Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are trying to combat issues with their image by spending more time apart, according to a professional in the industry. The couple have always been the subject of critical coverage and cruel speculation, but independently they can each come across as more sympathetic. According to PR expert Coram James, that’s the reason they’ve been spending more time apart lately.
Markle and Prince Harry have made some of their biggest headlines together, but many of those stories have been negative. James told GB News that, in his opinion, Markle’s and Prince Harry’s brands are stronger when they are separate from each other. He speculates that the couple have been advised about this or figured it out for themselves, and that their recent habit of working on different things without each other is a course correction.
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“Since their marriage, Harry and Meghan have had a distinct brand,” he said. “That brand is based on a duo. Call it ‘Harry and Meghan’, call it ‘the Sussexes’, call it whatever you like. The fact is that for years they have become synonymous with one another. And, since the famous Oprah interview, in which they took a simmering disagreement between themselves and the rest of the Royal Family and essentially declared all-out-war, that brand has been steadily becoming more toxic and thus commercially untenable to the point where not that many major brands are going to be rushing to write them a large check based on their brand value.”
“When combined, the Sussexes’ brand is, from a PR perspective, toxic,” Coram summed up. “But, when separate, they have a genuine chance of creating an entirely separate brand, with completely different labels.”
This idea lines up with a report by In Touch Weekly back in August, when an insider said that Prince Harry and Markle are “moving in different directions” with their careers. At the time, that source pointed out that Prince Harry had been groomed for public service and philanthropy, while Markle had been trained to perform and entertain. They said that it took the couple some time to understand that those two paths wouldn’t always align.
While Markle is working on her homemaker brand American Riviera Orchards and it’s tie-in Netflix original series, the prince is still focused on his Invictus Games and other charitable organizations. However, the couple are still doing some of their biggest work together. This summer they launched the “Parents’ Network,” which is designed to combat cyberbullying and help parents identify signs of social media-related trauma early.
Markle and Prince Harry have not commented publicly on reports about their career divergence, and there’s no confirmation that it is a calculated move. The couple are still working together on many of their biggest projects as far as we know.
