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Callaroga Shark Media. Hello and welcome through Palace Intrigue. I
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am your host, Mark Francis. Things have been quiet coming
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out of Montecito, possibly as a result of the latest
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in a seemingly always changing strategy, The Duke and Duchess
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of Sussex have undergone a significant shakeup behind the scenes,
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quietly parting ways with at least six members of their
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public relations team last month. Among those let go were
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Charlie Gibson, their UK based director of communications in Europe,
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and Kyle Bullier, their US based deputy press secretary. In
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their place, the Sussexes have brought in the PR Agency
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Method Communications, while retaining Meredith Mainz as Chief Communications Officer
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and Emily Robinson as Director of Communications. Since the re shuffle,
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royal watchers have noted a visible shift in Meghan Michael's
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public presence, particularly on social media. PR strategist Renee Smith,
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founder of The Atticism, told The Express that the change
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in tone appears to be deliberate. Her new social media
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strategy is clearly pr led, Smith said, and while it's
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not exciting, it's probably the only smart thing they can
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do right now. Smith described the approach as a tactical retreat.
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Going quiet slows the noise and stops her from making
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more mistakes, or what I call a panic pivot, which
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makes a brand look desperate. I'd guess they're letting them
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dust settle before rolling out something new. Good luck to
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her PR team, because trying to reinvigorate Megan's brand right
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now feels like trying to resuscitate an old dog. It
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might breathe again for a minute, but it's not fetching
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sticks over again. I feel like she's cooked. Turn the
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stove off. It's done. I wouldn't advise a single client
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of mine to get involved with them. No way in
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hell could they produce something on their own. Sure they
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have the money, but will any major platform touch them now?
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I highly doubt it. They're starting to feel like damaged goods.
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It's the opposite of the Midas. Touch Everything they touch
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right now turns to dust. I wouldn't advise a single
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client of mind to get involved with them, No way
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in hell. With the Netflix deal reportedly ending, royal watchers
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wonder what Harry and Meghan will do for money. Royal
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expert Robert Jobson told The Son Well the deal was
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always set at about one hundred million dollars, wasn't it,
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And the talk of that figure sort of blew a
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lot of people's minds. But I think that was for
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productions and things that they're supposed to have done. Where
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does it leave them, probably with a bit of a
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ball out looking for some handouts. Maybe that's why they
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were over with their staff, were over here having discussions
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with the King. I don't know. The reality is in
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the past they got support from the King and the
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late Queen and they said they were going to go
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and make their way. They've lost Spotify, they've lost Netflix.
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They can't rely on spare money forever, can they. Sky
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News Royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills added, it's just fascinating this
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very expensive lifestyle. They have to pay for their security,
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pay for that big mansion. How do you kind of
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keep the money coming in? The Mayor's Rebecca English told
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Palace Confidential, Harry's got a couple of paying gigs right now.
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He's still the chief impact officer of the therapy company.
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Better up, he's got his travel firm. But these are
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not the sort of things that would pay for or
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are for the sort of lifestyle they have become used to.
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You have to ask yourself, is another book in the offering?
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Or are they literally betting everything on the as Ever
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brand and the rows and jams and teas affording that
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lifestyle in the future. That's a big risk. Royal expert
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Hillary Forditch adds cancelation is a proper response to ghastly ratings.
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Since the only project they produced with financial benefit to
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Netflix was their initial mud slinging at the Royal family
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docuseries Harry and Meghan, it was brother foolish to have
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filmed two seasons without even waiting to see the audience
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reaction to the first season of mm's lifestyle show with
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Love Megan. She points out that the public is more
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interested in lurid royal betrayals than actually anything to do
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with the couple, or high ratings would have continued. Public
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fascination was merely driven by the controversy and inside royal
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details being spewed, but neither H nor M themselves have
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proven to be of interest. Their betrayal of their own
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family was tasteless and tacky. Their negative sentiment was also
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felt on both sides of the Atlantic. Given their pitible
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plummet in popularity, pr expert Dermot McNamara float of the
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saddest theory of all that Netflix won't completely sabatize with
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the couple in case they divorce. McNamara told The Mirror
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the fairytale narrative has stalled, Their creative output hasn't delivered
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consistent returns, and audiences are increasingly skeptical. There are only
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so many chances Netflix can take on them before they're
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just wasting money for the sake of it. But Netflix
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knows that if cracks appear, or if the couple split,
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they will be global demand for the inside story. That's
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when their value skyrockets again. The sense in the industry
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circles is that Netflix haven't cut tires with Harry and
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Meghan entirely because frankly, they might be sitting on the
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most valuable content of all. The fallout rumors of their
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Netflix contract not being renewed when it runs out in
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September as a quiet signal that the platform is no
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longer banking on them as creative talent. But they're keeping
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the relationship warm. Why Because if the Sussex's marriage ever unravels,
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it would be the streaming coup of the decade. It's
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a brutal calculation, but this is Hollywood. Meghan may be
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sitting on a retail gold mine if she can just
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keep it stocked. New analysis suggests her lifestyle brand as
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Ever could have pulled in as much as four point
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five million in a single week had supply med demand.
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The Duchess of Sussex launched the venture with a modest
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drop of jams and teas back in April, followed by
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another release in June and a Napa Valley rose in July,
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all of which sold out in minutes. According to Newsweek,
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the as Ever website or half a million page views
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during that second product drop, giving a siglimpse of the
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intense consumer interest. Ever, every visitor that purchased just the
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cheapest item, a nine dollars raspberry jam, that alone would
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have equated to four and a half million dollars in sales.
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Of course, not every page view converts to a sale,
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but then again, those who did by may have ordered
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more than one item or chosen something pricier. Her orange
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blossom honey goes for twenty eight dollars a jar, and
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the wine that sold out too thirty dollars a bottle
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with a three bottle minimum. Brand and culture expert Nick
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Eid told Newsweek, I think four million dollars is a
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lot for what you can expect someone like Megan to
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earn a week. But definitely they could be earning a
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million dollars a week the expensive things like the wine.
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If she gets that right, that's where she's going to
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make her big bucks. But even if the numbers are promising,
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there are hurdles, production costs, Netflix share is an equity partner,
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and whether the curiosity will convert into sustained demand d
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questioned the long term appeal. Will you have repeat customers?
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I cannot imagine you will have people repeatedly buying Create
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Mix or Flower Sprinkles more palace in just a moment.
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In an opinion piece for The Express, Richard Fitzwilliams checks
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in on the Sussex's charitable efforts, writing when she turned forty,
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she launched the forty x forty mentoring scheme, where each
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participate and is supposed to give a woman forty minutes
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of mentoring to help her return to the workforce. However,
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this is a process, not an event created for forty minutes.
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Meghan has had, with the exception of Samena Williams, very
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few A List endorsements, but here she had numerous big names,
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including Melissa McCarthy, who fronted the video launch, Adele, Hillary Clinton,
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and Stella McCartney. However, the project seems to have been
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quietly shelved. It is undeniable, however, that Harry has done
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a substantial amount for charity, but his links to almost
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all of his charities predate his marriage to Megan. If
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Harry and Meghan were truly altruistic, they would not have
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stepped down and senior working royals despite their difficulties after
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so short a time. Their roles included opportunities that could
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have benefited a great many worldwide. Meghan's current charitable work
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is extremely small. Sadly, with the Netflix deal, ending will
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be robbed of the joys of watching some previously unannounced projects.
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Back in August of twenty three, this Sussex's unveiled plans
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to adapt Meet Me at the Lake, the best selling
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romance novel by Carlie Fortune. Netflix reportedly shelled out three
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million dollars for the rights, but nearly two years on,
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they're still no director attached, no cast, and no sign
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of production getting into way. A Hollywood source told Page six.
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By this point, you would have thought they would have
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got a director on board. What is the delay? Another
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planned project, a documentary set in Africa, seems equally uncertain.
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Neither Harry nor Meghan are expected to appear in it,
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and according to one inside, the chances of either project
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seeing the light of day are slim. What's the batting
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that neither of these projects will see the light of day?
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The source said bluntly. An insider told Shutter Scoop not exactly.
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A source we regularly visit that Meghan is terrified of
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fading into irrelevance, suggesting Meghan would even be open to
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taking a hot topics seat next to will Be Goldberg.
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If they letter, and there you have it, but to
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email us or addresses the palacentric at gmail on dot com.
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Please follow us at Spotify, Apple, the Applecat Choice and
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leaves a nice review of you enjoying the show. I'm
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Mark Francis My thanks to John McDermot. This is Palat's
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intriguing good terms m HM.