Prince Harry responded to criticism of his and Meghan’s royal rebranding by saying the couple “won’t break up.”
The couple are currently embroiled in a series of controversies this week, including their new website Sussex.com, which insists the couple are “shaping the future through business and philanthropy.”
There were also reports that they changed their children’s names Archie and Lilibet, while Megan signed a deal with Lemonada Media to record new podcast shows.
These decisions have sparked a new round of criticism of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
In response to this, a representative for Harry and Meghan told the Mirror: ‘We have heard time and time again that certain opportunities are decisive for the couple.
‘They’re still here. They are still working and pursuing what they believe in, despite being constantly challenged and criticized. This couple will not break up.’
Prince Harry has responded after criticism of him and Meghan and Sussex.com and Royal’s rebranding
Meghan and Harry attend the Invictus Games One Year To Go event on February 14
Harry tried out one of the competitors’ sit-skis and appears to be having fun as his instructor pushes him down the slope.
The couple I spent Valentine’s Day in Whistler, Canada, promoting the upcoming Invictus Games while being followed by a film crew.
It was his first public appearance since the announcement of King Charles’ cancer diagnosis.
Harry and Meghan are currently in a dispute over the Duke and Duchess’ new “royal” website, Sussex.com, complete with Meghan’s coat of arms, which critics say is a breach of their promise to the late Queen when they bitterly abandoned the front. line of royal duties.
Sources say the couple did not consult palace officials about the use of their Sussex titles.
Additionally, a source told the Times that Prince Archie, four, and Princess Lilibet, two, have been known as Archie Sussex and Lilibet Sussex, rather than Mountbatten-Windsor, since King Charles’ coronation in May. past.
Sources said the relaunch is an attempt to unite the projects of Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, and their children, under the same umbrella website.
A source close to the couple defended the use of their royal titles, saying: “Prince Harry and Meghan are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. That’s a fact. It’s their last and last name.
On Tuesday, Meghan was forced to release a statement defending the graphic design company that created the couple’s new website.
The furor over the website was followed by the publication of a new photograph of herself wearing Princess Diana’s Cartier watch while presenting a new podcast deal with Lemonada Media.
The portrait photo was taken by the couple’s friend Misan Harriman and shows Meghan wearing her late mother-in-law’s £17,800 gold watch, along with a £5,000 Cartier Love bracelet, a gift from Harry in the early days of their relationship. .
Critics said the website is an attempt to monetize the couple’s royal connections, leading to a new round of calls for their titles to be removed, including from Meghan’s biographer Tom Bower.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attend the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games in September 2023. The photo now appears on the home page of sussex.com
Meghan and Harry’s appearance in Whistler comes amid controversy over the relaunch of the Sussexes’ website.
A film crew was seen joining the Sussexes as they arrived for a day of sit skiing.
Meghan looked glamorous in skinny white jeans and a sweater topped with a beige puffer coat, while Harry wore jeans and a black anorak by Eddie Bauer.
Meghan’s coat of arms issued in 2018 is seen above the couple’s names on Sussex.com
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s royal coat of arms features prominently on the new Sussex.com website and could cause tensions as a result.
Their “About” page says: “The office of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is shaping the future through business and philanthropy.”
The Sussex.com website contains flowery descriptions of the Duke and Duchess.
One of them said: “They are going to have real problems using Sussex.” It’s a real title and if there’s any hint of commercialism about it, it will be shut down. It’s just amazing that they can’t see how clumsy he is.
Meanwhile, The Daily Mirror reported that the couple did not consult palace officials before launching the new site.
The Sun newspaper also said Harry faced accusations that the crest used was outdated after becoming the monarch’s son last year.
Mail columnists Sarah Vine and Andrew Pierce believe the couple should be stripped of their titles to prevent them from shamelessly profiting from the royal family.
Without the royal family, Ms. Vine said, Harry would simply be a “slightly stout, balding former soldier,” while Meghan would be a “moderately attractive and not very successful former actress.”
Elsewhere this week, Markle signed a new podcast deal with Lemonada Media after she and Prince Harry parted ways with Spotify.
The move will see her introduce a new podcast series for the female-founded company and her Spotify-exclusive show, Archetypes, will be distributed across all platforms.
The new deal comes a year after Dutchess and her husband Harry ended their $20 million deal with Spotify, three years after it was signed.
Spotify and the Sussexes’ audio production company, Archewell Audio, issued a joint statement saying they “have agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together.”
A top Spotify podcast executive then called Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ‘fucking scammers’ after they produced just one 13-episode series of a podcast for the company and then parted ways.
The end of the couple’s $20 million deal was announced in 2023, three years after it was signed.
Meghan Markle signed new podcast deal with Lemonada Media after she and Prince Harry parted ways with Spotify
Bill Simmons (left), who sold his sports journalism and podcast company The Ringer to Spotify for $200 million in 2020, now works as Spotify’s chief podcast innovation officer.
Archetypes, Meghan’s original Spottily show, had around 1 million listens per episode and debuted as Spotify’s number one podcast in 47 countries around the world when it launched in August 2022.
The series explored the labels that try to hold women back and included guests such as Mariah Carey, Jameela Jamil and Pamela Adlon.
The series won a People’s Choice Award for The Pop Podcast of 2022 and Markle won Best Entertainment Podcast Host at the Gracie Awards.
Under the new agreement, this show will now be released to all audio platforms with Lemonada distribution.
Bill Simmons, Spotify’s head of podcast innovation and monetization, condemned the pair in an episode of his own podcast.
‘The damn scammers. That is the podcast we should have launched with them,” he stated.
‘I have to get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try to help him with a podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories.’
The couple spent the last two days at the picturesque Whistler ski resort in British Columbia for a two-day trip from California to highlight next year’s Invictus event, the first time it will involve winter sports.
They seemed completely unaffected by the row on their Sussex.com website, as Harry tried his hand at skiing and before leaving, he joked: “Do I need to sign a waiver?”
The pair were seen leaning in to talk to athletes competing in the games, while Harry tried out one of the competitors’ sit-skis, while a camera crew followed closely behind. Meghan was seen smiling with officials as she used her mobile phone to collect content.
The couple arrived in Canada on Tuesday and were photographed by DailyMail.com landing in Vancouver shortly after noon Pacific time after a two-hour flight from Santa Barbara, the closest airport to their home in Montecito.
A convoy of cars picked up the famous duo and took them to Whistler, where they will be on Wednesday and Thursday before returning to Vancouver for an event in the Crystal City on Friday.
The couple are then expected to travel home to California on Friday afternoon to join their children Archie, five, and Lilibet, two.