Meghan And Harry Did Something Smooth Before Megxit

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shocked the world — and perhaps members of their own families — when they announced that they want to step back from royal duties in favor of a more independent life in North America and the U.K. According to their Instagram post — yes, they broke the news via social media — the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will "work to become financially independent." But these royal renegades aren't casting off all the perks associated with their noble titles.

According to Pure Wow, Meghan and Harry "applied for a copyright stamp, which includes the 'Sussex Royal' name and their joint charity, The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex." The paperwork was reportedly approved in December 2019, just weeks before the couple's huge announcement. As CNN reports, "Harry and Meghan have trademarked 'Sussex Royal' as a brand on more than 100 properties in the UK, including clothing, stationery, photographs and educational and charitable endeavors — with predicted revenue of over $500 million." Smooth move, right?

Let's crunch some numbers...

Gaining financial independence from the crown could be a complicated pursuit. According to Newsweek, Meghan and Harry disclosed "that just 5 percent of the cost of their household is covered by the U.K. taxpayer. The 5 percent paid for by the Sovereign Grant, they say, is used only for official royal duties — such as travel to and from engagements and to pay household staff such as their communications staff. The other 95 percent of the couple's income is given to them privately by Harry's father, Prince Charles, through revenues generated by his private estate, the Duchy of Cornwall."

Rumor has it that Charles is not happy about this whole "Megxit" debacle, so it's anybody's guess how he'll handle his noble purse strings in the days to come. The Evening Standard claims Charles got a copy of Meghan and Harry's announcement just "ten minutes" before it was shared with the world. Some insiders say the Duke and Duchess of Sussex "will be punished" for defying the royal family. A source for The Sun even went so far as to call it a "declaration of war on the family."

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex clearly knew that trademarking their titles would be a wise move, and they had a new on-brand website, sussexroyal.com, ready to go when they made their big announcement. According to the Daily Mail, "The Sussexes want to stamp their name on dozens of products including T-shirts, hoodies, journals and gloves for their newly-created foundation Sussex Royal," and that product line could "generate revenues of £400million."

Not to mention, they're, um, pretty famous, so they could certainly make ends meet by doing all those things that celebrities do. As Page Six reports, "Harry is also close to former President Barack Obama, and insiders say the prince could follow a similar post-presidency career path, involving philanthropy, speeches, book deals and documentaries." Seriously, these two could spend the rest of their days as social media influencers hawking green teas if they wanted to.

But something tells us that's not their style.

Meghan Markle may be a "commoner" in the royal sense, but she had plenty of coin in her pocketbook before she met Prince Harry in 2016. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the former actress has an estimated net worth of $5 million in her own right. Prince Harry isn't completely beholden to the crown either. He reportedly inherited millions following the tragic death of his mother, Princess Diana, and he also earned a modest income as a helicopter pilot for the Army Air Corps, according to Forbes. The point is: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex probably have a wee bit of cushion in their budget.

Not to mention, these two want to work. On their website (via Cosmopolitan), Meghan and Harry reportedly said they "value the ability to earn a professional income, which in the current structure they are prohibited from doing." 

Markle has been preaching the same thing for years. "I think the biggest part of being a girl boss ... is just knowing your value," the Suits star told InStyle in 2015. On her now-defunct lifestyle blog, The Tig, she once wrote: "I've never wanted to be a lady who lunches — I've always wanted to be a woman who works." It looks like she'll now get her chance.