It has been almost four years since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sensationally quit as working royals - and the last 12 months have certa...
It has been almost four years since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sensationally quit as working royals - and the last 12 months have certainly been their most eventful.
Harry released his controversial memoir Spare; they were dropped from their multi-million dollar Spotify deal; the prince's Invictus Games in Germany was a huge success and rumours buzzed about Meghan possibly restarting her lifestyle blog, The Tig. But as we head into 2024, experts say there is only one way forward for the couple, who were brutally branded losers by The Hollywood Reporter.
According to royal expert and historian Dr Tessa Dunlop, they should turn their lowest point to their advantage. She told the Mirror: "It has delighted naysayers and critics of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that American showbiz bible, The Hollywood Reporter, cited the couple on their list of 2023's losers.
"Here was proof that even Harry and Meghan's Californian colleagues had grown fed up with a couple called out for being 'whiny' and hypocritical. But how many of us double-checked exactly what the original article said? Sure, the Sussexes are labelled 'losers', but the Hollywood Reporter concedes all the 'scorn and mockery' heaped upon them beats 'having to attend 200-plus official royal family engagements year, which sounds hellish'.
"In other words, Harry and Meghan might be in the celebrity doldrums right now but it is better than the performative gilded cage they left behind. The road to freedom was never going to be smooth and the company they kept on that Hollywood list of losers, including the Marvel brand and Disney, suggests that even making the list was something of a compliment."
However, for one of Britain's most experienced crisis managers, Mark Borkowski, something has to change when it comes to Harry and Meghan - with 2024 having the potential to be 'seismic'. He told MailOnline: "Something is beginning to unwind at the heart of Meghan and Harry. I think 2024 is going to be seismic, either because they're going to do something to recover and find a new positive tactic or it's going to be the undoing of the brand. It can only go one or two ways. It can't stay where it is at the moment. Because it's clearly not working."
He said: "We've seen countless appearances of Meghan on red carpets. The story of her being back in play in Hollywood is all about Meghan trying to return to her own turf and being available for work and getting back to Hollywood.
"But I would suggest they are getting perhaps conveniently left behind by the Hollywood machine, who have probably had enough of them and enough of the negativity. They're hinting at their big plans ahead, but you know, we've heard that all before. So they have to deliver something now."
However, according to Tessa, Harry and Meghan have been able to retain 'talk-ability' in 2023 - and it could be their 'high-risk' strategy sees them well into the New Year. She explained: "Despite all the rumours, their marriage appears solid, and they remain one of the few global brands that can knock wars and international disasters off the front pages. The question for 2024 is whether they can convert that clickbait appeal into something more durable.
"A lot of the media storms the Sussexes generated this year have been hangovers from the 'truth bombs' detonated in the wake of their departure from the royal family in 2020 (including the race- storm triggered by Endgame). Beyond the Invictus Games and accompanying Netflix series, Archewell Productions has been conspicuous by its absence.
"What comes next really matters, presumably that's why they are taking their time. While a reconciliation with the Royal Family looks unlikely in the near future, further attacks on the monarchy would be a mistake, with the couple insisting they're looking to the future. There's talk of a 'total system reboot' and Meghan has promised 'exciting things on the slate'.
"We know Archewell Productions is adapting the novel Meet Me at the Lake for television (the romantic storyline, which includes a fatal car crash, leans into the Sussexes' personal brand) while all eyes are on where and when Meghan will launch a much-predicted business venture akin to her old lifestyle blog Tig.
"The couple appears to thrive on a high-risk strategy, but with so many people willing them to fail, they cannot afford to further squander their brand in 2024. The world is watching."
