Look who’s talking!
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who are settling into life in Los Angeles, have signed up with the New York-based agency Harry Walker to speak, according to a person familiar with their plans.
The couple, whose professional interests and each movement has been analyzed, will participate in moderate discussions and opening speeches with trade associations, corporations and community forums, said the person, who declined to be identified.
They will focus on social issues such as racial justice (which the former Meghan Markle recently addressed with students from her Los Angeles alma mater), gender equality, and environmental concerns. They will also talk about mental health; Prince Harry has shared his own struggles with pain and has championed emotional health initiatives and organizations in recent years.
The appointment of Harry Walker, charged with seeking and seeking opportunities to speak, heralds the couple’s return to public platforms as they seek to promote their philanthropic foundation Archewell. Fans and critics alike have been waiting to see how the couple will unfold their important cultural capital and what causes they will endorse since they withdrew from royal frontline duties in the UK.
Since leaving the UK, the couple’s appearances have been largely private. Prince Harry spoke at a private JP Morgan event in Miami, where he reportedly spoke about mental health, and he and his wife have both participated in video calls with charities they support. As the coronavirus health crisis moves into a new phase, with many aspects of public life reopening, the couple may now speak on stage again.
But don’t expect them to spill the beans on the inner workings of Harry’s family; There are no plans to accept any commitment to talk about the real life that they have left behind.
By choosing the Harry Walker Agency to represent them, they join an A list of Hollywood artists, as well as some of the world’s most wanted Democratic politicians: Michelle and Barack Obama, Hillary and Bill Clinton, and rising party star Stacey. Abrams.
It’s a high-profile signing for Harry Walker, who was acquired last year by Endeavor, WME’s parent company.
The conference agency also represents the couple’s other close connections, including Oprah Winfrey and Jane Goodall.
Talking can be extremely lucrative and the proceeds from Harry and Meghan’s reserves will be part of their movement to financially become independent from the British royal family. President Obama reportedly earned $ 400,000 for a 2017 speech, while the Clintons averaged $ 250,000 per appearance in 2014. It is unclear what fees will be for the Duke and Duchess, who will speak together or individually.
Harry and Meghan took their first steps in Los Angeles life in April, when they were spied on as volunteers, delivering meals to vulnerable West Hollywood residents confined to their homes by the closure of the coronavirus. Their roles as members of royalty in the UK ended in March, and they have established their California home on a 22-acre Beverly Hills property, owned by filmmaker Tyler Perry, according to reports.
On Tuesday they visited the non-profit Homeboy Industries, helping in the kitchen of their bakery. Aimed at helping gang members break out of that life for the past 32 years, Homeboy has been largely closed during the pandemic and faces a $ 1 million deficit. The organization’s tattoo removal service and cafeteria are temporarily closed, but its bakery and electronics recycling service is working.
The organization shared photos of the tangled and tangled royal couple as they prepared food for their #FeedHOPE program, which employs Homeboy participants to provide meals to food-insecure seniors and youth in Los Angeles amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The couple stopped using the title of “royal highness” and will no longer receive public funds for their work, Buckingham Palace announced in January, as part of their retirement from life and royal duties.
Originally, the two had planned to launch a new company under the name Sussex Royal, but, after negotiating their departure, they had to abandon that name and the associated, and very popular, Instagram account. More recently they have named their foundation Archewell.
Earlier this month, the former actress shared her sadness over racial divisions in the United States, and told graduates of Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles that she was touched by speaking after George Floyd’s death to hands of a Minneapolis police officer. Markle, who has an African-American mother and a white father, said she was reminded of the 1992 Los Angeles protests that followed the acquittal of police officers after her beating of Rodney G. King.
