours. It doesn’t fit the Goop image.”
6. Madonna – £164.9M
QUEEN of Pop launched her MDNA Skin range with Japanese cosmetic company MTG in 2014.
Her skincare goodies can cost up to £430.50 for a full rejuvenation kit, containing a skin roller and a clay mask.
But they sell like hotcakes. MTG launched the range in the US in 2017, with huge success.
Mark says: “You forget how big Madonna is in a market like Japan. There is something exotic about her. As she gets older, she’s insisted on the fact she uses herbal and non-invasive prevention methods – and it sells.”
7. Katie Holmes £88.4M
DAWSON’s Creek actress Katie became a spokeswoman for hair care brand Alterna Hair in 2013 – and the firm also named her as a co-owner.
Products include anti-ageing caviar shampoo and conditioner, for £24 a pop online. In 2014, the brand was bought by German firm Henkel.
Mark says: “I have no idea why Katie’s association to this brand should be so successful.
“You forget how big the German market is, but they have a huge connection with the celebrities they love.”
8. Cindy Crawford £71.7M
AFTER retiring from modelling in 2000, catwalk legend Cindy set her sights on the beauty industry.
She set up her Meaningful Beauty range in 2011, alongside industry experts.
reats include a £39.40 skin-tightening cream, £70.26 melon serum and £17.21 lip gloss.
Mark says: “Cindy is an older demographic. We forever see stories about how people who were iconic in their age still look brilliant.
“People growing up with them are ageing – then along comes someone who still looks amazing and says, ‘You can too.’ ”
9. J.Lo £10.75M
THE bootylicious star had already made a mint from her perfume line when at the end of last year she branched out into beauty.
Her JLo Beauty series includes Glow serum for £84.56 and That Block-buster Wonder Cream at £41.56.
It is predicted she will make £10.75million in just three months.
Mark says: “Women know celebs can afford help to look like they just came off a catwalk. But if there’s even a suspicion they use something that makes them look as youthful as J-Lo, they may be tempted to buy.”
10. Lady Gaga £7M
BACKED by top Valley investors, singer Gaga launched her make-up brand Haus Laboratories in 2019.
Aimed at men and women, and sold only on Amazon, it has not yet released sales figures.
But it got a £7million cash injection from venture capitalists. Last year she released a Chromatica eyeshadow palette set to tie in with her album of the same name, costing £34.40.
Mark says: “Its smart to embrace everyone. Men spend huge – whether or not trans- sexual or a drag queen.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/14093580/kylie-jenner-rihanna-beauty-companies-making-millions/
Why Nadiya Hussain’s Great British Baking Show Win Was So Emotional
Mashed
When Nadiya Hussain won The Great British Bake Off, in the words of the Radio Times, “She became a household name when she reduced Mary Berry – and millions of viewers – to tears.” The crux of her speech, to which you can listen on YouTube, was that no longer would she set boundaries around what she could accomplish.
This reflected a new attitude towards her mental health issues which she opened about further as she appeared more and more in interviews. “Suffering with mental health and suffering racism is quite isolating,” she explained to the Radio Times, “and to be able to share that is therapy for me as much as it is for other people.”
What was touching for so many people about Hussain’s victory was, as Merry Berry described in a bit quoted by Metro, that during the course of the competition a baker who was very nervous and self-restricted but determined managed to overcome her anxiety and shine.
Nadiya Hussain followed her victory in the Great British Baking Show to present a documentary about her therapy titled Nadiya: Anxiety and Me. Talking with the BBC, Hussain explained that a driving force behind its creation was her feeling that the silence surrounding mental illnesses proves one of the biggest hurdles for people who suffer from them. So, by sharing, she healed her own breaks as well as widened the dialogue that surrounds the topic.
Later, the BBC reported that her open depiction of what it is like to suffer anxiety received praise from the general viewership. “In a world where nearly nine in 10 people with mental health problems say stigma and discrimination have a negative effect on their lives, honesty like Nadiya’s feels like something we all need,” a HuffPost review stated. This sharing has continued even during the times of the pandemic, as the BBC also reported. She has told her followers about her struggles to get out of bed and that it is ok “to be kind to ourselves” and not strive for productivity all of the time.
So the emotions that connected millions of people to Hussain after her Bake Off victory have continued beyond the series finale.
Nadiya Hussain became a household name after winning season six of The Great British Baking Show. If you’re a fan of the show, you’ll remember watching this shy, nervous young woman, wearing a traditional hijab, gradually find her confidence and voice. Hussain broke boundaries and became a role model by defying prejudices, per The New York Times.
What viewers didn’t know was that while Hussain was baking delicious mille-feuille and cheesecakes, she was internally battling debilitating anxiety, racist attacks, and PTSD. But Nadiya Hussain is nothing if not incredibly perseverant. She has gone on to become the most famous and successful GBBS winner to date, thanks to her many television appearances and prolific output of cookbooks, children’s books, and novels. But behind the effervescent personality, Hussain is more complex, empowering, and cheeky than you might believe. Keep reading to learn about the untold truth of Nadiya Hussain’s struggles and triumphs.
To date, Nadiya Hussain has been the most successful winner of The Great British Baking Show. She’s never released her earnings, but it’s estimated to be $5 million (per The Cinemaholic). After winning in 2015, she immediately hopped on the PR wagon by appearing on comedian Michael McIntyre’s Big Christmas Show. She then signed contracts with the BBC to host food and travel programs, The Chronicles of Nadiya, which followed her around her native Bangladesh as she shared recipes that shaped her love for cooking, according to Kajal. The two-part show was enormously popular, per The Sun, and was particularly enlightening when she guided viewers in the customs of a traditional Muslim wedding.
After a stint as a judge with Mary Berry on Junior Bake Off, she had her first cooking show, Nadiya’s British Food Adventure that also had a tie-in cookbook — her second in a year. In the show, she travels throughout the U.K. and samples regional cuisine. Although the show was dubbed by The Guardian as formulaic, it cemented Hussain’s reputation as “darling of the nation.” She regularly contributed articles and recipes to BBC Good Food, The Times Magazine, The Guardian, and The Telegraph. In addition to her frequent television appearances, she’s written four children’s books, five cookbooks, three novels, and a memoir. She also has a homeware collection — Make Life Colorful — and a new 2020 Netflix series, proving without a doubt that Hussain is the most prolific of the GBBS winners.
In April 2016 — a few months after winning GBBS — Nadiya Hussain was invited to bake the birthday cake for Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday celebration. Hussain was justifiably nervous, as reported by ITV. “Every time I tried to ignore the fact I was doing it for the Queen, my husband would very conveniently remind me — ‘Hey, hey, you’re slacking. It’s for the Queen. Get up, you can’t be lying down.'” At the ceremony — a huge media event — she presented to the Queen a three-tier, orange drizzle cake, brightly decorated in gold, purple, and lavender fondant.
The Queen wasn’t sure where to cut. “Does it cut?” Hussain assured her it did, although she revealed later in an interview she was thinking: “Oh, God, it better cut,” according to The Daily Mail. Queen Elizabeth was reportedly referring to an event the previous year when her knife got stuck in a fruitcake. With the cake cut, Prince Philip approached Hussain, and the Queen introduced her. As reported by News 24, the Prince replied: “Yes, I know who she is, but what flavor is the cake?”
Not everyone was impressed by Hussain’s creation. “Hideous” and “circus-like” were some of the unflattering tweets she received. Hussain brushed off the criticism: “If I cared about every little thing people say or that kind of negativity,” as told by The Mirror, “I don’t think I would be able to leave my house.” The Queen apparently loved the cake and took the top tier back to Buckingham Palace.
Although you wouldn’t know it from her bubbly personality, Hussain was going through some dark times as the 2015 series began to shoot (via You Magazine). In the first five episodes of season six, Hussain wore a black hijab — the traditional head and neck covering worn by Muslim women. As reported by The Guardian, she was nervous that GBBS viewers would think that “perhaps people would look at me, a Muslim in a headscarf, and wonder if I could bake.”
Hussain’s facial expressions and witty quips won her many admirers. But when Hussain was declared the winner, The Sun’s columnist Ally Ross claimed that she had won only because of the BBC’s political correctness and that her success was “ideological warfare” on Great Britain, according to Huffington Post UK. Another journalist from The Daily Mail complained that finalist Flora Shedden was booted off because she was too middle-class. “Perhaps if she’d made a chocolate mosque, she’d have stood a better chance,” they offensively remarked.
Hussain was also receiving threats on social media and had to request police protection for her family (per Closer). She was worried she had unintentionally put her children in danger, but her husband, Abdal, assured her “They’re such a minority, and it doesn’t matter,” per HeatWorld. Prime Minister David Cameron made it publicly known that he and his wife had favored Hussain to win, and as reported by The Times, PR guru Mark Borkowski declared “She represents an image of a modern Muslim woman.”
https://www.mashed.com/254711/the-untold-truth-of-nadiya-hussain/
From Marcus Rashford to Maro Itoje, Jay Z’s Roc Nation is re-inventing celebrity
Evening Standard
Having elevated Marcus Rashford to national treasure status in just 12 short — okay, long — months, Jay-Z’s management company is looking to repeat the trick with more superstar activists. Susannah Butter peeks inside a personal branding powerhouse that’s changing the off-the-pitch role of sporting heroes as we know it
A new chapter, let’s go,’ rugby player Maro Itoje wrote on his Instagram page. The England star was announcing that he had just signed to Roc Nation, American rapper Jay-Z’s management company, in November.
Talented, eloquent and politically engaged, the 26-year-old Itoje is a perfect fit; Jay-Z’s juggernaut agency also represents footballer Marcus Rashford. Since Roc Nation expanded into European sport six years ago it has steadily been disrupting the way sports stars are seen and the impact they create.
Last week, Itoje lived up to the nickname he has among rugby fans — Super Maro — by launching a campaign urging the UK Government to give free laptops to the 1.78 million children who currently cannot take part in online lessons because they lack adequate computers at home.
Itoje, who went to Harrow School on a rugby scholarship, is supported in his activism by Roc Nation Sports International, a sub-division of Jay-Z’s agency, just like Rashford during his free school meals campaign. Since the start of the pandemic, the 23-year-old Manchester United forward has consistently put pressure on the Government to extend and improve free school meals for children who need them, sharing his own back story (he grew up in poverty, his single mother going without food so her five children could eat). Within a year, he has launched the End Child Poverty alliance, forced changes in government policy, become a national hero and picked up an MBE for his troubles.
‘What Marcus has accomplished is a blueprint for how you can impact change,’ says Michael Yormark, president of Roc Nation Sports International. ‘Roc Nation helped him with developing a strategy and executing it because no one can do all that on their own. We want to do the best for our clients, looking at what they can achieve on and off the pitch, to build their brand but also give back.’
‘Maro and Marcus are fighting for what’s right,’ says a sports branding expert who has worked with Roc Nation. ‘It is what Roc Nation does, using their leverage to do good deeds in a way that is genuine.’
Jay-Z’s company, which started out in 2008 as a boutique music agency, provides what it calls ‘career specialist management’. Of course it is also a business and, as one prominent sports TV executive points out: ‘All savvy businesses know that a social conscience is an imperative in 2021, especially in the sporting world that has huge reach and significant engagement.’ Roc Nation commands vast sums of money (it is worth about £55 million) but underpinning that is an ethos of changing the world for the better, often filling in the gaps where official channels, such as government, have fallen short.
‘We have never been driven by profit,’ insists Yormark. ‘When Jay-Z started the business it was to do good and help clients reach their goals. And if we do that and are successful ultimately Roc Nation will win and we will have big smiles on our faces.’
It’s working. Another talent agent I speak to says that government representatives and the London Mayor’s office are now frequently calling her clients to ask if they will work on official campaigns. The establishment knows that being aligned with a famous person is valuable.
So why do stars want to sign with Roc Nation in particular? ‘It’s more than a talent agency,’ says publicist Mark Borkowski. ‘They have a strong social conscience and that feels genuine. They are connected to the communities their artists speak to around the world. Yes, they are a business, too, and they have significant sums of money but they also do want to make a difference. And there’s the fact that celebrities now expect more from their agents than just money and opportunities — they want social capital but Roc Nation does this in a way that resonates.’
High-profile people have for years known the value of being associated with charity work (and on the cynical side, the tax benefits of donating money). But that has now shifted up a gear. This is more than just turning up to an event to promote a cause. Sports stars such as Rashford and Itoje are actually affecting change, using their platforms to galvanise politicians into action, and Roc Nation has form on helping with this. It has organised protests for wrongfully arrested teenagers in the United States and further afield, built schools in the Dominican Republic with baseball player Robinson Cano and helped with Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation to fund rapid responses to the coronavirus crisis.
Yormark and a team of 15 people have been working to expand Roc Nation Sports’ presence in the UK. In November 2019 they opened their first office outside of New York and LA, on Fitzrovia’s Great Titchfield Street. A limited-edition print of Muhammad Ali and Nelson Mandela hangs in the reception and, once it opens again post-pandemic, stars will be able to meet in the player’s lounge, which has table tennis and snooker tables, and a Playstation and an Xbox both loaded with FIFA 20.
The agency is making waves in the sports world and beyond and its 31 European clients include footballers Kevin De Bruyne, Jordan Lukaku and Reece James. The first footballer client signed was footballer Jérôme Boateng, who plays for Bayern Munich. ‘He came to us asking for representation,’ says Yormark. ‘And we realised the opportunity in football not only commercially but on the pitch; no one else was offering what we do, that’s doing our best for clients. Europe felt like a natural place to expand.’
It makes commercial sense to be seen doing good: the movement took off in 2018 when Nike made Colin Kaepernick, the American football quarterback who catalysed a protest movement over police brutality by kneeling during the US national anthem, a face of its advertising campaign.
‘Roc is smart,’ says a sports world insider. ‘They see behaviour like that as part of the overall brand of the individual. They see that it makes the star infinitely more marketable, more human and therefore more lucrative.’
While Roc Nation is wise to the image boost that good deeds give, its approach feels less cynical because at the centre of its work is Jay-Z’s own story. The rap superstar had a tough upbringing, growing up on a housing project in Brooklyn. His father left, leaving his mother to look after their three sons, and his older brother was addicted to crack. Jay-Z has said: ‘When one of us gets signed it doesn’t end our connection to the ’hood or the streets. Our lives are still there, our cousin still needs a lawyer, our mother can’t make the rent.’
‘His story inspires people,’ says an industry expert. ‘You can change your life but you do have to be excellent at what you do. Jay-Z is the best at what he did and Roc Nation wants to find those people but that happens in tandem with thinking about their role and vision and how they want to impact the world.’
Jay-Z founded Roc Nation in 2008 as a boutique label and artist representation company. At first the aim was to give artists agency and make sure they were not ripped off by major record labels. Its roster of clients includes chart-toppers Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey and Rihanna, and its annual pre-Grammys brunch is a who’s who of music industry power players. Over here, banking heiress Kate Rothschild is head of operations in Roc Nation’s music division.
The sport side of the company grew organically. Players with little experience of how the business of their industry worked were asking Jay-Z for advice on contracts and investments so in 2013 he formalised it, launching Roc Nation Sports, mainly representing NFL stars.
It wasn’t until August 2018 that the organisation’s social mission crystallised. Jay-Z was on his way to a meeting in the New York office and heard about a fight at a nail salon on his home turf of Brooklyn. An employee had attacked customers and Jay-Z wanted to help whoever needed assistance, by providing lawyers.
‘We should have a division where we can talk to things in real time — give money, get lawyers, try to help,’ he told his staff that day. ‘If something happens in Mississippi, we will get Yo Gotti [the Memphis rapper on his roster]. If something happens in Philly, we’ll get Meek Mill [another rapper client] involved.’ This philosophy means that when they are looking for clients to represent, they want people who stand for something beyond the sport they play.
https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/jay-z-roc-nation-marcus-rashford-b918514.html
SELLING SUSSEX Meghan and Harry latest news – Prince Philip ‘completely BAFFLED’ by desperation to quit royal family, expert claims
The Sun
PRINCE Philip is ‘completely baffled’ by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s desperation to quit the royal family, his biographer claims.
Speaking to the royal podcast, Pod Save the Queen, Ingrid Seward said: “Philip welcomed Meghan at the beginning. He was an outsider, he knows what he feels like.
“He feels he’s had a part to play, he can do something useful and help her, but whether he ever managed to do something I don’t know.
“I think he is completely baffled by Harry and Meghan’s desperation to leave the royal family. I think he feels they had so much going for them.”
Follow our Meghan and Harry live blog below for the very latest news on the couple and the Royal Family
18 MINUTES AGO
‘NOT USING SOCIAL MEDIA IS A DEATH TRAP FOR ENTERTAINERS’
American TV personality Eric Schiffer has warned Meghan and Harry not to shun all social media.
The couple aren’t currently known to be using Facebook, Instagram or Twitter after they ended their royal duties and moved to America.
But Mr Schiffer has told Insider it could be a “death trap” as the pair launch their careers in entertainment.
22 MINUTES AGO
WHAT IS PRINCE HARRY’S NET WORTH?
Meanwhile, Prince Harry’s net worth is reported to be at least £19.2million ($25million), which is made up of an inheritance from Princess Diana and an annual allowance from Prince Charles.
24 MINUTES AGO
WHAT IS MEGHAN’S NET WORTH?
According to Business Insider, Meghan has an estimated net worth of £3.8million ($5million) which she accumulated from her acting career.
She starred in over 100 episodes of the legal drama Suits, where she was paid £40,463 ($50,000) per episode – according to knownetworth.com, towards the end of her acting career.
Meghan earned around about £291,339 ($360,000) from her roles in the 2010 movies Remember Me and The Candidate.
32 MINUTES AGO
KATE’S CALLS TO THE QUEEN
Kate Middleton has been given a direct phone line to the Queen so she can always ask advice and give updates on her three children with Prince William, it’s reported.
Royal author Duncan Larcombe claims Kate calls the monarch regularly – and even taught her how to use video calls so she can keep in touch with the rest of the family.
Speaking to OK! magazine, Duncan said: “Kate has her own direct line to speak to the Queen and she calls her to check in on her and give her updates on the children.
“She always leans on her for advice.”
35 MINUTES AGO
WHO WAS MEGHAN MARKLE’S FIRST HUSBAND?
Before marrying Prince Harry, Meghan was married to Trevor Engelson but their union was short-lived.
The pair said I do on September 10, 2011 in Jamaica, but divorced in 2013.
Pals of the couple said they split after Meghan developed a “close friendship” with Canadian ice hockey star, Michael Del Zotto.
43 MINUTES AGO
WHO IS MEGHAN MARKLE AND HOW OLD IS SHE?
Meghan is currently 39, and was born on August 4, 1981.
The actress was born and raised in California but then lived in Toronto, Canada, where the TV show Suits was filmed.
As a child, Meghan spent a lot of time on the set of US TV show Married…With Children because her father was a photography director on it.
Meghan was “discovered” at a party but while her career was starting out she worked as a freelance calligrapher.
45 MINUTES AGO
MEG’S ON-SCREEN SUITS LOVER ‘TOO INTIMIDATED’ TO CONTACT HER
Patrick J Adams who played Meghan’s on-screen love interest said that he has “pure fear” over speaking to her now she is the Duchess of Sussex.
Speaking to the Radio Times, Patrick said: “Quite frankly, I think I’m intimidated. I have no doubt I could pick up the phone and call her at any moment, but I don’t know what I would say.
“After our children were born, there were some texts sent and gifts sent, but I guess I’m a little scared. I think it’s pure fear.
“I guess I’m scared about the idea of breaking through whatever walls exist to have that conversation.”
53 MINUTES AGO
MEGHAN COULD HAVE EARNED £500K FROM ZOOM CHAT
PR expert Mark Borkowski says that the Duchess of Sussex could have raked in £33,000 a minute at the 15-minute at the £10k-a-head event.
Speaking exclusively to Fabulous Digital he said: “There is a curiosity in anything she does and has to say, her earning potential is very high.
“I would say she would get anywhere in the region of £250,000 to £500,000 for doing something like that.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/13874180/meghan-markle-prince-harry-latest-news-phillip-royals-live/
Jason Donovan: The highs and lows of former Neighbours heart throb’s career
Herald Sun
His TV wedding to Kylie Minogue stopped the nation, but Jason Donovan’s real life love brought him back from the edge.
The former Neighbours heart throb, 52, is dominating British TV, appearing as a contestant on the wildly popular Dancing On Ice this month.
He celebrated 20 years with his wife Angela Malloch, who pulled him out of a dark place.
“Happy anniversary Ange … Couldn’t do it without you,” Donovan posted in a heartfelt message this week.
“Quite simply you are the most unselfish, committed, down to Earth loyal partner, mother and friend I could ever wish for. How lucky am I to have you by my side. Best friend ever! 20 years and still going strong.
“I love you (Ange) to infinity and beyond.”
The couple, who married in 2008, have three children, Jemma, 20, Zac, 19, and Molly, nine.
Jemma has followed in his footsteps and stars in Neighbours, which is still popular in the UK, where she plays Harlow Robinson.
Terence Donovan, Jason’s dad, played Doug Willis on the show for 26 years, while his half-sister Stephanie McIntosh has also been a long term fixture on Ramsay Street.
However, Donovan hit tough times in the 1990s following his success on Neighbours and a recording career that included four number one singles in Britain and 30 million worldwide album sales.
Donovan sued The Face magazine in 1992, for which he won more than $A500,000, for accusing him of being gay.
He did not take the money as it would have bankrupted the magazine, and years later tried to save it.
But the case made him a target of Fleet Street and set off a debate about whether being gay could be defamatory.
Donovan revealed in his autobiography that he was addicted to cocaine until Angela told him to clean up his act ahead of the birth of Jemma.
“Some people are sent to you for a reason. For me, that person was Ange,” Donovan said in an interview with The Mirror this month.
“Had it not been for her, I doubt I’d still be standing.”
One in eight Australians – two million – watched Donovan and Minogue’s TV wedding in 1988, while 20 million Brits tuned in – more one in every three people at the time.
That fame was hard to cope with for Donovan, who struggled despite a successful stint on the West End in Joseph and His Technicolour Dreamcoat.
But he has managed to forge a five decade-long career just like Minogue, however he has done it on the stage and television, rather than stadium tours.
Mark Borkowski, a leading communications strategist in the UK, said Donovan’s down to earth attitude had kept him relevant.
“He didn’t run away from it, he faced up to it and we are still talking about him now,” he said.
“He got on with particularly the stage work and to do that and turn up night after night to face an audience takes a real dedication, you can’t hide from an audience every night.”
Mr Borkowski said Donovan would have a good chance of winning the ITV show, despite telling producers that he would not do dangerous stunts because he did not want to hurt himself.
“Jason Donovan was just so well known. His demographic will still have a soft spot for him,” he said.
Josh Piterman, an Australian who was playing the title character in The Phantom Of The Opera on the West End until coronavirus hit, said Donovan’s career was incredible, and often under appreciated.
“Jason played Joseph and then he came back and he’s done Pharoah, he’s gone full circle. To still be doing it after 20 years on the West End that’s to be applauded,” he said.
“People talk about Hugh Jackman going from Broadway and getting into Wolverine but doing 20 years on the West End, that’s impressive.”
Piterman said that the fitness that Donovan needed to keep performing was similar to an elite athlete.
“I’ve talked to AFL players who ask how can you be in that performance spotlight eight times a week,” he said.
“Just doing eight shows a week, it’s a certain kind of fitness.”
Jemma was stuck in Australia for Christmas because of coronavirus, but she said in a birthday message to her dad: “My best friend, life coach, aperol spritz lover, hypochondriac, obsessive cleaner, ski partner, general partner in crime and the coolest dad.
“You have given me so much love and happiness in my life. You’ve taught me everything I know. You’re the hardest worker, caring, generous, down to earth and I look up to you everyday. Everything I do I do for you.”
How Lady Gaga transformed from popstar to political powerhouse
Evening Standard
It is an image which makes it abundantly clear that America is moving on from Trump.
The Queen of counter-cultural pop Lady Gaga stood at the inauguration belting out the Star-Spangled Banner in a blush pink skirt by so puffy that she could hardly walk in it, to celebrate her friend Joe Biden becoming President. If President-deselect Donald Trump was still on Twitter you can only imagine how incandescent his tweets would be — he would be spitting with envy at the line-up of popstars that Joe Biden commanded, especially given that everyone from Neil Young to Adele refused to be associated with him. Biden had J-Lo as his warm-up act. If her poised performance wasn’t enough, he also had Amanda Gorman, who gave the world hope with her poem and then he only went and got the New Radicals back together.
But Gaga is the one who must have really riled Trump. She is an outsider who has always stuck up for people who are different and, in the past year, she has cemented her position as a popstar philanthropist who makes an impact — no wonder Biden wants her on side. She appeared nervous last night, growing in confidence as she went on. But it was a significant performance, as big as the enormous gold dove of peace brooch pinned to her chest (has she been taking style notes from Baroness Hale and her spider?) For all the quips about how it looks as if he is her grandfather and how her outfit was a bit Hunger Games, they are a powerful union of pop appeal and politics. Gaga gets things done. Her One World: Together at Home concert at the start of the pandemic helped raise $127 million for frontline care workers (and lifted spirits with an utterly mind-bending performance from Elton John mispronouncing the chorus of his song I’m Still Standing — Google it).
On the surface, Lady Gaga is synonymous with a wild, disco attitude and an ability to surprise. This is a woman whose first hit, Just Dance, was about her losing her keys and phone in a nightclub, unable to see straight and wondering “How did I turn my shirt inside out?”. And remember when she wore a dress made out of raw beef to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards?
But actually her new position at Biden’s side makes a lot of sense. Gaga, 34, has always been a popstar with a social conscience, able to package up serious messages in a way that gets your attention and has widespread appeal. That meat dress was a protest against US government restrictions placed on the rights of gay soldiers. That doesn’t mean she can’t also sing outré songs about, for example, wanting to take a ride on your disco stick.
“Lady Gaga is like Madonna in that she knows how to reinvent herself,” says publicist Mark Borkowski. A Star is Born showed how she can do serious acting as much as fun New York style disco. “She has a huge and incredibly loyal fanbase and when you see her live it is powerful. Her relationship with Joe Biden speaks to the fact that people want authenticity from popstars now.” The Joe sweatshirt she wore to support him sold out and her inauguration outfit was a shrewd choice – by Schiaparelli, a brand with an American creative director.
This month she received a Free Speech Award from the Martin Luther King Jr Centre for non-violent social change and she denounced racism and white supremacy in her acceptance speech. Oh and there’s her vegan skincare line (is she the new Gwyneth Paltrow?). She has achieved all this while keeping up her day job, releasing a new album, Chromatica in May last year and acting in two upcoming films, one directed by Ridley Scott (name TBC), the other an action thriller called Bullet Train. And you thought you had done well in managing to work from home with weak wi-fi and do a 5k. If you feel horribly inferior, read the New York Times piece by the journalist whose ex-boyfriend is now going out with Gaga.
Presidents and popstars have always had special relationships — look at Marilyn Monroe and John F Kennedy. But the union between showbiz and politics is not straightforward. “Agents don’t want their acts to be too political as it can alienate people,” says Borkowski. “Lots of people voted for Trump, so some agents would prefer acts to be anodyne.” Taylor Swift exposes this in her Netflix documentary Miss Americana where she defies her management to speak out about Trump. They were afraid she would lose fans over it.
Gaga has known Biden for a long time. They are both Catholic, he worked with her to set up trauma centres for sexual assault survivors and as she sees it, she had a role in him running for President. She has said: “I remember when I was hanging out with him one day and I was like, ‘So you’re going to run for president, right?’ And we had a little talk and he did it. But I was like, ‘Listen, we need you, because we needed somebody that was going to bring us all together for this moment, this very important moment.” Thanks Gaga.
But what does she want? There is a clue on her new album where she sings a duet with her friend Elton John. Sine from Above is about how when she was younger she pursued “lightning” but now she wants to heal and find love. There was plenty of that in the air at the inauguration.
Circus showman Gerry Cottle dies with coronavirus aged 75
The Stage
Circus impresario Gerry Cottle has died aged 75 after contracting Covid-19.
A press statement released by Borkowski PR confirmed that Cottle died with coronavirus in Bath Hospital on January 13.
Cottle found fame in the 1970s with the Gerry Cottle Circus, and also presented the Moscow State Circus and Chinese State Circus and produced several high-profile circus productions across the world. He also pioneered animal-free circuses later on in his career.
The statement said: “Gerry Cottle was the man behind decades of big top circus acts and the UK first no-animal circus. […] Gerry saw Jack Hilton’s Circus at Earl’s Court in 1953 at the age of eight when his parents took him along to the show, and from that day on he was biding his time until, at 15, he ditched his O levels and ran away from his middle-class Surrey stockbroker upbringing to join the circus.”
It added: “Steeped in circus lore and history, Gerry faced the creative challenge that has preoccupied the latter part of his career – of reinventing circus for contemporary audiences, without animals. He started with a Rainbow Circus that saw his three daughters – the Cottle Sisters – in the ring for the first time, followed by a Rock’n’Roll Circus and a Shark Show.
“Employing top stunt acts, acrobats, magicians and clowns, Gerry set out on a Far East tour that proved immensely lucrative. Flush with cash, he returned home and became the impresario who presented both the Moscow Circus and the Chinese State Circus in Britain and the groundbreaking Circus of Horrors, further boosting his fortune.”
Cottle retired from the big-top circus scene in 2003 and bought cave and attractions complex Wookey Hole in Somerset.
“Gerry was a loving family man who is survived by his wife Betty and three daughters and a son, seven grandchildren and two great grandchildren,” the statement added.
On Twitter, Cottle’s former publicist and friend Mark Borkowski paid tribute to Cottle as “the last of the great circus showmen” and said he would “never forget all the mad adventures [they] shared”.
https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/circus-showman-gerry-cottle-dies-of-coronavirus-aged-75
The winners and losers of Megxit: One year on from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s bombshell announcement, how the Duke’s old school pals and the Queen have lost out while Oprah and even Joe Biden have benefitted
Mail Online
Announced they were quitting as senior members of Royal Family on January 8.
Departure has caused heartache for the Queen, Prince Charles and Harry’s pals.
Media mogul Oprah Winfrey, author Omid Scobie and Joe Biden have benefitted.
It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made their bombshell announcement that they were quitting the Royal Family.
Posting on their now defunct Sussex Royal Instagram page, the couple revealed their plans to ‘step back as senior members’ of the Firm and work to become ‘financially independent’ while splitting their time between the UK and the US.
It sent shockwaves around the world, and the coining of the term ‘Megxit’ quickly followed – which became one of Collins Dictionary’s Words of the Year in 2020.
Twelve months later and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, now living in a $14 million mansion in California with their 18-month-old son Archie, have signed lucrative deals with the likes of Neflix and Spotify, and ‘don’t regret’ their decision to go it alone, according to a source.
But their departure has not been without heartache, with the Queen, 94, said to be ‘personally hurt’ by the manner in which it came about, and the Royal Family’s collective disappointment at not being able to watch young Archie grow up. Their acrimonious departure has also left painfully deep scars for Prince William which those in the know claim may never be healed.
In the coming months Harry was due to meet with his grandmother for a face-to-face 12-month review of the so-called ‘Megxit deal’, however the Covid-19 pandemic, which has brought a ban on non-essential travel, has scuppered those plans.
So, a year later, who are the winners and losers of Megxit? Here FEMAIL reveals the figures who have benefitted from their departure – and those who have been left behind.
WINNERS
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah was friends with Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39 (as well as Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland) before their move to the US, and attended their royal wedding in May 2018.
However they appear to have grown considerably closer over the past 12 months, with Oprah proving herself a generous friend, gifting story books to their son Archie and organising for her friend Tyler Perry to let them stay in his Beverly Hills mansion while they found their feet across the pond.
Reports surfaced last year that Oprah had helped advise Meghan and Harry on leaving their posts as senior members of the Royal Family, but she denied the claim.
In April 2019, the Duke of Sussex announced a partnership with media mogul Oprah as co-creators and executive producers of a new mental health documentary series for Apple.
The pair had reportedly worked on it for ‘several months’ during a number of ‘secret meetings in London’ – however it emerged this week that Covid-19 restrictions, Harry’s exit from the Royal Family and move to the US with Meghan Markle has ‘stalled’ production.
Last month Meghan cannily used her connections by gifting Oprah a bundle of coffee from a company she invested in to plug to her 19.2 million followers on Instagram.
Oprah captioned the post: ‘On the first day of Christmas my neighbor “M” sent to me… A basket of deliciousness! (Yes that M).’
It later emerged that the Duchess has decided to invest in Clevr Blends as she begins to build a portfolio of startup investments – her first such venture since officially stepping back from royal duties.
PR guru Mark Borkowski told MailOnline that Oprah’s endorsement was worth at least $1million and is probably the most valuable piece of free publicity in history…
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry hired ex-Palace aids despite ‘vipers’ claim
Express
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have hired two more former Palace aides, despite claims they were surrounded by “vipers” and could trust very few people there.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have rehired Clara Loughran and Beth Herlihy on a freelance basis, both former Palace aides who lost their jobs when the couple stepped down as senior royals in March. The pair will be working on charity projects in the UK. Their appointment is in addition to the couple’s UK PR chief James Holt, who has been working with the Sussexes since they left the royal sphere.
Meghan and Harry have also hired a string of new people in the US too, including a head of communications, a press secretary and a chief of staff.
However, the hiring of these aides from their former life as royals will be surprising to some after claims the couple could not trust many people at the Palace.
In the 2020 book ‘Finding Freedom’, authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand claimed Meghan and Harry thought their staff at Kensington Palace were leaking to the press.
There were reportedly just “a handful” of people they could trust, including their private secretary Samantha Cohen, PR hotshot Sara Latham, communications secretary Marnie Gaffney and James Holt, who they took on post-Megxit.
It was claimed that outside this core team of four people “no information was safe”, yet the Sussexes seem to trust two additional aides enough to rehire them.
The book read: “The couple tried to air these frustrations internally, but the conversations not only didn’t lead anywhere, the details of them would usually leak to one of the British newspapers.
“At this point, there was just a handful of people working at the Palace they could trust, including Sara, communications aide James Holt, communications secretary Marnie Gaffney (who was made a member of the Royal Victorian Orderby the Queen, an honour recognising personal service to the monarch or members of the Royal Family, during a June 2019 investiture), and their top aide, private secretary Samantha Cohen.
“Outside this core team, no information was safe.
“A friend of the couple referred to the old guard as ‘the vipers’.
“Meanwhile, an equally frustrated Palace staffer described the Sussexes’ team as the ‘squeaky third wheel’ of the Palace.”
While Ms Loughran was mentioned briefly in the book, she was not listed here as being one of the couple’s four most trusted aides, and Ms Herlihy was not mentioned at all.
New Zealand-born Ms Loughran is married to Harry’s former assistant communications secretary Nick Loughran and has worked for the prince since 2015, organising his official engagements and charitable initiatives.
She was also the woman pictured handing Meghan her flowers as she arrived at Windsor Castle on her wedding day.
Ms Loughran was made a Member of the Victorian Order, an honour given to those who have served the monarchy with dedication in a personal capacity, by the Queen on Harry’s recommendation.
Ms Herlihy worked as the Sussexes’ programme manager from September 2018.
She also worked alongside Harry for more than four years as an events coordinator at the Royal Foundation, a charity which was started by Harry, William and Kate.
The women, both in their thirties, were among 15 staff members who lost their jobs after Meghan and Harry quit last year.
After they were let go, they formed Herlihy Loughran, which describes itself as an “advisory partnership” linking “influential people” and organisations to good causes.
The Duke and Duchess of Susex are among their first clients.
Meanwhile, in the US, Meghan and Harry have appointed Toya Holness as their press secretary and Catherine St Laurent as their chief of staff and executive director of Archewell.
According to the Daily Mail, the couple’s bill for expanding their team could easily top £1million a year, not even including personal assistants, staff working on their production and podcast ventures, household employees and private security.
Industry experts said the wage for the three US appointments alone was unlikely to be less than £650,000 a year plus benefits.
PR expert Mark Borkowski said: “There’s clearly a big operation being set up there.
“What will be interesting to see is whether these people challenge the way [the couple] go about things.
“The focus on them is pretty relentless and they clearly want to change the narrative around them now they are trying to launch themselves in America.”
‘I am my mother’s son’: Harry uses a photo of Diana and vows to ‘unleash the power of compassion’ with Meghan on new website for foundation that reveals partnerships with Stanford ‘centre for altruism research’ and ‘humane technology’ charity
Mail Online
Duke and Duchess of Sussex today set out goal to ‘build a better world’ in open letter on their updated website.
Couple use pictures of Harry as a boy with Princess Diana and one of Meghan as a girl with her mother Doria.
They said in a joint statement on Archewell.com website: ‘I am my mother’s son. And I am our son’s mother’.
Couple also announced partnerships between their foundation and several tech and research-focused groups.
Site also plugs their podcasting deal with Spotify said to be worth £30m and their £100m Netflix tie-up.
Prince Harry used a photograph of his late mother Princess Diana and described himself as his ‘mother’s son’ as he and Meghan Markle today launched the website of their non-profit organisation Archewell.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex set out their goal to ‘build a better world’ in an open letter on the newly-updated website this afternoon, saying they wanted to ‘unleash the power of compassion’.
But the site also prominently plugs the couple’s commercial ventures – Archewell Audio, the brand they have chosen for their £30m podcasting deal with Spotify, and Archewell Productions, their chosen name for their Netflix production tie-up said to be worth as much as £100m.
The royal couple used two photographs on the new homepage of Archewell.com – one of Harry as a boy with Diana, taken at Highgrove in July 1986, and one of Meghan as a girl with her mother, Doria Ragland.
Harry and Meghan said in a joint statement on the website: ‘I am my mother’s son. And I am our son’s mother.’ However there was no mention or photo of Harry’s father Prince Charles.
The couple wrote that the name of their organisation is a mixture of the Greek word ‘Arche’, meaning ‘source of action’, and the word ‘Well’, defined as ‘a plentiful source or supply; a place we go to dig deep’.
They also announced partnerships between their foundation and several tech and research-focused groups.
Harry and Meghan wrote: ‘At Archewell, we unleash the power of compassion to drive systemic cultural change.
‘We do this through our non-profit work within Archewell Foundation 501(c)(3), in addition to creative activations through the business verticals of audio and production.’
The website features the picture of Diana with Harry on her shoulders, while in another monochrome image a young Meghan stands as her mother Doria crouches down to hug her daughter.
In a joint statement, called a ‘letter for 2021’ which overlays the pictures, the couple say: ‘I am my mother’s son. And I am our son’s mother. Together we bring you Archewell. We believe in the best of humanity.
‘Because we have seen the best of humanity. We have experienced compassion and kindness, From our mothers and strangers alike. In the face of fear, struggle and pain, it can be easy to lose sight of this.
‘Together, we can choose courage, healing, and connection. Together, we can choose to put compassion in action. We invite you to join us. As we work to build a better world. One act of compassion at a time.’
Among the five organisations Harry and Meghan said they have chosen to support include the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University, which they say is investigating techniques for ‘developing compassion and promoting altruism within individuals and society’.
Another is the Center for Humane Technology in San Francisco led by former Google ‘design ethicist’ Tristan Harris which aims to ‘create the conditions for safer, more compassionate online communities’.
A third is the Loveland Foundation, which is an organisation providing affordable and accessible mental health resources to black women and girls.
Archewell is also supporting the Center for Critical Internet Inquiry at the University of California in Los Angeles, which aims to champion racial and economic justice in the technology world.
The final organisation is chef José Andrés’s World Central Kitchen, which is building four community relief centres in regions affected by hunger, starting in Dominica and Puerto Rico.
Since stepping down as senior royals in March and moving to the US, Harry and Meghan have been working towards this moment to officially launch, albeit softly, the website and the philosophy behind their organisation Archewell.
Their decision to leave was based as much about financial as personal freedom and the huge sums – thought to be well over £100million – they have earned from deals with Spotify and Netflix, gives them the capital to pursue their new lifestyle and public goals.
The announcement follows their first Spotify podcast on Tuesday which saw their son Archie make his broadcast debut.
Commentators have already speculated that Harry and Meghan will have to draw in large audiences if they are to justify the lucrative contract their production company Archewell Audio signed.
Archewell’s press secretary said today: ‘Founded earlier this year by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Archewell uplifts communities through non-profit partnerships and creative activations.
‘It’s a place where compassion matters, communities gather, and storytelling is the engine.
‘The website has been updated to reflect the work Archewell has undertaken throughout 2020 and to create a place for people and communities around the world to share their stories.’
The updated website is Harry and Meghan’s final act of a year which has seen the royal family endure some of their most turbulent problems in recent history – with the messy Megxit saga at the forefront of the issues.
The Duke and Duchess sparked a major royal crisis in January with a bombshell statement saying they intended to stop being senior royals, earn their own money and still support the Queen.
But the dual role was unworkable. The Queen held a summit at Sandringham to deal with the crisis and the outcome was a hard Megxit.
At the end of March, less than two years after they wed, Harry and Meghan quit as working royals completely and stopped using their HRH styles.
They have since settled into a new life in Montecito in California, bought an £11 million house, secured lucrative multimillion-pound deals with Netflix and Spotify, volunteered during the Covid-19 crisis and been working on their Archewell foundation.
Meghan gave an impassioned black lives matter speech to her old high school about the death of George Floyd in the US. But controversy has not been far away.
Harry was criticised for political interference after he urged people in the US to ‘reject hate speech’ and vote in the presidential election.
The duke and duchess were also accused of staging a publicity stunt after they invited a fashion photographer to take pictures of them at a national cemetery in LA to mark Remembrance Sunday.
In August, a new biography, Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, revisited the rift between Harry and William.
The book said Harry was angered by what he perceived as his brother’s ‘snobbish’ attitude to Meghan, and Kate was accused of not reaching out to Meghan and of snubbing her at the Sussexes’ final public engagement at Westminster Abbey.
The Sussexes’ son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor celebrated his first birthday, with Meghan reading the boisterous youngster the children’s book Duck! Rabbit! in a video for Save the Children UK.
But the couple also experienced heartache, with Meghan revealing in an article in November that she had suffered a miscarriage in the summer, writing: ‘I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second.’
Earlier this week, Harry and Meghan released their debut Spotify podcast on Tuesday which saw them chat about ‘the power of connection’, ’empathy’ and ‘collective mental health’…
They have also appointed a press secretary. Toya Holness has worked for the celebrity William Morris Endeavor agency. A ‘stellar’ footballer who played for her university team in California, she is described by friends as ‘bold and outgoing’.
The Sussexes had already poached another major figure, Catherine St Laurent, as their chief of staff. She is also the executive director of Archewell, which is expected to launch in the new year after months of delays.
Miss St Laurent had been responsible for Melinda Gates’s profile and communications activities at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Industry experts said the wage bill for the three US appointments alone was unlikely to be any less than £650,000-a-year plus benefits.
PR expert Mark Borkowski said the extent of the new appointments proved the ‘global’ ambitions of the couple.
‘There’s clearly a big operation being set up there. What will be interesting to see is whether these [new] people challenge the way [the couple] go about things,’ he said.
‘The focus on them is pretty relentless and they clearly want to change the established narrative around them now they are trying to launch themselves in America.’
Archie’s first podcast: Meghan and Harry feature 19-month-old son in star-studded first Spotify episode and coax him into wishing listeners a Happy New Year in his American accent
Mail Online
Couple will produce and host own shows, starting with holiday special today supported by famous friends.
Their son Archie is invited on to the end of the 33-minute show where he says ‘Happy New Year’ in US accent.
Archewell Audio guests include Elton John, James Corden, Stacey Abrams, Brené Brown and Deepak Chopra.
Couple’s £30m ($40m) contract with Spotify seen as step towards their ‘billion-dollar brand’ after Netflix deal.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have featured their 19-month-old son Archie in their first Spotify podcast and got him to say his first four words in public – wishing people a ‘Happy New Year’ in his American accent and saying it was ‘fun’ to speak into a microphone.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex today released their first podcast, calling on famous friends including Sir Elton John, Brené Brown, Deepak Chopra, Stacey Abrams and James Corden to reflect on 2020 and their hopes for 2021 with the couple signing off with the words: ‘Love always wins’.
The couple’s first 33-minute show as part of the deal with the streaming giant worth an estimated £30million ($40million) is a ‘holiday special’ that concludes with the gospel song This Little Light of Mine, which was played at the end of their wedding at Windsor Castle in May 2018, before Archie is introduced.
Harry and Meghan, who have fiercely defended Archie’s privacy since his birth in May 2019 and filed a lawsuit this year to fight to protect it, encourage their son to talk into the microphone, with Harry telling him: ‘You can speak into it.’ Meghan also asks: ‘Archie, is it fun?’
Archie then replies: ‘Fun.’ Harry then says: ‘After me, ready? Happy.’ Archie says: ‘Happy.’ Meghan and Harry both then say ‘New’, and Archie says: ‘New Year’ – prompting laughter from both of his parents.
Meghan also quotes Martin Luther King as she tells listeners that: ‘Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that’.
And in an apparent nod to the stormy 2020 the couple have had after quitting as frontline royals and moving to Los Angeles via Vancouver, Meghan says: ‘From us I’ll say no matter what life throws at you guys, trust us when we say, love wins.’
But some social media observers questioned the couple’s decision to feature their son in their multi-million pound podcast, with one saying: ‘I hope others will join me in respecting the wishes of these people and decide not to invade their privacy by listening to it.’
Reacting to the right-on tone of their podcast and its interviews, another added: ‘Someone please pass the sick bucket.’
The Sussexes called on many of their most famous friends to appear on their first Archewell Audio podcast, which they promise will ‘uplift and entertain audiences around the world’. Meghan said they asked people who ‘inspire us’ to appear on the podcast and give ‘their thoughts on what they learned from 2020’.
Sir Elton was a friend of Harry’s mother Diana, Princess of Wales and has regularly supported her son over the years, while Corden was a guest at Harry and Meghan’s wedding and was asked by the duke to perform at the couple’s evening celebration.
Other guests include Democrat activist Stacey Abrams, tennis star Naomi Osaka, American filmmaker and actor Tyler Perry, wellness icon Deepak Chopra and teenage activist Christina Adane from London, who campaigns on food issues.
Experts have called the couple’s Spotify tie-up as another big step towards building what experts believe could become a $1billion business empire in the US after a super-deal with Netflix to make documentaries about their pet projects.
Harry and Meghan began their show by paying tribute to healthcare and frontline workers for their ‘sacrifices’ and remembered those who have lived through ‘uncertainty and unthinkable loss’ during the coronavirus pandemic.
The couple have signed a lucrative deal with Spotify to host and produce podcasts, estimated to be worth up to £30million.
The working partnership comes a few months after the couple signed a Netflix deal, to produce a range of programmes and series, rumoured to be worth more than £100 million.
Harry told listeners: ‘We’re glad you’re here. As we all know, it’s been a year. And we really want to honour the compassion and kindness that has helped so many people get through it’.
While Meghan added: ‘And at the same time, to honour those who have experienced uncertainty and unthinkable loss. Our thoughts have been with you, especially during this holiday season.’
The duke continued: ‘And in too many instances people weren’t able to be at a loved one’s side or say goodbye as they would have wished’, and his wife said: ‘We also want to thank healthcare workers, frontline service workers, and so many others for their sacrifices.’
Harry said in the podcast: ‘As we come to the end of this year and look to the future… let’s hold onto the lessons we’ve learned about how important it is to take care of one another, and how meaningful our connections are… even when they’re physically impossible.’
The podcast ends with the couple broadcasting the gospel song This Little Light of Mine which was played at the end of their wedding.
Meghan said: ‘From us I’ll say no matter what life throws at you guys, trust us when we say, love wins.’
She added: ‘This Little Light of Mine played at the very end of our wedding… while we were walking down the steps of the church.’
Quoting Martin Luther King she went on to say: ‘It was the music that we wanted playing when we started our lives together. Because as we all know, ‘darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that…’
Harry added: ‘The message of this song is one we hold so dearly. It’s about using the power we each have within us to make this world a better place.’
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry signed a lucrative podcast deal with Spotify worth up to £30million two weeks ago as they took another big step towards building what experts believe could become a $1billion business empire in the US.
The couple will produce and host their own shows as part of the newly formed Archewell Audio – starting with the ‘holiday special’.
Archie stole the show an, during the final moments of the broadcast, Harry says, in an apparent reference to the microphone in front of his son, ‘you can speak into it’ while Meghan asks ‘Archie is it fun?’ and her son replies ‘fun’.
It is thought Archie has spent more than a year living in North America, joining his parents when they had an extended break towards the end of 2019 in Canada, before they made the permanent move to California in March.
With his mother and grandmother Doria Ragland, both Americans, it is likely he is picking up their accent which will be reinforced if he attends a local playgroup.
Harry and Meghan had asked their guests who included activists, campaigners and famous friends like James Corden to record audio diaries looking back on the year.
Sir Elton, when asked about his hopes for the future, said: ‘I hope after this awful pandemic has passed, and we can go back to some sort of normality, that we have become better people – and I hope for healing.
‘It’s been an awful time for people. People have lost loved ones, people have lost their businesses, they’ve lost work. It’s been an awful time for people, so I hope that we can heal in 2021.’
The duke and duchess began their show by paying tribute to healthcare and frontline workers for their ‘sacrifices’ and remembered those who have lived through ‘uncertainty and unthinkable loss’ during the coronavirus pandemic.
The couple have signed a lucrative deal with Spotify to host and produce podcasts, estimated to be worth around 25 million US dollars (£18 million) and the development comes a few months after their Netflix deal, rumoured to be worth more than £100 million.
In his audio diary for Meghan and Harry’s podcast Sir Elton John said: ‘Well, we were in the middle of a tour and then Covid started and we came back to England in May, and it was very strange because we were going full pelt, and then all of a sudden, we ground to a halt.
‘I’m 73 years old, and I’m a semi-diabetic so I’m in a risky area there, I have an underlying condition as they say. I’ve seen my immediate family – Zachary, Elijah and David – all the time.
‘But my relatives, who I love, haven’t been able to see much of them at all, and I’ve only stayed connected with them by phone, of course, and by Zoom.’
The singer said as a recovering alcoholic being able to attend virtual AA meetings via video calls has been a ‘lifesaver’.
Other podcast guests, during the 34-minute show, included activist and tennis star Naomi Osaka, American filmmaker and actor Tyler Perry, wellness icon Deepak Chopra and teenage activist Christina Adane, from London – who campaigns on food issues.
Corden, who was a guest at Harry and Meghan’s wedding and was asked by the duke to perform at the couple’s evening celebration, said he has been happy spending extra time during the pandemic with his family.
The actor, who hosts The Late Late Show on the American television network CBS, said: ‘I think what I’ve learned about myself is I really don’t have Fomo (fear of missing out). I’m very happy, staying in I mean. I could lose a day just staring at the corner of a rug. That’s what I’ve realised, and I’ve been ok with that.
‘I think being able to spend so much time with my children, I felt like my relationship with them has changed, being around them more, you know, the five of us in our house has really brought quite a lot of joy to me.’
Before the appearance of Archie, the couple broadcast the gospel song This Little Light Of Mine, which was played at the end of their wedding.
Quoting Martin Luther King, Meghan said ‘It was the music that we wanted playing when we started our lives together. Because as we all know, ‘darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that…”
On December 18, Meghan settled a privacy claim against a photo agency without winning a penny. The Duchess had told the High Court a photo of her and her one-year-old son Archie had breached his privacy.
Neither Archie’s face nor any other part of his body could be seen because he was wrapped up and facing away from the lens. Los Angeles agency Splash claimed ‘nothing unlawful happened’ because it is legal to take photographs in public parks in Canada.
The case did not reach trial because the UK arm of Splash is in administration. However the administrators of Splash UK undertook that, should it come out of administration, Splash UK will not take any photographs of the duke and duchess or their son in the future.
Spotify has not revealed what the contract is worth, but the streaming service agreed a £75m ($100m) deal with US comedian Joe Rogan in May. The Mirror reported the Sussexes would be paid £30million – other sources put it closer to £20million.
The Sussexes’ agreement comes just months after the royals agreed a £100million partnership with Netflix and days after Meghan invested in a $28-per-pack oat-milk ‘superlatte’ business later promoted for free by her LA neighbour Oprah Winfrey.
A ‘well placed’ royal source told the Mirror: ‘The initial multi year deal is worth in excess of £30 million with a view to extending the deal within six months.
‘Meghan was the driving force behind the deal. She was incredible in the meetings with executives and had a clear vision of what they as a couple have to offer. Spotify’s whole business plan is to acquire the world’s most talked about celebrities in one place and Harry and Meghan fit the bill entirely. It’s a win win scenario.’
Earlier this year, Michelle Obama launched The Michelle Obama Podcast for an undisclosed fee with Spotify and had her husband Barack on as one of her first guests.
A trailer clip of Archewell Audio was released yesterday, accompanied by a short description which reads: ‘Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, present Archewell Audio. Coming soon to Spotify.’
The slickly-produced and heavily-scripted Spotify trailer featuring the Sussexes opens with Harry saying to his wife: ‘Ladies first’ before his Meghan says: ‘No you say it first because I think it sounds really nice with your accent’.
The Duke of Sussex then says: ‘Archewell Audio’ and they say together: ‘Let’s do it’.
Prince Harry then says: ‘Hi guys, I’m Harry’ before Meghan says: ‘And I’m Meghan’, with both choosing not to use their titles.
Meghan then says: ‘One of the things my husband and I have always talked about is our passion for meeting people and hearing their stories. And no matter what the story they usually offer an understanding of where someone else is coming from. And in some way, remind you of a story about yourself’.
Harry continues: ‘And that is what this story is all about. To bring forward different perspectives and voices that perhaps you haven’t heard before. And find our common ground. Because when that happens change really is possible’.
The Duchess of Sussex says that the podcasts will be about ‘finding kindness and compassion, something we saw in some many places this year’.
She adds: ‘It will underlie everything you here on Archewell Audio – so that’s what we’re up to’.
Their first show will be a ‘holiday special’ this month will ‘feature stories of hope and compassion from inspirational guests in celebration of the new year.’
Harry and Meghan both mimic church bells before saying: ‘We can’t wait to share it with you and will be out later this month’.
Meghan says: ‘We’re talking to some amazing people who will share their memories that have helped shaped this year. As we know this has been a difficult one for everyone’.
Touching on the pandemic Harry says: ‘So many people have suffered so much pain this year, experiencing loss and a huge amount of uncertainty but it feels worth mentioning that 2020 has connected us in ways we could never have imagined. Through endless acts of compassion and kindness’.
Plugging the podcast Harry says: ‘So here’s what you need to do, tap follow right now. Go ahead, go on. Tap, follow and that way you won’t miss out and you’ll be able to hear new shows on Archewell Audio as soon as they drop’.
Finishing the trailer Meghan says: ‘We’re so excited. So follow and listen for free only on Spotify. We’ll meet you back here soon’.
Harry signs off with an American-sounding ‘happy holidays’ while Meghan ends with a British ‘cheers’.
The couple said in a statement today: ‘What we love about podcasting is that it reminds all of us to take a moment and to really listen, to connect to one another without distraction.
‘With the challenges of 2020, there has never been a more important time to do so, because when we hear each other, and hear each other’s stories, we are reminded of how interconnected we all are.’
The Sussexes stopped royal duties in January this year, and have been criticised for using their newly independent status to sign multi-million pound deals while retaining their official titles.
The Sussexes’ agreed a £100million partnership with Netflix.
This was followed by the revelation earlier this week that Meghan had invested in a new range of oat milk vegan ‘superlattes’, which sell for £21 ($28) per pack.
Harry, 36, and former Suits actress Meghan, 39, are also set to earn as much as £770,000 ($1m) for delivering online talks – on condition of an upfront fee and the ability to pick any moderators.
The Duke spoke at a J P Morgan event in Miami earlier this year where he received a reported six-figure sum.
Royal biography Angela Levin has branded Harry ‘disloyal’ for taking money from Netflix when it was ‘ridiculing’ his family in popular series The Crown.
The author Penny Junor warned that the couple would find it ‘very difficult’ to combine being a member of the royal family with pursuing commercial activity, because ‘there are bear traps everywhere’.
‘Inevitably, because of who they are, there will always be a market for them,’ she said. ‘It’s not even because they’re Harry and Megan, it’s because they are HRHs.
‘That adds a huge number of noughts to the end of any deal that they do. That’s not their fault. It just highlights how difficult it is to square up being a member of the royal family but earning a living outside it.’
Harry and Meghan no longer use their HRH styles, but they are still members of the royal family despite stepping back from official duties and retain the titles.
Dawn Ostroff, Spotify’s chief content and advertising business officer, said: ‘The Duke and Duchess of Sussex may live in California but the power of their voices rests in their status as citizens of the world.
‘That they are embracing the extraordinary capacity of podcasts on Spotify while also seeking to elevate underrepresented voices is a testament to their appreciation for the potential of audio storytelling.’
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been embraced by the celebrity circuit after ditching royal duties in March and signed a multi-million-pound deal with Netflix to produce content that provides ‘hope and inspiration’.
One of their latest ventures was a new brand of vegan coffees, which Oprah Winfrey promoted to her 19.2million Instagram followers in a huge favour to her friend.
Ms Markle’s coffee investment is the first since she and Harry emigrated to pursue a private life and seek ‘financial independence’ from the royal family in California – but is still likely to ‘raise eyebrows’ at the palace, experts claim.
The record for an advertising Instagram post was $500,000, paid to Kim Kardashian in 2015, but Mr Borkowski said Oprah’s social media video was ‘a million buck post in free publicity’ at least.
Oprah, America’s biggest TV star worth $2.6bn, described the beverage on Instagram as her ‘new drink of choice’. While its maker, Californian start-up Clevr Blends, claims it brings all kinds of health benefits, is ethical, environmentally friendly and a brand that is ‘dedicated to giving a s**t’.
Its packaging claims it boosts immunity, brain health and digestion while reducing stress and improving focus.
Meghan made her first public appearance since revealing three weeks ago that she suffered a miscarriage in July.
In a video message for US news channel CNN from the gardens of her mansion, she saluted the ‘quiet heroes’ of the coronavirus pandemic, praising key workers and those who volunteer at food banks. Meghan, 39, and Harry, 36, have helped several charities to distribute food in Los Angeles.
Forbes said the duchess intends to invest in more women-led firms as she ‘has made gender equality one of her core causes’.
Clevr Blends has a British CEO, Hannah Mendoza, who co-founded the firm with Roger Coppola, the only man on the team.
In a statement, Meghan, who did not reveal the size of her stake, said it was to support ‘a passionate female entrepreneur who prioritises building community alongside her business’.
She added: ‘I’m proud to invest in Hannah’s commitment to sourcing ethical ingredients and creating a product that I personally love and has a holistic approach to wellness.’
The recent deals will help the Sussexes in their pledge to become ‘financially independent’ from the royal family – following their decision to step back from frontline royal duties in January this year.
The couple have since bought a sprawling nine-bedroom and 16-bathroom mansion in upscale Santa Barbara, known as ‘The Chateau’ for $14.65million, making them neighbours with celebrities including Oprah Winfrey.
The pair are thought to have purchased the sprawling property, which sits on 5.4 acres of land, from a Russian businessman with a $9.5million mortgage after the price was knocked down by more than $10million.
At typical interest rates provided by Bank of America, the couple would have to pay $40,000 a month or $480,000 a year in order to repay the mortgage over 30 years.
Annual property tax is estimated at $68,000 and the costs of security and utilities for the huge mansion will also come with hefty bills.
According to cost-of-living database Numbeo, utility bills for a 900 sq ft home in Santa Barbara County are typically around $200 per month.
Harry and Meghan’s mansion is more than 10 times larger, suggesting a possible bill of at least $2,000 per month or $24,000 per year.
Alongside agreeing to pay back £2.4million for tax-payer funded renovations to Frogmore Cottage, where the pair lived before moving to America, the couple earlier this year agreed to pay for the cost of their security personally.
The security bill could cost them £4million a year.
They also face staff costs.
Christopher Baker, who runs a firm that supplies domestic staff in California, told the Hollywood Reporter in 2015 that a staff for A-list celebrities can cost $200,000 to $300,000 per year, or even more.
Team Megxit reunited: Two Palace aides who lost jobs in March are back on Sussexes’ payroll in couple’s hiring spree
Mail Online
EXCLUSIVE: Duke and Duchess of Sussex have rehired two former palace aides
They have employed ex-palace staff Clara Loughran and Beth Herlihy on a freelance basis
The pair, both in their 30s, lost their jobs in March when Harry and Meghan moved to North America.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have boosted their rapidly expanding stable of staff by rehiring two palace aides who lost their jobs when the royal couple left the UK.
In recent months Harry and Meghan have made a series of key appointments to head their forthcoming non-profit foundation, Archewell, as well as starting their own in-house PR outfit.
Now, it can be revealed, they have employed ex-palace staff Clara Loughran and Beth Herlihy on a freelance basis to work on charity projects in the UK.
The pair, both in their 30s, lost their jobs in March when Harry and Meghan moved to North America. Their appointment is in addition to the couple’s UK PR chief, James Holt.
With a string of new employees in the US as well, including a head of communications, a press secretary and a chief of staff, industry experts say the bill for their couple’s team so far could easily top £1million a year.
This does not include PAs, staff working on their production and podcast ventures, household employees and private security.
New Zealand-born Mrs Loughran, who is married to Harry’s ex-assistant communications secretary, Nick Loughran, had worked for the prince since 2015, organising his official engagements and charitable initiatives. She was made a Member of the Royal Victorian Order – an honour given to those who have served the monarchy with dedication in a personal capacity – by the Queen, on Harry’s recommendation.
Miss Herlihy worked as the Sussexes programme manager from September 2018. She had also worked alongside Harry for more than four years as an events co-ordinator at the Royal Foundation, started by Harry with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. She and Mrs Loughran were among 13 plus tax-payer-funded employees who lost their jobs in March when Harry and Meghan quit royal duties.
Recently they formed Herlihy Loughran, which describes itself as an ‘advisory partnership’ that links ‘influential people’ and organisations to good causes.
Harry and Meghan are among their first clients, sources confirmed. They have been employed in addition to their existing UK PR chief Mr Holt, pictured inset.
Last month it was announced that the Sussexes had snapped up Christine Weil Schirmer, 42, former head of communications at internet site Pinterest, to lead their PR assault on the US.
The mother-of-one attended the same US university as Meghan, Northwestern.
They have also appointed a press secretary. Toya Holness has worked for the celebrity William Morris Endeavor agency. A ‘stellar’ footballer who played for her university team in California, she is described by friends as ‘bold and outgoing’. The Sussexes had already poached another major figure, Catherine St Laurent, as their chief of staff. She is also the executive director of Archewell, which is expected to launch in the new year after months of delays.
Miss St Laurent had been responsible for Melinda Gates’ profile and communications activities at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Industry experts said the wage bill for the three US appointments alone was unlikely to be any less than £650,000-a-year plus benefits.
PR expert Mark Borkowski said the extent of the new appointments proved the ‘global’ ambitions of the couple.
‘There’s clearly a big operation being set up there. What will be interesting to see is whether these [new] people challenge the way [the couple] go about things,’ he said.
‘The focus on them is pretty relentless and they clearly want to change the established narrative around them now they are trying to launch themselves in America.’
It pays to have good friends! Oprah Winfrey’s Instagram post promoting Duchess of Sussex’s coffee was ‘a million dollar post in free publicity’ putting Meghan and Harry on path to building a BILLION dollar brand
Mail Online
Oprah Winfrey’s decision to promote Meghan Markle’s new range of vegan coffee to her 19.2million Instagram followers was worth at least $1million and is probably the most valuable piece of free publicity in history, experts told MailOnline today.
PR guru Mark Borkowski told MailOnline the $28-per-pack oat-milk ‘superlattes’ are the first ‘baby steps’ towards Meghan and Harry building a billion dollar brand for themselves in the US.
It came as Meghan and Harry signed an exclusive deal with Spotify for to ‘host and produce podcasts that build community through shared experience, narratives, and values.’ It is not known how much the contract is worth but the streaming service agreed a $100m deal with comedian Joe Rogan in May.
Ms Markle’s coffee investment is the first since she and Harry emigrated to pursue a private life and seek ‘financial independence’ from the royal family in California – but is still likely to ‘raise eyebrows’ at the palace, experts claim.
The record for an advertising Instagram post was $500,000, paid to Kim Kardashian in 2015, but Mr Borkowski said Oprah’s social media video was ‘a million buck post in free publicity’ at least.
He said: ‘Having Oprah Winfrey endorse your product is the golden ticket in global advertising for any company. Oprah is also very choosy about what she promotes and for a new company to launch a new product, reaching that many people, would cost millions of dollars – and the best thing for Meghan is that in this case many people who saw it won’t feel like they are being sold something at all. Having a friend like Oprah is something money can’t buy and it will lead to the product flying off the shelves’.
Oprah, America’s biggest TV star worth $2.6bn, described the beverage on Instagram as her ‘new drink of choice’. While its maker, Californian start-up Clevr Blends, claims it brings all kinds of health benefits, is ethical, environmentally friendly and a brand that is ‘dedicated to giving a s**t’. Its packaging claims it boosts immunity, brain health and digestion while reducing stress and improving focus.
Elton John’s former publicist Gary Farrow, who represents many UK stars, has warned that despite the valuable free publicity, the Sussexes could eventually be hit with a gigantic tax bill because the authorities in the US and UK are looking to claw back some of the huge amounts of cash made by stars using the ‘Wild West’ of online influencing.
Brand experts have said that getting Oprah to promote a product is the ‘golden ticket’ for any advertiser, because she is ‘picky’ about what she promotes and has huge political influence in the US.
Mr Borkowski said that the Sussexes have been ‘clever’ in the way they are focussing on products that reflect their own passions for the environment, education and healthy living.
He said: ‘This coffee brand is the first baby steps of building their global brand. They are still in the foothills – but by focussing on America they are concentrating on the largest and most affluent advertising market in the world. And if they can become a distinct brand with authenticity, say become America’s answer to Sir David Attenborough on the environment, and build a media presence with Netflix, they will be well on the way to becoming a billion dollar brand’.
Meghan has invested in the women-led firm based in Montecito, where she, Prince Harry and their 19-month-old son Archie now live in an £11million mansion. It is understood Meghan contacted the firm, which donates 1 per cent of revenue to ‘food justice’ organisations, after trying its product. It sells the instant lattes in three other flavours – matcha, chai and coffee – at £21 for 14 servings.
PR expert Gary Farrow said: ‘I advise my clients to set aside 50 per cent of anything they make from these Instagram posts. Oprah’s post will be worth at least $500,000 and you can be sure that the tax man will be looking at it’.
He added: ‘It may be Meghan’s project but she is only able to do it because of Harry’s royal name. He’s gone full LA and lost touch with his British subjects. Does he think that people here can afford £21 for some coffee in the middle of a pandemic with 3.1million unemployed? It’s a royal p***take and the Queen should take away their titles’.
Royal commentator and former Editor of International Who’s Who, Richard Fitzwilliams said the investment may cause friction with the palace.
He told MailOnline: ‘Endorsements of this kind by members of the royal family do raise eyebrows and with good reason. Would Harry, who is 6th in line to the throne do this? It would be inappropriate.
‘The Sussexes are independent financially after their hugely lucrative Netflix deal. When the Sandringham Agreement is reassessed however, I suspect this sort of endorsement of a commercial product will be discouraged. However they are, of course, no longer senior working royals and can do more or less what they like as publicising this investment clearly shows’.
Miss Winfrey, a guest at the royal couple’s wedding, wrote how ‘On the first day of Christmas my neighbour M sent to me… a basket of deliciousness!’ In case her 20million followers had difficulty working it out, she added ‘Yes, that M’ followed by a crown emoji.
Along with a further plug, Miss Winfrey, 66, posted a video of her making a mug of turmeric-flavoured latte by adding water, declaring: ‘It’s delicious.’ Fans were left unaware of the duchess’s involvement with Clevr Blends, later revealed by Forbes website.
Meghan, meanwhile, was making her first public appearance since revealing three weeks ago that she suffered a miscarriage in July.
In a video message for US news channel CNN from the gardens of her mansion, she saluted the ‘quiet heroes’ of the coronavirus pandemic, praising key workers and those who volunteer at food banks. Meghan, 39, and Harry, 36, have helped several charities to distribute food in Los Angeles.
Forbes said the duchess intends to invest in more women-led firms as she ‘has made gender equality one of her core causes’.
Clevr Blends has a British CEO, Hannah Mendoza, who co-founded the firm with Roger Coppola, the only man on the team.
In a statement, Meghan, who did not reveal the size of her stake, said it was to support ‘a passionate female entrepreneur who prioritises building community alongside her business’.
She added: ‘I’m proud to invest in Hannah’s commitment to sourcing ethical ingredients and creating a product that I personally love and has a holistic approach to wellness.’
Miss Mendoza said: ‘Entrepreneurs need funding, but they also need advisers who care deeply about what they are building. I’m grateful to have found both in the Duchess of Sussex.’
The Sussexes will be expected to uphold their promise not to bring the Queen into disrepute through their deals. Buckingham Palace declined to comment but one insider said Meghan’s link-up with Miss Winfrey, without making clear her involvement with the product, was ‘not particularly well advised’.
Harry and Meghan already have a multi-million deal with Netflix.
In October Mendoza posted a photo of herself in hiking gear, beaming besides a giant mushroom growing from a tree trunk.
‘Hannah having one of those mushroom-awe moments (a common theme on the Clevr team),’ she wrote.
‘Mushrooms should make you believe in magic – they are ancient organisms that talk to each other, exist on every inch of the globe, and heal our bodies in unthinkable ways.
‘Did you know that the largest living thing ON EARTH is a mycelium network!? Aka a mushroom!
In November, Mendoza showed a photo from one of their suppliers in Santa Barbara, describing Sweet Mountain Top farm as ‘a badass team of female farmers, up on a mountain, growing flowers & medicinal herbs in the clouds.’
Markle is said to have contacted the company after sampling their products for herself in 2017.
Mendoza confirmed Markle’s investment, saying: ‘Entrepreneurs need funding, but they also need advisers who care deeply about what they are building.
‘I’m grateful to have found both in the Duchess of Sussex.
‘Her passion for what we’re creating is palpable, and I couldn’t imagine a more aligned partnership.
‘We’re excited for the road ahead.’
Ronn Torossian, CEO of NYC based 5WPR, a leading PR agency said the Duchess’s investment is worth ‘much more than a cheque’ as the product is now likely to become a ‘household name’.
Jasmine Birtles, Founder of MoneyMagpie.com added that the Duchess’s involvement would be worth ‘millions’ in publicity and that she may have struck a good deal thanks to her star power.
Ronn explained: ‘Add the Duchess of Sussex to the list of high-profile investors in start-up companies. The old saying of all you need is a dollar and a dream often rings true for investors in start-up companies, as success is tremendously difficult to come by in the startup world,’ he said.
‘Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have unlimited earning power via endorsement deals, partnerships and more. Investing in start-ups is just one way they seek to become uber-wealthy. It makes sense as part of a larger strategy in terms of a total brand portfolio.
‘Just as Jay-Z & Beyonce, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have invested in companies it makes complete sense for the Duchess of Sussex also to invest. The company, Clevr also appears to be in line with her social justice platform, with pronouncements that the brand has also committed donating 1 per cent of revenue to organizations fighting for food justice in the U.S., money that is currently going to Santa Barbara’s El Centro SB, a mutual aid and community organization.’
‘Everything about this investment is aligned with the Duchess’s personal brand, which has real potential to resonate with consumers. Her authenticity and endorsement of the product bring an invaluable currency that very few startup consumer brands will ever experience. I see a very promising future for Clevr coffee with potential earnings into the millions,’ he added.
Jasmine Birtles, Founder of MoneyMagpie.com added to FEMAIL that no matter the amount Meghan’s investment in the company her involvement will be worth millions in free publicity.
She added that she wouldn’t be surprised if Meghan got a good deal from the company because of her star-power.
‘A lot of celebrities have invested very successfully in start-ups, Ashton Kutcher has done some really amazing investments. He was an early investor in Skype, AirBnB and Uber. There are some actors who have done very nicely, and others who have lost their shirt, Paris Hilton invested in some cryptocurrency, and lost money. There are lots of these start ups that happen, some do amazingly well and some just drop like a stone very quickly
‘Investing in start ups is a very risky proposition for celebs or ordinary people, it’s something you should be very cautious about, only put in money you can afford to lose.
‘What often does happen is neighbours, friends, family members decide to set up a business and people think it’s going to be great.
‘People can get in at the ground level and I’ve done that, and lost money doing it. I think when it’s friend or family you need to be extra cautious and your natural inclination is to help – but you need to be extra sure it’s got legs, and do extra due diligence. It can cause a lot of bad feeling if something goes wrong – just need to be careful. Having said that, if you’d put £100 in Google as a start-up you’d be a millionaire now.
‘I definitely I suspect that, if Meghan’s got any sense she would have put it to them to get herself a good deal. Given the publicity that she’ll give them, it wouldn’t surprise me if she said I’d like it at half price, i would assume she’d struck a good deal, given her global recognition and PR.
‘Investing in start ups is a really good thing to do, but I wold say it’s good to invest in more more solid things first, pensions, blue chip and stocks and shares and then have a bit of a punt in starts up. I think even if you’re in your twenties it’s a good time to start.
‘Meghan is nearly 40, so I would hope she’s already got some other investments by now too.’
Clevr Blends has a range of powdered ‘superlattes’ that cost $28 for each packet of 14 cups, and comes in flavors such as tumeric and matcha.
They also sell what is billed as ‘organic Colombian arabica coffee blended with oat milk and coconut cream, powered by adaptogens, mushrooms and probiotics, naturally sweetened with monk fruit.’
It also sells an $18 branded milk frother and a sold-out travel mug.
All contain adaptogens – natural substances, typically derived from plants, that supposedly help the body counteract and adapt to stress.
Mendoza founded Clevr Blends after setting up a ‘funky coffee pop up bar’.
‘We traveled the California coast, mixing up adaptogenic lattes and mushrooms coffees out the back of a van. It was awesome,’ she writes on the company website.
‘Our drinks made people feel amazing – but were hard to re-create at home.
‘We needed an easier way to bring these magical elixirs to people’s daily rituals…so we hit the kitchen!
‘We set out on a mission to create the most delicious, nutrition-rich instant latte on the planet.
‘After 1 year of formulation and meticulous ingredient sourcing later, our SuperLattes were born!’
The company says it sources all of its goods in Santa Barbara and makes them there.
It says it only uses organic or non-GMO ingredients, and that they also want to ‘donate a percentage of our revenue to organizations that are fighting for food justice in the USA.’
Before going into the superfood business, Mendoza worked as a volunteer English teacher in Brazil.
More than The Crown: Why the mythic tone around Diana, Princess of Wales echoes today
CBC
It’s not just because of The Crown.
Diana, Princess of Wales, is back in the headlines, on magazine covers, is the subject of podcasts and has cropped up pretty much anywhere else someone thinks her name might rustle up some more attention.
Much of the recent focus has been spawned by the portrayal of her in the controversial fourth season of the Netflix drama The Crown.
But beyond that, there have been a spate of recent headlines delving into the high-profile BBC interview Diana gave in 1995, and there is anticipation of other shows, including a movie and a streaming musical, that will focus on her.
More than 23 years after her death, the mythic tone around her image seems to resonate as much as it ever has.
“It’s the same question people ask about James Dean or Marilyn Monroe or those sorts of icons. They’re embedded into our psyche,” British public relations expert Mark Borkowski said over the phone from the U.K.
“They died … before the ravages of time could take over … so you’ve got the telegenic quality of their image that hasn’t changed.”
With Diana, the image began as Shy Di, and indeed, the first glimpse of her in the latest season of The Crown is as a beguiling forest nymph dressed for a part in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
It’s in marked contrast to the high-wattage celebrity royal she became, and whose own struggles and warm way with those she met in person seemed to strike an emotional connection with many watching the House of Windsor from afar.
She was, of course, a complex character who also had some less appealing traits, and was well-versed in using the media for her own ends. Along the way there was the high-profile collapse of her marriage to Prince Charles, which is one storyline taking prominence in The Crown’s interpretation of her arrival in the Royal Family.
Why Season 4 of The Crown is facing criticism for its ‘overly caricatured’ history
Now, said Borkowski, with the “full marketing weight” of Netflix behind The Crown, it’s had “extraordinary global publicity” and any website looking for clickbait knows “that if they can run a Diana narrative, they’re going to get eyeballs.”
At the same time, there’s been renewed attention on the controversial interview she gave to BBC journalist Martin Bashir that was broadcast in November 1995, which is frequently cited for her remark about Prince Charles that “there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”
Diana’s brother, Charles, has alleged that the BBC used forged bank documents to get his sister to agree to speak with Bashir.
The attention on the interview, Borkowski said, is the result of a “perfect storm” of events, including the 25th anniversary of the broadcast, which became the hook for the story. He said there is also some “BBC-bashing” from other media organizations seeing an opportunity for “payback” after being vilified by the network for the phone-hacking scandal several years ago.
Why did Diana do what she did? Actor Emma Corrin looks for answers as she takes on iconic role in The Crown
The recent interest in Diana comes at the same time Borkowski sees other events playing out in the Royal Family that have echoes of her experience.
“She was the original disruptor for the Royal Family, her legacy [is] her kids [William and Harry], and Harry continues to disrupt the … narrative,” Borkowski said.
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, stepped back from the upper echelons of the Royal Family earlier this year and are living with their son, Archie, in California.
Harry’s “relationship with Meghan … has all the parallels of Diana, you know, in many ways, certainly his touchy-feely, empathetic [way],” and being “more film star than establishment figure,” said Borkowski.
The actor playing Diana sees that empathy in the real Diana, too. In a recent interview with The Royal Fascinator, Emma Corrin said Diana “just didn’t fit into the Royal Family.”
“She was far too empathetic. She was far too affectionate and feeling,” Corrin said. “The Royal Family, especially how we depict them, are so broken and so … stunted in their emotional growth — and I’m not saying the actual family is … but I feel that she wasn’t.
Meghan’s miscarriage and her message
As with so much else that surrounds the time Meghan has spent in the Royal Family, her way of revealing that she had a miscarriage was different — but it was also very much in keeping with her character.
Her opinion piece last month in the New York Times has been praised for offering support to others who have had miscarriages — and for helping to shatter the stigma that so often surrounds this deeply personal trauma, which is experienced in as many as one in four pregnancies.
Meghan’s revelation is a stark contrast to the way in which senior members of the Royal Family have approached matters of their own health.
“Announcements about royal babies and serious health issues relating to senior members of the family normally come from Buckingham Palace, but I don’t think they would ever announce an early miscarriage,” said royal author and biographer Penny Junor via email.
“The public would only be told if the palace had already announced the pregnancy and the child had been lost.”
That happened in the case of Sophie, Countess of Wessex, who is married to Prince Edward, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Sophie spoke of being “very sad” after losing a baby in 2001 following an ectopic pregnancy.
It also happened in the case of Zara Tindall, Princess Anne’s daughter, “who then went on to tell a newspaper that she had suffered two miscarriages but hadn’t wanted to talk about it because it had been too raw,” Junor said.
“So what Meghan has done is unprecedented, but not out of character.”
Borkowski said the piece played to Meghan’s strengths of being “hugely open, talking empathetically about something millions of women across the world will understand.”
Meghan might also have been influenced by royal and celebrity examples of speaking openly about pregnancy and miscarriage, said Carolyn Harris, a Toronto-based royal author and historian.
Meghan’s piece in the New York Times comes a few weeks after model and TV personality Chrissy Teigen shared her grief via social media following the loss of a son during pregnancy in September.
“Meghan’s article where she calls upon people to commit to asking one another if they are OK may also reflect the influence of advocacy among the younger members of the Royal Family for greater emotional support for those experiencing difficult personal circumstances,” Harris said.
Because Meghan and Harry are no longer working members of the Royal Family, they can “more or less do as they please,” Junor said.
“And writing in this way is Meghan all over. She feels strongly that it’s important to talk about feelings — something pretty alien to the older generation of the Royal Family — and I suspect would have spoken out about a miscarriage whether or not she had married Harry.”
Junor said Meghan “is brave to be talking about it so soon after the event, and I am sure it will be a great comfort to women who are or have been in a similar situation.”
Still, she said, “it is puzzling that she should go public about something so very personal and painful when she has repeatedly asked for privacy.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/royal-fascinator-diana-meghan-christmas-1.5828696