Daniela Elser: Prince Harry was told to ‘stick his finger out’ for snubbing Invictus

COMMENTARY:

Oscar Wilde once said that “there is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not talked about” but he never met Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, especially around 2020. .

In just a few days, the couple have gone from triumph to facing a series of public relations controversies that basically boil down to one simple and uncomfortable thing: cash.

On Thursday of last week, the ex-SARs announced that they had signed a massive $ 150 million deal with Netflix to produce “documentaries, documentaries, feature films, scripted shows and children’s programming.”

After nearly six months in the United States and the regular rumors claiming they were in talks with several heavy hitters, the announcement should have been a huge win for the pair, validating that they could get out of the spoiled confines of real life and proof. of its commercial influence in the United States.

Tig Cup cocktails for everyone! (Nothing says celebration like a drink that includes radishes and hard liquor!)

However, in the days since, Harry and Meghan have faced a constant stream of negative stories that have dull their Hollywood matte.

Without a doubt, Harry’s greatest professional achievement in his real life has been the founding of the Invictus Games in 2014.

The story goes that the devastated prince was on a plane, leaving Afghanistan after an Australian magazine had revealed his presence on the front line, and on board were two seriously wounded British servicemen.

“Harry told me that being on that medical evacuation flight with seriously wounded British soldiers was the moment that he realized he had to do something and that he could do something,” a friend later recounted.

That “something” was the Invictus Games and in the years since then, the biennial event has grown exponentially, firmly establishing Harry’s global reputation as a deeply compassionate committed humanitarian.

Now, for the first time in history, dark clouds have been thrown over royal involvement with the charity, with news breaking over the weekend that a celebrity-filled Invictus Games fundraiser will be held at Los Angeles next year and it will air on Amazon. Prime, had “been abruptly canceled after its deal with Netflix.”

According to the Sunday Times: “Officials at the foundation, of which Harry is a sponsor, were ‘stunned’ after a lawyer for the Sussexes contacted them shortly before the Netflix deal was announced last week, shutting down the project. , citing a “dispute” over a planned deal with a rival streaming service.

A source involved in planning for a year told the newspaper: “It is very bad and everyone at Invictus is devastated. Harry said yes to doing this last year and everything kept moving until a few weeks ago.

“This was going to be a great moment for Invictus where the pot is pretty empty, and it has left them high and dry. Harry needs to stick his finger out to find another way to raise funds for them.”

(A spokesperson for Invictus has said that “given the current circumstances with Covid, the event needed to be reconceptualized” and that this was a “decision made prior to a partnership with Netflix.”)

The danger here for Harry is significant. Invictus was his creation (albeit heavily inspired by the pre-existing Warrior Games) and his greatest personal triumph. However, the perspective of this situation is abysmal for the Prince.

The way this chapter has played out over time has created the appearance, rightly or wrongly, that he (and Meghan) are offering large amounts of Netflix moolah before charitable efforts, which could be hugely damaging. for your personal brand.

But wait, there is more! More bad news for the Sussexes.

According to The Sun, the Queen was not consulted about the deal and found out from assistants. A palace informant told The Mirror: “It goes without saying that any deal they are making will be scrutinized by the royal house. Under the terms of their deal to relinquish their royal duties, they agreed that any business deal would be subject to discussion. “.

“Both the royal family and senior courtiers will know what this looks like to the public, especially as the couple have yet to return the £ 2.4 million ($ 4.74 million) they promised to reimburse the taxpayer for Frogmore Cottage, which will be their Kingdom Base. United “.

It seems that one does not like it.

Next, and speaking of Frogmore, a group of British MPs has asked Harry and Meghan to dip into their freshly lined and deep pockets to return “quickly” the millions they have promised to pay for their house in Windsor. .

Under the current agreement, the Sussexes are returning the money in monthly installments and at the current rate, according to former MP and current Privy Council member Norman Baker, it will take them 25 years to repay the full sum.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, vice chairman of the British Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, told The Telegraph that the schedule should “be changed to return the money sooner.”

You can’t escape the fact that what all these potential public relations crises have in common is money.

There is a certain feeling of depression in this current jerk, given that the intersection of the Sussexes’ business ambitions and their royal ties will likely always be problematic.

Through no fault of his own, the blunt collision of the commercial world with the rarefied inner sanctuary of the royal family is a minefield that no high-ranking member or former member of the House of Windsor has successfully navigated.

Prince Edward’s production company was dissolved with approximately AU $ 70 ($ 76.1) in the bank; Sophie Countess of Wessex closed her public relations business after a press debacle; and Prince Andrew’s role as business envoy was fraught with controversy, not to mention her penchant for paid travel expenses, earning her the uneducated nickname “Airmiles Andy.”

(Royal biographer Ingrid Seward, in a new book on Prince Philip, writes of Prince Andrew who “would have done well to heed his father’s warnings about the dangers of being used, especially by what Philip described as” sleazy billionaires “looking for a pet royal to raise their own status”).

Perhaps there can be no greater warning about the dangers of royalty and mammon mixing than the sight of Sarah, Duchess of York on United States television selling an AU $ 80 ($ 87) juicer in 2015, with problems of money that have plagued beleaguered royalty. for more than two decades.

For Harry and Meghan, striking a balance between (potentially gross) commercialism and maintaining their altruistic pedigree was always going to be a tense and risky act. And no matter how they deal with the current headaches that have cropped up in the last few days, this is a problem that will likely plague their actual careers.

Even Finding Freedom, the very sympathetic biography of the Sussex romance and their departure from real life, quoted a source familiar with their exit negotiations as saying, “The biggest discussion was about money, because it always is.”

When it comes to dosh, Harry and Meghan face trap 22. If they trust Charles to finance their lifestyle in America, they will face criticism for breastfeeding the paternal nipple. (Also, I would deny all your talk about achieving financial independence.)

However, if you go out and gain a legitimate advantage on your own (say, by signing a $ 150 million deal with Netflix) and inadvertently, questions arise about your reasons for quitting.

Previously, as hardworking members of the royal family, Harry and Meghan (like the remaining Windsors at work in London) were somehow seen as above money.

Now that they live in the real world, at least in the rarefied surroundings of Santa Barbara, they can’t escape both the need and the major public relations pitfalls of going out and trying to get something for themselves.

The inherent tension is that they need to protect their image as two agents of change wholly driven by altruistic zeal while simultaneously running a business empire built on their brand of benefactors.

And here’s the thing: royalty and the business world will always be deeply uncomfortable bedfellows.

And for Harry and Meghan, despite their success in landing the type of Hollywood deal that makes headlines and has been discussed from the moment they announced their intention to land paid jobs, for the rest of their careers they will face each other. Sisyphus’ task of achieving a kind of haunting truth, his financial needs and his humanitarian credibility.

Oscar Wilde also once cleverly opined: “When I was young I thought money was the most important thing in life. Now that I’m old, I know it is.” Maybe he knew people like the Sussexes, after all.

• Daniela Elser is a real expert and writer with over 15 years of experience working with several of Australia’s leading media titles.