Drawing inspiration from the Obamas, the Clintons and the commercial savvy of Gwyneth Paltrow, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle this week embarked on a fraught attempt to transform their philanthropic royal brand into a lucrative private business.
Fed up with Britain’s voracious tabloids and frustrated by being reliant on others for their means, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on Wednesday stunned Buckingham Palace by declaring their intent to find “financial independence”.
The bid for freedom by Britain’ssecond-favourite royal and a Californian known as “America’s Princess” is testing the foundations of an institution the duke’s late mother called “the firm”.