/Are Meghan Markle & Prince Harry as Influential as Obamas & Clintons?

Are Meghan Markle & Prince Harry as Influential as Obamas & Clintons?

  • Since signing with The Harry Walker Agency, Meghan and Harry’s fanbase believe the couple has arrived as A-listers on the speaking circuit.
  • Of course, neither of the Hollywood Royals has experience of speaking at that level.
  • The couple isn’t elite level speakers like the Obamas and Clintons.

Ever since news emerged that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry had signed with The Harry Walker Agency, the Sussex Squad and even some media have gone into overdrive.

We’ve seen the Hollywood Royals compared with the Obamas and the Clintons.

After all, the former presidents and their significant others are represented by this agency.

It only makes sense that both Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have entered this rarefied air as well then, right?

Well, maybe. It’s not quite as big a deal as the media and Meghan’s fans would have you believe.

The media are on the Harry and Meghan hype train. | Source: Twitter

The money that the couple could earn has varied widely

Depending on where a particular journalist or media outlet sits on the love/hate scale with Meghan and Harry, the amount of money the couple could make from public speaking has varied.

We’ve seen ridiculous figures of up to $1 million mentioned. That’s very unlikely to happen. I believe this number has come from the reported amount Prince Harry made speaking for JPMorgan earlier this year, but I seriously doubt that will be anywhere near the norm.

A royal expert claimed that the Obamas and Clintons earn up to $375,000 per speech.

If this is correct, why would Meghan Markle and Prince Harry be earning around three times the amount that The Harry Walker Agency primetime players make?

Are we to believe that not only are Meghan and Harry on the same level as the Obamas and Clintons but that they are three times more valuable?

Meghan and Harry are not part of an exclusive speakers club

I’ll happily admit that The Harry Walker Agency is one of the leading speakers’ bureaus. That much isn’t up for debate.

But the company speakers list is far from exclusive, boasting at least 200 clients, varying from former presidents like Obama and Bill Clinton, to podcast hosts and comedians.

Of course, media outlets are only going to mention the high-profile names, adding to the prestige and belief that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have made the big time.

In reality, though, it’s not quite as clear cut.

A comparison would be an actor signing with the well-known Creative Artists Agency and then claiming to be operating on the same level as the likes of Bruce Willis, Tom Hanks, and Cameron Diaz.

Beyond both being represented by CAA, we’re never going to be looking at someone like Brit Marling as having much in common with Jennifer Aniston.

Not everyone who signs with a huge agency is a legit star (sorry, John!). | Source: Twitter

The media are running  with the narrative that Meghan and Harry are A-listers already

Despite Harry and Meghan’s lack of real experience as professional speakers, the British media is slurping that Kool-Aid already, with Daily Mirror royal editor Russell Myers telling the Pod Save the Queen podcast:

Well, the Obamas and the Clintons have been earning crazy sums for speeches, up to £300,000 per speech, and they’ve made no secret of doing that after they’ve left office and these are obviously the circles Harry and Meghan are in.

Is it so obvious that this is the circles the Hollywood Royals are moving in? Or are we seeing the same type of hysteria that led to Meghan Markle being linked with Hollywood A-listers when they returned to LA? Remember the stories telling us that Hollywood’s elite was falling over each other to get Meghan’s attention?

Yeah, that didn’t quite materialize, did it?

Remember when Meg was linked to Hollywood A-listers? | Source: Twitter

I don’t see “the big bucks” rolling in quite as freely as others do

There’s one thing Mr. Myers said that I do agree with:

They can’t live in Tyler Perry’s £18million mansion forever, and they can’t pay for their own security forever, certainly after Prince Charles pulls the plug next year ‒ and that’s costing a whopping $8,700 a day.

He then continued:

So they’re going to have to earn a lot of money, so again the big bucks are going to be rolling in, I’m sure.

I’m not so sure.

Neither Meghan nor Harry are talented enough or interesting enough to earn the kind of money it’ll take to keep Meghan Markle living as she’s become accustomed to.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com.

Last modified: July 17, 2020 1:34 PM UTC