Princely surrender to the lure of lucre

Prince Harry’s plan to become ‘financially independent’ and take the plunge into the world outside the Windsor paddock with his American princess is not without royal precedent. After all, Queen Isabella of Castile and her husband Ferdinand were pioneering 15th-century venture capitalists considering they funded Christopher Columbus’ then-risky plan to find a westward route to the Indies. It paid off handsomely and other kingdoms followed suit, including Britain. Since such colonial commercial ventures are no longer possible, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s bid to apparently monetise their royal cachet demonstrates clever thinking.

The big world of celebrity endorsements is always on the lookout for fresh blood, and blue is the rarest of its kind. In the royalty stakes, the Windsors are more sought after than the relatively deglamourised Scandinavian princely stock, but Prince Andrew’s recent travails have further reduced the number of available British royals with marketable potential.



Harry and Meghan have proved their market value already and any canny business brain would advise against letting their brand equity go waste simply because strict rules demands royal ‘working’ lives be publicly funded and, therefore, of no pecuniary advantage for them despite their expending considerable time and energy on it.