Six years after stepping back from senior royal duties, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly navigating a more financially pressured chapter than their Montecito lifestyle might suggest. Sources speaking to both the Mirror and Page Six have described the couple’s financial situation as challenging, with Meghan emerging as the primary income earner as she works to grow her lifestyle brand As Ever.
Harry, sources say, is focused on his philanthropic work — meaningful, but not particularly lucrative. The couple’s operating expenses in Montecito, one of California’s most exclusive communities, are reported to run to at least $6 million (approximately R97.5 million) a year, with around $3 million of that going toward private security for their family.
The trade-off they chose
A source close to the couple pushed back against the framing of financial difficulty, noting that what the Sussexes have is an independent and entirely self-funded life — one that nobody else has to pay for. The point being made, in part, is that their situation compares differently to working royals whose expenses are met through the Sovereign Grant and access to maintained properties.
Harry and Meghan stepped down from senior royal duties in 2020 and relocated to the United States with their two children, Prince Archie, now seven, and Princess Lilibet, four. The couple’s Netflix deal, which produced several projects, has since concluded. How Meghan’s As Ever brand performs in the coming months may go some way toward defining what their next chapter looks like financially.
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