I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the changes we’ve seen from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex this year, especially with the launch of sussex.com, their all-in-one site where they basically issue press releases and descriptions of what they’re up to and what events they’ve attended. Some have even suggested that sussex.com is “their Instagram.” I still hope that they actually start a business IG, but whatever – a new communications strategy is definitely at play, and Meghan’s got a new podcasting deal and there are still lots of reports that she will be launching something big this year, perhaps a lifestyle site or something. Well, the Telegraph reports that ahead of this big, mysterious launch, Meghan and Harry have hired a UK-based public relations executive to help out with the international aspect of whatever is being launched:
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have hired a UK-based public relations executive to bolster their team, The Telegraph understands. The new hire will handle UK and European media and report to the couple’s communications team based in the US. It marks the first time the Duke and Duchess have felt the need to have a UK-based employee since moving abroad in 2020.
But the move is thought to reflect the team’s growing workload as the couple increase their profiles and independent ventures, as well as the huge international attention they command both professionally and personally. The new member of the PR team will join ahead of the launch of a new commercial venture that the Duchess has been working on for many months.
The initiative, which had been billed as a lifestyle and wellness brand, had been expected to launch last autumn, but was delayed as it evolved and “took different shapes.”
Speculation is rife that it will be a version of Goop, Gwyneth Paltrow’s multimillion-dollar lifestyle business, but aides insist that is not the case. They say the venture is highly personal and “genuine to who she is”. The venture is likely to expand over time. If successful, it is thought likely to become the Duchess’s primary focus in the longer term.
The rest of that Telegraph piece is gloom-and-doom, from predictions that Netflix will not renew the Sussexes’ contract next year to another mention of the Spotify mess. When reciting the Sussexes’ “need for funding,” they always conveniently leave out the massive successes the Sussexes have already racked up, from Harry’s bestselling memoir to their hit Netflix docuseries to Meghan’s investment in Clevr Blends. As for the idea that we will soon get to see Meghan’s big new project… I don’t know. Will it be more like Preserve (RIP) or Draper James ($$$)? Whatever it is, it better involve cooking and recipes! And I am interested in the fact that the Sussexes want or need a UK-based executive to handle the European aspect of whatever this is?
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red.