Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are facing significant career and financial challenges as they prepare to return to the UK, according to a commentator who questioned whether their fame still translates into commercial success.
The couple are planning to move back to Britain after years of living in California, a decision that surprised many. It follows their reunion with King Charles III over the summer, when observers expected at most that Harry would make more frequent visits home. However, the couple have reportedly enrolled their children in school in the UK and are set to return within weeks.
Reasons for the move
While the couple have not revealed their exact reasons for the decision, commentators have suggested that Hollywood may not have embraced them as they had hoped. Reports now suggest that Meghan will return to acting once back in the UK, but one critic said the pair have a considerable issue in front of them.
Long-time Harry and Meghan commentator Kinsey Schofield spoke to Fox News about the recent revelations and said they might not find work as easily as they might hope.
Commercial concerns
"There was a period when simply attaching their names to something guaranteed enormous curiosity," she said. "I’m not convinced that’s true anymore."
"Meghan certainly has enormous name recognition, but I think, at this stage, it’s fair to ask how much of that is fame and how much is infamy," Schofield added.
"There’s a significant difference commercially. People may click on a Meghan Markle headline because they’re fascinated by her or irritated by her. That doesn’t mean they’re going to buy a movie ticket because her name is attached to the project. ‘Cookie Queens’ gives us another interesting data point on that distinction."
Hollywood setbacks
She added: "Infamy can be extremely valuable to newspapers, television shows and social media platforms because people will click, argue and engage."
"Monetising that attention yourself is a completely different challenge. People want to consume content about Harry and Meghan, but are they equally interested in consuming content from Harry and Meghan?"
The comments come after a number of the couple's Hollywood plans reportedly did not go as expected. Meghan's Netflix show was cancelled after two seasons, and a film they had invested in did not perform well at the box office in the US.
