Meghan and Harry Trademarked ‘Sussex Royal’ Branded Items as Long Ago as June 2019

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 09: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex duri
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Victoria Friedman

Meghan and Harry registered “Sussex Royal” with the UK’s Intellectual Property Office in June — suggesting the couple had been planning to resign as “senior” royals for at least six months.

The trademarked brand may suggest that the couple may sell “Sussex Royal” items when they transition to becoming “financially independent” as they step away from a majority of their royal duties.

The IPO website shows that the documents were filed on June 21st and published on December 20th. At the same time, the royal couple had also filed for the Sussex Royal The Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Reports suggest that while the Queen, Prince Charles, and Prince William have only recently been made aware of their intentions, sources close to the couple say Meghan and Harry have been planning the move since Spring 2019.

As outlined by the classifications covered by trademarking, Sussex Royal can cover a number of goods and services including branded pencils, greetings cards, and magazines, as well as clothing, campaigning, and charitable fundraising.

It has not been determined whether the Queen will allow Harry and Meghan to continue to use “Royal” in any personal branding capacity once they are fulling embarked on their “progressive” new lives.

On Wednesday, the Sussexes announced on Instagram that they would be stepping back from royal duties and would no longer be “senior” members of the royal household, saying they would “work to become financially independent”.

The couple have an estimated joint worth of £35 million. Harry has around £30,500,000, while Meghan has £3.5 million from her time as a television actress, plus a royal jewellery collection worth around £600,000. Currently, the couple also receives an estimated £2 million a year from Queen Elizabeth’s Sovereign Grant — the money that British taxpayers pay for the security, staffing, and upkeep of the royal households.

The Sussexes are expected to no longer received those funds once they step back from royal duties, but it is anticipated they may seek money from Prince Charles via earnings from the Duchy of Cornwall estate.

Intending to split their time between North America and the UK, the Sussexes want to keep Frogmore Cottage — renovated at a cost of £2.4 million of taxpayers’ money — and will continue to have their security covered at taxpayers’ expense, as well.

The hit Netflix series The Crown is rapidly progressing through the six decades of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, but the show’s executive producer, Suzanne Mackie, said it was unlikely that the recent crisis will feature in a future season.

“To be honest, whatever the life of The Crown is after where we are now, I doubt we’ll ever go as far into the present day,” Ms Mackie told the Press Association. “I think we’ll probably — we won’t travel into the present day.”

A MarketWatch article suggests that a move to the United States would make the couple “rich beyond their wildest dreams”, with the couple likely following in the Obamas’ “lucrative post-White House career model with philanthropy, book deals”, and perhaps even a Netflix series of their own.

Scott Dunlop, TV mogul behind the Real Housewives franchise, told the website he would “broker a deal” if Harry and Meghan wanted to do their own reality television show.

“They’ve got lightning in a bottle,” Mr Dunlop told MarketWatch. “They’re a branding machine. If they wanted to do a ‘real’ show, as long as they’re being themselves, as long as they’re being authentic, of course it would be a winner.”

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