To the background music of ‘Love Is In the Air’, Meghan Markle recently posted a montage of video footage from her four-day trip to Australia with Prince Harry.
Amongst the clips – which showed the Sussexes greeting fans at several events alongside meeting children at a hospital and Meghan serving dinner at a women’s refuge – were more personal takes of her and Harry enjoying dinner together and holding hands as they explored the sights and natural beauty of the country.
And while Meghan, 44, and Harry, 41, have faced criticism over what many have perceived as yet another ‘quasi-royal’ tour, a source tells us that, for Meghan, the warmth she received from fans has ‘lit a fire under her’ that even the Royal Family won’t be able to put out.
An insider says, ‘She’s absolutely buzzing after this trip because in her mind it proves everything she’s been saying all along, that she doesn’t need the Palace machine to shine because she just naturally connects with people in a way that feels far more authentic and modern.
‘Meghan is obviously delighted with the commercial opportunities that are coming her and Harry’s way right now, but she’s also savouring the sweet taste of redemption. The outpouring of love they’ve gotten in Australia has really lit a fire under her and she wants to keep this momentum going.’
Alongside their philanthropic endeavours, Meghan and Harry have made it clear from the start that they would also be mixing charity with various private business ventures, including Meghan’s talk at the Her Best Life women’s event in Melbourne, costing £1700 a ticket.
Ahead of the trip, it was also reported that Meghan had trademarked her brand name, As Ever, hinting that she had hoped to raise the profile of her lifestyle website after both the Duchess and the brand were dropped by Netflix in one foul swoop last month.
As non-working royals, the Sussexes are not required to disclose their income, but a US publication revealed the shocking claim that Meghan and Harry could have raked in a staggering $10 million from their trip.
The couple are delighted with the reception they received in Australia ©Getty Images
‘Meghan and Harry could make money from audience aggregation, premium access, brand leverage. All totalled, this tour could fetch $10 million or more for Meghan and Harry. Anytime these two get in the public eye, it usually follows with a flowing cash register,’ said Ted Jenkin, Managing Partner of Exit Wealth Advisors.
Their trip, marking their fourth quasi-royal tour, came just weeks after Meghan’s brand parted ways with Netflix, with the streaming giant’s top boss, Ted Sarandos, unfollowing Meghan and As Ever on social media.
The humiliating blow was just the latest in long line of hurdles that have faced the Sussexes over the past few months, including the loss of their five-year deal with Netflix, estimated to have been worth $100 million.
And while it was announced earlier this month that the couple would be co-producing a new polo drama as part of their new First Look agreement with the streaming giant, other promised projects, including their adaptation of the Carley Fortune novel, ‘Meet Me at the Lake’, have so far not materialised.
Meghan’s own show, With Love, Meghan, has also not been commissioned for a third series, with viewers complaining that Meghan’s debut was ‘out of touch’, ‘curated’ and ‘narcissistic’.
But following several reports suggested that the Sussexes could be forced to grovel to the Royal Family to save their bacon stateside, we’re now told that this trip has proved to Meghan that she and Harry can continue to go it alone.
So much so, that we’re told further plans are already under way, making Meghan’s four-word warning to the royals loud and clear: ‘I’m just getting started’.
Meghan: ‘I’m just getting started’ ©Getty Images
The source continues, ‘Finding a way to juggle these tours with growing her brand and connecting with their core fan base in different countries has been incredibly rewarding and it’s all the sweeter knowing that she and Harry are proving their naysayers – including large sections of the royal family – totally wrong by knocking it out of the park.
‘Sure, there was the usual sniping and negativity but by and large the feedback they’ve had in the wake of this tour has been overwhelmingly positive, which in Meghan’s view bodes extremely well for the future and is a sure sign that they need to just keep on going and strike while the iron’s hot.’
After years of being compared to Prince William’s wife Kate Middleton, the source says the glowing reception Meghan received from adoring fans has also served as proof to Meghan that she has what it takes to shine in the own right.
‘She’s careful right now not to run the royals down or pick a fight with any of them publicly, especially Kate as she knows that would get a lot of people’s backs up,’ the insider says.
‘But it’s always felt like she was in Kate’s shadow, that people would never accept her as anything other than second best and this upstart American who’s unworthy of serving in the ‘royal way’.
‘She loves being seen as a huge success on this kind of stage and, if anything, it’s only reinforced her belief that she can best Kate when it comes to what she can accomplish. To that end she’s declaring its mission accomplished.’
Meghan wants to beat Kate – seen here with William on a recent Royal engagement ©Getty Images
However, following reports that Meghan and Harry could be set to lead more separate lives when it comes to their careers, the source says their next moves could continue to see the couple walk a tight rope between striking out as independent entrepreneurs and continuing to cash in on their royal monikers with further faux-royal tours.
The insider says, ‘Harry sees this quasi-royal life as his destiny and the direction he wants to go. He constantly tells Meghan that she’s the modern-day equivalent of his mother and that’s a responsibility and honour that she takes extremely seriously.
‘But for Meghan it is one of many irons she has in the fire. She’s got so much going with her brand, and all the expansions she sees happening in the next 12 months, she doesn’t want to limit herself to just doing these royal-style tours.
‘The opportunities are limitless, because unlike the royals she’s not bound by any formal obligation or restricted from visiting certain places that don’t necessarily fall into the usual tour bracket. The world is truly her oyster, in other words, and she’s telling Harry it’s time to make the most of it!’
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