Meghan and Harry’s big money mistake ​

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The sum of $37,600. That is how much Prince Harry might, per some very complicated calculations, have earnt per minute for his speaking engagement at the JP Morgan Alternative Investment Summit in February.

Unless your surname is Bezos or you are of that ilk, this is a whopping, life-changing sum of money so large it could even buy a one-bedroom flat in inner Sydney that does not look onto a brick wall. However, if your surname is Sussex this might not be enough to cover your day-to-day expenses.

In January, Harry and Meghan seemingly tried to outline how they thought they were going to fund their new life when they unveiled their glossy new personal website.

According to them 5 per cent of their financing came from the Sovereign Grant, that is the money working members of the royal family receive from the State, while 95 per cent came from Prince Charles. In stepping back from frontline duties, they planned to give up the government’s money and become financially independent.

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Since then, their financial situation has only grown more opaque. For one thing, they currently receive around $4.5 million from Prince Charles via his Duchy of Cornwall trust (which is valued at about $1.9 billion). Would Harry and Meghan, under this new arrangement, keep getting such a nice daddy windfall?

Ditto, who will pick up the security bill for the couple now they are about to become private citizens? While that figure, going forward, has been pegged at anywhere from $5.8 to $39 million, the short answer is a bloody lot.

All of which is before we have even gotten into paying for Archie’s organic rompers, Harry’s signature black puffer jackets and Meghan’s yoga mats.

So, just how much money do they need to earn, a year, to pay for everything?

LET’S START WITH, A HOUSE

Because you can’t keep borrowing somewhere to live from a mystery billionaire forever. Since November, the family has been staying in a $20 million home on Vancouver Island – the ownership of which remains a tantalising mystery.

At some point though, they are going to need to get their own place. While they have only said they will be based in North America, Los Angeles is looking more and more likely their ultimate destination given it is home to the entertainment business, of which Meghan is reportedly keen to rejoin, and her mother Doria Ragland.

Assuming they did head to the state, Malibu which is about a 45-minute drive from Beverly Hills and on the coast, seems a good bet with recent reports they were looking at a house owned by former Baywatch star David Charvet which is on the market for $10.5 million.

Even if this particular mansion is not their cup of (Fortnum and Mason) tea they would be looking at having to shell out a similar sum of money for a house that is not only large enough but private enough and safe enough.

Total: $10.5 million

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DESIGNER DUDS

While Prince Harry is currently enjoying a delightful love affair with the humble black puffer jacket, Meghan is a woman with some serious style chops and an impressive knack for pairing high street with wildly high-end pieces.

In 2019, her wardrobe cost $367,000. Given that her days are no longer spent studiously shaking hands and hugging the devoted masses she will most likely need less “work” clothes.

That said, hanging out with the Carter-Knowles or the Clooneys necessitates a certain couture flair. Therefore, let’s assume she spends half as much on duds this year.

Total: $177,000

BODYGUARDS AND MORE BODYGUARDS

Ah, now this is a particularly thorny line item. Currently, the Sussex family has six gun-toting protection officers drawn from the special Metropolitan Police unit which protects Windsors and Westminster’s great and good.

While there is no firm number, last week, the Mirror reported having seen an internal Scotland Yard report which they report “revealed a staffing crisis within the squad that protects the royals, which is now facing an increasing and ­unprecedented demand from the royal couple”.

The same Mirror report said the future costs for keeping the Sussexes safe could be anywhere from $19.4m to $39m. Contributing to this, is the fact that it is expected that the young family will globe trot and separately at times, necessitating separate security teams.

With the Canadian government having said they would not pick up the tab, and with the question of British taxpayers incurring the ongoing cost a political hot potato, this expense might ultimately fall on the Sussexes to sort out.

Being conservative, let’s go with the lower end of the projected future costs reported by the Mirror.

Total: $19.4 million

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JETTING ABOUT THE PLACE

It is time to talk about private jets, namely who pays for them. To start with, not the humble UK taxpayer. While official royal travel – such as during official engagements and international tours – is picked up by the sovereign grant, any private travel the Windsors do they have to pay for themselves.

So, when Kate and William tote their brood to Mustique for some vitamin D and quality Middleton family time, they have to put their hands in their pockets.

Now Harry and Meghan are parting ways with the Sovereign Grant, they will have to pay for not only all of their travel but staff costs for their security team, a nanny and any personal secretaries.

Let us say they would now travel as an eight-person entourage (Harry and Meghan, a nanny, two assistants, and three bodyguards.) that makes each Los Angeles to London return trip cost $88,000. Let’s assume they make the trip twice a year that is $176,000.

And, we haven’t even gotten to any private jet trips they might want to make. Again, we will play it safe and say assume they just make two return PJ jaunts to New York. That would add $180,000 to their bill.

Total: $356,000

OFFICE STAFF

In February it was confirmed that Harry and Meghan’s entire office staff of 15 (who were based at Buckingham Palace) were either being made redundant or deployed elsewhere.

While the Sussex family now might not need quite so much secretarial nous and planning chops, they are still going to need various assistants to book travel and keep their lives running like clockwork.

Therefore, let’s work on the assumption they decide they want a team of three or more junior staff with one senior private secretary running the show. That would cost approximately $400,000.

Total: $400,000

TOTAL: $30.8 million

Breaking that down, that equates to them having to do 28 JP Morgan-style events a year (working on the assumption they each pay around $1.1 million), which translates to more than one a fortnight – and that’s just to tread financial water for the first 12 months of their new independent life.

With the clock ticking down to March 31, their official exit date from being working members of the royal family, here’s hoping Meghan can teach Harry some handy vocal warm up exercises. Boy is going to have to protect his voice.

Daniela Elser is a royal expert and writer with 15 years experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.