A branding expert has said that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are ‘trying to have it both ways’ with their new Sussex.com website.
Jonathan Gabay believes the couple is ‘courting trouble’ with the online makeover as they give their royal titles and crest pride of place despite their split from Buckingham Palace and move to California.
The pages have a more formal look than might be associated with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s appearances on the US showbiz circuit.
Visitors to the old Sussexroyal website, set up before their 2020 move, are being redirected to the new online berth, which falls under the heading, ‘The Office of Prince Harry & Meghan’.
Mr Gabay has portrayed Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, as trying to be the ‘rebel king and queen’ following the break with the UK royals.
‘By using the Sussex name and crest so prominently on the website they are courting trouble with Buckingham Palace,’ he said.
‘It’s been very clear they can’t be seen to be capitalising on their royal status, yet here they are doing just that, albeit in an indirect way.
‘It’s like a child who has been told it can only have bread and butter, but who then turns round and says, “give me the jam”.
‘They have set themselves up as rebels but now they are using the logo of the very institution they were rebelling against.
‘Trying to have it both ways like this only diminishes a brand.’
The website has a clean look and an overview of the couple’s roles and ‘philanthropic endeavours’. Their children Archie, four, and Lilibet, two, are described as prince and princess respectively.
In the latest post, the couple announced that Meghan will be partnering with podcast network Lemonada Media.
The duchess said: ‘Being able to support a female founded company with a roster of thought provoking and highly entertaining podcasts is a fantastic way to kick off 2024.’
Having promoted their non-profit Archewell Foundation after their move to Montecito, the website’s iconography appears to tie their image more closely to the British royal family.
‘There is a large section of people in America who are enamoured by royalty,’ Mr Gabay said.
‘But they will want the authenticity with tradition, heritage and the consistency of the late Queen, which she maintained through bad times and good. They are trying to use the royal brand, which is also associated with this consistency, but on the other hand they have rebelled against Buckingham Palace.
‘If I was advising them, I would say do your own thing, talk about your own connections of course but you can’t say you are still inside the house when you are not just outside the door but on the other side of the world.
‘As far as the titles go, I would even say go out of your way to say you are not a prince. At one time Prince was known as the ‘Artist Formerly Known as Prince’ after the way he said he was treated by the record label, and his fans still loved him for it.’
The duke and duchess announced in January 2020 that they would be stepping back as senior members of the royal family.
A year later, they confirmed that they would not be returning as ‘working members’ of the fold, sometimes called ‘the firm’.
A series of controversial disclosures about the couple’s lives within the palace then followed in their bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview, Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, and Omid Scobie’s biography, Endgame.
On the new website, the prince is described as a ‘humanitarian, military veteran, mental health advocate, and environmental campaigner’.
Meghan is introduced as ‘a feminist and champion of human rights and gender equity’.
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