Unbelievably, we’re coming incredibly close to the four-year anniversary of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s step back as working members of the royal family and their relocation from the U.K. to the U.S. So much has happened during that time, including multimillion-dollar deals with Netflix, Spotify, and Penguin Random House, and, after expecting to work for the Firm for the rest of their lives, Harry and Meghan had to learn how to pivot and reinvent themselves.
And now, People reports, the Sussexes are about to do just that again, as the couple is “embarking on a total system reboot,” a source speaking to the outlet said, adding that the duo is “all about the future.”
“What we’re seeing—and will see more of, I think—is Heghan 2.0,” they said. (Wait, are we calling the Sussexes Heghan now…?) “Part Deux. They know of their supposed failures and how it’s viewed, but they have almost gone more tech than Hollywood. Fail big and all that. They have swapped in and out all sorts of projects and people and are embarking on a total system reboot.” They added, “They have a constitutional inability to look in the rearview—why should they? They are all about the future.”
In the past four years, Harry and Meghan (still can’t get over “Heghan”) launched a nonprofit, The Archewell Foundation, and its business verticals Archewell Productions and Archewell Audio. Their now-defunct partnership with Spotify produced Meghan’s 13-episode podcast, “Archetypes,” and their still active partnership with Netflix saw the release of their eponymous six-part docuseries Harry & Meghan, as well as the joint project Live to Lead and Harry’s Heart of Invictus (and more projects to come). Meghan released a children’s book, The Bench, and Harry, of course, released his bombshell memoir, Spare. Some of their business ventures have produced fruit; some haven’t performed as well. When they moved away from the U.K., “there wasn’t necessarily a five-year plan,” a different source told People, but they knew royal life “wasn’t a world they wanted for their family. Everything else flows from that, for whatever time period it takes.”
People writes “Some say excitement over the royals entering the entertainment space was overvalued, though there are various factors at play. The coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc across much of Hollywood, and the writers and actors strikes only recently ended.” A Hollywood source told People “The attention, commotion, and hubbub was wrapped up in the fact that Harry is a royal, and people threw money at them with hopes and dreams that it would translate into success,” they said. “But I think it’s been a rude awakening for everyone—it’s like they built a house with no foundation. The royal element, and in some ways the drama around them, inflated the price, deals, and expectations.”
Royal author Omid Scobie told the outlet that there was uncertainty over what Harry and Meghan might do next: “When I spoke to people in their orbit, they admit that it hadn’t quite gone to plan,” he said. “They really need to establish what their purpose is.”
Now, with seemingly clear skies and ample runway, the Sussexes’ next move feels quickly approaching. “Has their final chapter been written? Absolutely not,” an industry executive told People. “Hollywood loves a comeback.”
