Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Megan, Duchess of Sussex arrive for the 2022 Ripple of Hope Awards Gala at the New York Hilton Midtown Manhattan hotel on December 6, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images )
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been working quickly to reveal a range of ventures since shocking the world when they stepped down as royals three years ago and publishing books, with Harry’s bestseller Spare breaking records, along with films and TV shows and podcasts with an estimated total value of more than $135 million.
important facts
Harry is rumored to have received an advance of $20 million for his latest project, the controversial and insightful Spare, which debuted earlier this month and sold more than 1.4 million copies on the day of its release, totaling more than 887,000 copies on first day this ex was sold to President Barack.
Obama’s memoir of 2020 becomes the best-selling nonfiction book of all time, according to Guinness World Records.
The couple signed a five-year, $100 million deal with Netflix in September 2020 to produce documentaries, docuseries, feature films, scripted shows and children’s programs.
In 2020, the couple blew a $14.7 million home in the ritzy beach town of Montecito, California and hooked up with moguls and celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, and Ariana Grande in a wooded, gated community.
In December 2020, the former king signed a three-year podcasting deal with Spotify worth between $15 million and $18 million, according to industry sources, but some reports suggest it could be as high as $25 million.
Books
In the US alone, Spare sold 629,300 copies in print (below Obama’s record 831,300 copies) in its first week on shelves, according to figures compiled by NPD Bookscan, which monitors about 85% of the national print market.
Spare’s publisher, Penguin Random House, said Harry plans to support UK charities with donations from the book’s proceeds, including about $671,000 to the charitable organization WellChild and $1.5 million already donated to Sentebale went, an organization he co-founded to help children in southern Africa at risk of HIV.
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Markle has also dabbled in publishing, although the works grossed far less: in 2021 she released a children’s picture book called The Bench, which reportedly earned her an advance of up to $618,000 (£500,000).
The 167-word book, which includes an illustration of the couple’s newborn daughter Lilibet Diana, made the New York Times bestseller list, but it’s unclear how much it ultimately sold. In 2018, Markle also published a cookbook and donated all proceeds to a west London community cooking group.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
television and entertainment
So far, Harry and Markle have released two documentaries as part of their deal with Netflix, Live to Lead, which interviews world leaders and celebrities including Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Gloria Steinem, and Harry & Meghan, the revealing craze that It shattered Netflix . It garnered record viewing figures for the documentary upon its December release, but also drew waves of criticism, with some calling the series a “narcissistic and boring romp.”
A children’s animated series called Pearl was announced but then canceled prior to release in May, but Heart of Invictus, a documentary about a group of wounded soldiers preparing for the Invictus games, is due for release later this year.
Meanwhile, the couple’s first Spotify podcast, Markle’s Archetypes, briefly surpassed The Joe Rogan Experience as Spotify’s top podcast when it released in August.
Before stepping down as king, Harry announced in 2019 that he would be producing a mental health series for Apple TV+ alongside Oprah Winfrey. Due to pandemic delays, the show didn’t premiere until May 2021. However, it is unclear if Harry has benefited from the series as senior members of the royal family cannot accept money from commercial projects.
View of the gate of the estate where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have their home, in Montecito
property
Despite the steep asking price of $14.7 million, the couple’s Montecito home looks like a steal compared to the $25.3 million paid by its former owner, Russian tycoon Sergey Grishin, in 2009.
They mortgaged the home for $10 million, but available documentation does not indicate if the loan was repaid. According to the Santa Barbara Assessors Office, the 14,500-square-foot property sits on more than 5 acres and features seven bedrooms and 13.5 bathrooms.
Members of the Royal Family attend events celebrating the RAF’s 100th anniversary
royal heritage
After stepping down as royals, Harry and Markle relied heavily on Harry’s estate from his late mother, Princess Diana, which was valued at $10 million.
Representatives told Forbes in 2021 that Harry was not a beneficiary of the $100 million left to the royal family by his great-grandmother, the Queen Mother. It’s unclear if Harry received any money from his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, whose will is expected to remain sealed for at least 90 years.
Harry and Meghan wave from the Ascot Landau Carriage
key background
Harry and Markle no longer receive money from Harry’s royal relatives. The couple announced in early 2020 that they would step down as members of the royal family and no longer receive any money from her.
Previously, the vast majority of the couple’s expenses, which Forbes estimated at around $800,000 a year, were paid for by Harry’s father, now King Charles III, through the Duchy of Cornwall, which paid him about $27 million to Charles last year reported . (After Charles became king, the title of Prince of Wales and the duchy passed to Harry’s older brother, Prince William.)
Carlos III farewell to Isabel II
As the new monarch following the death of Elizabeth II last year, Charles has taken over institutions that manage an estimated $42 billion in wealth on behalf of the kingdom, including iconic monuments such as Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Tower of London. However, many of these assets cannot be sold because they are held “in trust” and must be passed on to your successors.
With her retirement, Harry and Markle relinquished their titles Her Royal Highness, short for His and Her Royal Highness, and voluntarily paid more than $3 million to the Sovereign Grant for the renovation of Frogmore Cottage, their family’s British home Before marrying Harry in 2018, Forbes estimated Markle earned about $2 million from her earlier acting career, most notably by starring in the seven-season legal drama Suits.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visit South Africa
Harry and Markle are responsible for covering the cost of their own security device, which experts at Forbes say could bring in as much as $3 million a year in 2021.
A British court ruled in July that Harry can challenge a British government committee’s decision not to declare his family entitled to police protection when visiting the UK, even if he and Markle settle the score.
Former Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism chief Neil Basu revealed in November that Meghan was the target of “disgusting and very real” threats from the far right. “If you saw the things that are written and you received them… you would feel threatened all the time,” Basu said.
Harry and Markle launched their Archewell Foundation in 2020. In October, the foundation announced it would be distributing $1 million in grants to women in partnership with Project VING, funded by Groupon billionaire Eric Lefkoffski , which “provide inspiration for young people”.