Meghan Markle and Prince Harry could earn more than £400,000 ($500,000) for a single speaking engagement and millions more for a book deal when they begin raising their own income, according to leading American agents.
GDA Speakers, whose clients include Nicole Kidman and Diane Keaton, said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would attract much higher fees than regular celebrities, even without their HRH titles.
Meanwhile, showbiz and sport agent Darren Price predicted they could easily earn £8m ($10million) as an advance on a book deal – and that’s even before any royalties from sales are taken into account.
Agents have predicted Meghan and Harry will earn millions in speaking and book fees. Pictured is Meghan outside Canada House (left) and Harry (right) at an engagement last week
The couple would be likely to donate much of the money from speaking and book fees to charity, such as the conservation and women’s rights causes they have regularly spoken about, reported TMZ.
Industry sources suggested the offer of a true tell-all autobiography could send book advances to stratospheric levels, potentially even surpassing the $65m (£50m) figure paid to Barack and Michelle Obama.
Harry and Meghan are expected to amass a billion dollar fortune from Diana’s inheritance, eight-figure deals with TV giants and their Sussex Royal brand following their departure from official royal duties – although taxpayers could still be picking up the couple’s £3m bodyguard bill because of fears they won’t be kept safe in Canada.
The abdication agreement with Her Majesty will allow them ‘complete and absolute’ freedom to secure tie-ups with Silicon Valley giants such as Apple and Netflix or US TV networks while avoiding ‘dodgy’ commercial deals that would upset the Queen.
Prince Charles is expected to pay his £2.3m annual payment to his son for at least another year while they set up in Canada, despite the couple having an estimated joint net worth of £34m.
Harry has his own wealth, including an estimated £20m inheritance from Princess Diana and £7m from the Queen Mother. Meghan is thought to be worth £4m, accumulated mainly from her seven years on Suits.
The couple are predicted to have such incredible earning power they could build a $1billion brand having spent part of 2019 secretly trademarking the Sussex brand on items such as pyjamas, hats and hoodies – but this is expected to be impossible without angering Harry’s grandmother and father.
The appearance of the Queen’s grandchild Peter Philips in a Chinese milk advert has increased scrutiny of Harry and Meghan’s future earnings, although a friend insisted they did not plan similar partnerships.
Harry and Meghan’s personal story about their experience of breaking with the royals is expected to command the highest premium with companies.
The prince has been known to include revealing information in his speeches, and last week told a charity gala for his Sentebale charity of his ‘great sadness’ at having to quit royal duties.
The royal couple attending an event in London hosted by the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust
The event was hosted at the Ivy Garden Chelsea by the restaurant’s billionaire owners Richard Caring and his wife, Patricia, who said she was stunned when the royal launched into his impassioned
‘What was supposed to be a small dinner for close friends to launch our Caring Foundation has turned into a global news story,’ she told the Daily Mail. ‘It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind, but we raised over £500,000 on the night.
‘It really is wonderful, as that goes straight to helping women and children in crisis situations.’
The Sussexes are continuing to deal with the fallout from their decision to break from the royal family and spend much of their time in North America.
This morning, Meghan’s father Thomas used a TV interview to ask the Duke of Sussex to ‘man up’ and meet him, as he spoke about how much he misses his daughter.
Mr Markle who has said he is willing to testify against Meghan as part of her legal action against three newspapers, said people should think about what it feels like to have a family member ‘ghost’ them before judging him.
He described the breakdown of his relationship with Meghan as ‘ridiculous’, and called for a reunion.
In an interview on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Mr Markle said he is ‘really disappointed’ he has not seen his grandson Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, adding: ‘And I really miss my daughter.’
He said his message to Harry is: ‘Man up and fly down to see me. And we’ll talk.’
Asked what he would say to Meghan, he told the programme: ‘I’d say: ‘I love you’, and: ‘Let’s sit down and work this out.’ She was the closest thing to me for years and years and years, until she went off to college and even then.
‘This is ridiculous. We should get together. The relationship between Meghan and her father broke down completely in the week of her wedding in May 2018, a few months before the letter – thought to be the last communication between the pair – was sent.
Harry and Meghan are dropping their HRH styles and stepping down from royal duties in search of freedom away from the monarchy, and will raise Archie mostly in Canada.
Thomas Markle again reached out to Harry and Meghan today and said he wants to see them – and meet Archie for the first time