Everything Meghan and Harry have done since leaving the Royal Family
We break down the Sussexes career moves since stepping down as working royals in 2020.
It's been over three and half years since Meghan and Harry first announced that they were stepping back as working members of the Royal Family and were going to build their own careers to find their way to "financial independence".
In the interim, they've both brokered multi-million pound deals and parted ways with one of their production partners, Spotify.
They've also won awards, broken records and continued to shine a light on the causes most important to them.
Here, we break down all the career moves the Sussexes have made since swapping Britain for California in 2020.
Meghan's Spotify podcast
Meghan and Harry first signed a deal with Spotify — reported to be worth $20m — in 2020, not long after exiting royal life.
In 2022, Meghan released a 12-part series on the streaming platform called Archetypes that unpacked the labels women are subjected to and often "hold them back".
The couple's audio branch of their production company Archewell "parted ways" with Spotify in June 2023, with an executive for the company, Bill Simmons, calling them "grifters" on his own podcast.
He also said: "I have got to get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help hone in the podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories."
The Wall Street Journal reported at the time that Meghan and Harry won't have made the full $20m from their Spotify deal, because the couple hasn’t "met the productivity benchmarks required to receive the full payout from the deal".
Despite the negative press surrounding their mutual parting of ways from Spotify, Meghan is "continuing to develop more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform", their spokesperson said to the Wall Street Journal.
Meghan and Harry's Spotify deal - read more
Meghan and Harry 'part ways' with Spotify as podcast deal comes to an end (Yahoo News UK, 3-min read)
Harry, Meghan and their sink or swim moment (Evening Standard, 11-min read)
Andy Cohen defends Meghan Markle amid claims she didn’t conduct podcast interviews (The Independent, 3-min read)
Netflix documentaries
Harry and Meghan signed a deal with Netflix in 2020, a few months after they left full-time royal life behind. The value of the deal wasn't disclosed, but was reported to be worth up to $100m.
Their first offering for the streaming company was a six-part documentary series that chronicled their exit from the UK, which also provided a look into their early romance and family life. Although for fans of the couple the series gave never before seen insight into their private lives and some more detail around their royal exit, several of the revelations had been made previously in their bombshell interview with Oprah, so some criticised the series for simply retreading old ground, rather than presenting anything new.
An animated show for children called Pearl was on the books to be created by Archewell Productions as part of the deal, but it has already been scrapped.
Next up for the couple will be Heart of Invictus, a documentary series following six competitors in their preparations for the Invictus Games that will be released at the end of August.
The couple were reported to have recently bought the rights to the novel Meet Me At The Lake by Carley Fortune.
The romance surrounds a couple in their thirties, one half of which lost a parent in their earlier life, which has drawn some comparisons to the Sussexes's own story.
Meghan and Harry's Netflix deal - read more
Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary nominated for Hollywood Critics Award (The Telegraph, 3-min read)
Prince Harry and Meghan Are Making a Netflix Rom-Com (Harper's Bazaar, 2-min read)
Prince Harry’s new Netflix project is well underway following the release of a trailer (Cosmopolitan, 2-min read)
Harry's memoir Spare
Harry's memoir Spare was the first offering from his deal with publishing company Penguin Random House, which was reported to be a multi-book deal.
It spent weeks atop bestseller lists on each side of the Atlantic, despite leaks ahead of its official publication date after some Spanish stores accidentally put the book on sale before its release date.
It became the fastest-selling autobiography in the UK, with 467183 units sold in the first week.
The book provided never before seen insight to life behind closed doors in the Royal Family and disclosed Harry's struggles with mental health and grief after the loss of his mother, and the breakdown of his relationship with his brother, William.
Harry's book deal - read more
The media figures Harry takes pot shots at in his book: 'Infected pustule on the arse of humanity' (Yahoo News UK, 8-min read)
Prince Harry details argument with Meghan in book: 'I spoke to her harshly, cruelly' (Yahoo Life UK, 3-min read)
People are pointing out the inconsistencies in Harry's book (Yahoo News UK, 6-min read)
Philanthropy
When it comes to their charitable work, it's been pretty much business as usual for Harry and Meghan since leaving the UK and Royal Family behind, despite losing some of their patronages on their way out the door.
Patronages that had been given to the couple by the Queen reverted to the crown on their exit, but any charitable positions held privately they have continued to support.
Sentebale, which was co-founded by Harry in 2006, and the Invictus Games — that he founded in 2014 — are both charities that Harry plays a key role in.
The couple's Archewell foundation supports a wide range of charitable projects including the Diana Award, the Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund and the WellChild Awards.
Meghan provided a voiceover for Disney's documentary Elephant, in exchange for a donation to a conservation charity.
Meghan and Harry's philanthropy - read more
Prince Harry missing Meghan as he competes in charity polo match in Singapore (The Telegraph, 4-min read)
Harry to attend UK charity awards ceremony (PA, 2-min read)
Prince Harry says he'd 'happily live in Tokyo if you'd have me' on Japan visit (Yahoo News UK, 3-min read)
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