The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are in a ‘really good place’ and have made the ‘best’ decision for Meghan to stay in the US while Harry attends the Coronation in London, their celebrity friend Gayle King has declared.
Ms King has said it is ‘right’ that Harry will fly to the UK for May 6, missing Archie’s fourth birthday, because he will be supporting his father in Westminster Abbey on the biggest day of his life.
It came as Meghan signed a mega-money deal with a talent agency representing Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, LeBron James and Serena Williams that will earn her tens of millions of dollars and heralds the start of her very public comeback, experts told MailOnline today.
Speaking hours before the contract with William Morris Endeavor (WME) was revealed, Gayle King claimed that the Sussexes are happier than ever despite the continuing tensions with the Royal Family following their Netflix documentary and Harry’s memoir Spare.
She told US Weekly: ‘I think they make the decision that’s best for them. But I think — as [far as] his dad [Charles] — I’m glad he’s going’.
After the couple cuddled up watching the LA Lakers this week, but Meghan shunned a public kiss from Harry on the jumbotron, Gayle said: ‘You’ve seen the two of them together and I know what they have is really true-blue. And it’s good to see the happiness that they give each other’. Meghan also debuted a new sleek hairstyle when introducing a Ted Talk for close friend and photographer Misan Harriman – her first public appearance since turning down her Coronation invite.
Meghan is seen laughing as Harry leans in towards her for a kiss, which his wife politely declined, watched by 20,000 Lakers fans in LA this week
Harry then pulled a comical grimace to the crowd when his PDA was refused
Meghan Markle broke cover for the first time since it emerged she will not attend King Charles’ Coronation to introduce her friend Misan Harriman via videolink before his Ted Talk, debuting a new sleeker hair do
The Duchess of Sussex, 41, first launched the website – which she branded as her ‘passion project’ – in 2014, and for three years, she used it as her personal blog. It was shut down in 2017 when she was in a relationship with Prince Harry but l
Meghan, pictured promoting Suits in 2016, will not be returning to acting with the help of WME
Speaking on the red carpet at the Time100 gala, she said: ‘Clearly they know what’s going on in their family life. They know what’s going on over there.’
The Duchess of Sussex has signed with William Morris Endeavor (WME) amid rumours she would relaunch after the Coronation with new TV projects plus The Tig 2.0 also said to be in the pipeline.
WME will take on Archewell, the film and TV projects and searching for new brands and business deals for the American royal.
It came as her estranged father Thomas begged his daughter to meet him because he is close to death. Struggling to speak following a stroke, Mr Markle made a direct plea to her, asking: ‘How can I fix this?’. Speaking to Channel 7 in Australia, he also looked tearful as he watched ‘treasured’ home videos of his daughter as a child, including as homecoming queen.
The talent agency deal emerged amid lingering rumours that Archewell was looking to hire writers to create ‘feel-good’ shows including romantic comedies for Netflix. Meghan is also looking increasingly likely to relaunch her blog, The Tig, having seen how Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop lifestyle website has made the actress £200million or more.
But WME will not be looking to help the Duchess return to acting, according to a new report from Variety . Prior to her engagement to Harry, Meghan starred as Rachel Zane on the popular USA Network series ‘Suits’ and appeared in several low-budget Hallmark movies.
Ms Markle will work directly with CEO Ari Emanuel and talent agent Brad Slater, who represents Dwayne Johnson, Forest Whitaker, Henry Cavill, Eva Longoria, LeBron James and others. Former tennis pro and Serena Williams’ longtime powerhouse agent, Jill Smoller, will also help guide Meghan.
Popular culture and brand expert Nick Ede told MailOnline that the WME deal will be worth tens of millions of dollars to the former actress. But he added that it is a tacit admission that the Sussexes have been poorly advised until now.
He said: ‘She’s had to find a home for herself and her brands because she can’t actually manage them herself and she doesn’t actually know what she wants to do.
‘So having a big agency like WME means they will take that headache away from her and create a clear path of success both personally professionally fiscally and financially’.
He added: ‘It will enable her to feel like she’s being supported and Archewell too. She can make tens of millions from this’.
WME CEO Ari Emanuel, left, brother of Obama’s former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, will also be working with Meghan. Managing partner Brad Slater, right, is also part of the duchesses package, he’s known to cater to some of WME’s biggest movie star clients
Agent Jill Smoller will be among those working with Meghan. Smoller is best known for her work with athletes including Serena Williams and is considered a female pioneer in the world of sports agency
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was all smiles as she left Gracias Madre in West Hollywood after an International Women’s Day celebration.
WME represent Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Serena Williams and many more stars
Her decision not to be in London to see her father-in-law crowned King will allow her to celebrate Archie’s fourth birthday with her mother Doria and friends – but it will also give her time to plot her next move in TV, books and podcasting, insiders claim.
With multi-million pound bills to pay, Meghan may also look for a second series of her Spotify podcast, Archetypes, while the couple could front more shows for Netflix, who signed them up for a reported $100m in 2020.
The Duchess of Sussex has signed with one of the most powerful agencies in Hollywood, William Morris Endeavor
Her blog The Tig ran from 2014 to 2017 – at the height of her Suits fame – and featured everything from New Year’s resolutions to diet tips and fashion finds. She also explored feminist topics and shared musings from her childhood and career before she got her big break. If she were to relaunch it, she is now much more famous and would be unshackled by any constraints of being a working royal.
Brand and culture expert Nick Ede told MailOnline Meghan is in the process of separating herself from the royals, for her own benefit, while her husband maintains his connections by heading to London May 6.
He said: ‘I think once the Coronation is over and the eyes of the world are off the king and Prince Harry then Meghan will launch a new initiative. I suspect she will have been working on some new projects that will enable her to stand alone rather than use Prince Harry.
‘I would advise her to let the coronation pass and then launch new projects that will make money and allow her to put a real stake in the ground and establish her properly as a worldwide celebrity. She needs to wait a bit! Otherwise it will damage her. I think she is most likely to announce a wellness space like the Tig or a new documentary series’.
Mark Borkowski said that Meghan has difficult decisions to make as their popularity in the US has tumbled.
He said: ‘There will definitely be a relaunch by Meghan. It is impossible for them to stay quiet. They need the royal pomp and ceremony. They could end up becoming an entity like Edward and Mrs Simpson. Forlorn royals with no connection to the family being in exile. There are parallels there.
‘They will be very quick to regenerate interest. But it is going to be more and more and difficult. For many Spare was a set of stories that went too far’.
The Tig was, in her own words, her ‘passion project’. The brand is still owned by the Duchess’s Delaware-based company Frim Fram.
Rumours have been swirling that the lifestyle blog may soon return with the Duchess unshackled
When closing the blog down in 2017, she reflected on how it had ‘evolved into an amazing community of inspiration, support, fun and frivolity’
And even though Meghan closed her old blog in 2017 to minimise public scrutiny ahead of marrying into the royal family, she has retained the rights. There have been an increasing number of reports that Meghan will imminently revive it.
Boasting tips on fashion, health and wellness, she may hope the website could rival Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop website, which is reportedly worth £200million.
Meghan founded The Tig while starring in legal drama Suits, naming it after her favourite red wine, a £135 to £215-a-bottle Tignanello from Tuscany.
The blog featured her tips on food, wellness, fashion, travel, fashion, the arts, design, and ‘conscious living’.
And, in the Sussexes’ recent Netflix series, Meghan gushed about it saying: ‘It wasn’t just a hobby, it became a really successful business’.
She said: ‘I’ve never really been the type of person to do only one thing, I guess that’s how my website was born.
‘There was fashion, tons of food, and travel – all the things that I loved. The Tig wasn’t just a hobby, it became a really successful business.’
In her Variety cover shoot in 2022, Markle said she was not considering a return to acting in the near future.
‘I’m done. I guess never say never, but my intention is to absolutely not,’ Markle said.
The Duchess did signal that she was interested in doubling down on Archewell and the stories and productions the company takes on.
‘So much of how my husband and I see things is through our love story. I think that’s what people around the world connected to, especially with our wedding. People love love. I’m not excluded in that sentiment,’ Markle said.
‘For scripted, we want to think about how we can evolve from that same space and do something fun. It doesn’t always have to be so serious. Like a good rom-com. Don’t we miss them? I miss them so much,’ she continued.
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