Just as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were announcing their plans to step away from their position as “senior royals” and become financially independent, Meghan Markle was reportedly inking a deal with Disney. Of course, prior to her new life with Prince Harry in England, she was an actress in America after all — so this move represents a return to a portion of her familiar former life. Here’s what we know about the Duchess’ new deal.
Markle is reportedly set to be doing voiceover work for an unspecified Disney project Disney in return for a donation to Elephants Without Borders, a wildlife conservation charity. The Timessuggested this move hints at the couple’s future path of using their platform to help causes they champion.
The Duke and Duchess had attended Disney’s European premiere of The Lion King back in July. That event supported African Parks, an organization that Prince Harry supports. And that’s where, according to TMZ, Prince Harry actually pitched Disney’s C.E.O. Bob Iger on his wife’s talents — a video seemed to catch the Duke explaining to Iger that Markle does voiceover work, and Iger expressing interest in exploring the relationship. (This was all happening as the group was also chatting up Beyonce and Jay-Z, by the way.)
The new Disney voiceover arrangement had been confirmed prior to the royal couple’s bombshell announcement that they are making plans to “step back” from their current role within Britain’s royal family.
In an Instagram post, they wrote in part, “After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution. We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.”
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To wit, the royal family’s public-facing response on Twitter and their personal website suggest they were caught by surprise and even dismayed: “Discussions with The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage. We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through.”
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