It's been a tumultuous year for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, once seen as a fresh force in modernizing the royal family, are now facing increasing criticism for trying to stay connected in celebrity circles.
Public relations experts warn that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's scorched-earth approach to fame and controversy could seriously damage their brand and reduce them from their former mixed-race royalty status to mere tabloid fodder.
Through a series of sexual interviews, leaks and legal action, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have developed what experts call a "chaotic captain brand image" that bears little resemblance to their status as senior members of the British royal family.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's strategy seems not to make themselves respectable cultural influencers, but to constantly create scandals in the headlines, like desperate third-rate reality TV stars clinging to fame.
But as PR guru Edward Colram-James has pointed out, "repression" can only damage a person's reputation. Of course, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are now less visible – a far cry from the Hollywood royalty that Prince Harry's royal lineage and Meghan's stardom in "Suits" gave them.
What went wrong?
To find out, we have to go back to January 2020, when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shocked the world by announcing their departure from frontline royal duties.
In discussions of financial independence, the couple reached a major content deal worth $100 million with Netflix. Everything seems ready for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to smoothly transition into their new roles as philanthropic progressives working alongside Hollywood giants.
But in the process, their grand plans abruptly went off track. Any camouflage of decent decoupling is gone, replaced by a full-scale assault of **.
First came Meghan's accusations of bullying against royal staff, followed by her bombshell report on Oprah's talk show, saying that unnamed royals questioned Archie's skin color. Buckingham Palace is crumbling and discredited.
Next, Prince Harry embarks on a strange revenge that can only be described as a family member. In an interview with Oprah and podcast host Dax Shepard, he launched a new assault and even accused his father, King Charles, of actually "tying down" the royal role of the entire family.
As the war of words escalated, almost no one came out unscathed. Even Meghan's best friend, Jessica Malroni, was accused of racism and ended her career. In the midst of all this, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have chosen anger over dignity, and any detachment of pretense is gone.
So, what caused this dramatic 180-degree turn?
For Prince Harry, lingering resentment over his mother's death and his withdrawal from the army was clearly an influencing factor. But according to Colam James, the addiction to fame and popularity seems to be playing a role, too.
We all know that striking is addictive. This demand, this addiction, leads them to keep raising the stakes in order to generate more and more headlines. He mused.
It doesn't get much truer than that. Just in January 2023, Prince Harry published a memoir that revealed everything, and now he has threatened legal action against police protection in the UK, which has sparked more controversy.
Meanwhile, Netflix has ** their animated series "Pearl" because of rumors that the couple has so far lacked ** output, causing discontent among the company's top brass. Obviously, even in Hollywood, such gimmicks are starting to become more and more outdated.
Of course, there is also a huge commercial pressure. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have signed deals worth $100 million with Netflix and Spotify for ongoing content, and they must meet the public's attention to justify the money.
The problem is that their brand was never built for scandal. While the controversy has fueled many reality TV stars, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have the legacy, mystery and prestige of the British royal family – an "unparalleled resource" in PR terms.
As Colam James asserts, "every strategy known to humanity is open to them" to make themselves dignified influencers. They could have curated notable philanthropy and engaged in impactful cultural collaborations with front-line creatives.
Instead of taking advantage of their solemnity, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle hit back at the vulgar tabloid feud that ruined their once-best brand. What is supposed to liberate them instead traps them in a cycle of conflict of self-destruction.
Unless they change their strategy, their dwindling celebrity worth means that future earnings could dry up. But it turned out to be more difficult to restore the lost prestige. God, how much this dazzling duke and duchess have fallen in just a few years.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were once treated like true Hollywood royalty, and now their desperate antics have firmly placed them among the ranks of C-list stars who aspire to fame. It's a dramatic death, fitting for any great tragedy, and it's a cautionary tale of arrogance and missed opportunities, if at all.
Some crowns, once lost, can never be recovered.