Harry was in talks with Goldman Sachs to bolster one of his charities, not Sussex Royal Brand: Royal insider
Even before Megxit happened, Harry reportedly wasted no time in striking lucrative deals with an investment bank that would pave the way to riches for him and Meghan Markle in the future when they were no longer a part of the British monarchy.
In order to do that, Harry reportedly entered into talks with American global banking giant Goldman Sachs, who experts believe can get the value of their brand, Sussex Royal, skyrocketing in just a few years. "They’re going to earn fortunes, whether through speeches or ambassador work – these are £1billion handshakes," Renowned PR agent Mark Borkowski told Daily Mail.
Although Kensington Palace declined to comment, a royal insider called the assumption about bolstering their brand "categorically untrue", adding, "It was one of The Duke’s charitable patronages that was in discussion with Goldman Sachs."
Talks with the investment banking company reportedly started November last year when Harry and Meghan were supposedly spending their winter holidays in Canada along with their son Archie. While on one hand, they finalized the details of their plan to step down as senior members of the royal family, on the other hand, Harry's team reached out to Goldman Sachs to strike a deal.
Celebrities like David Beckham and Gwyneth Paltrow have famously aligned their brands with the investment bank, attending multiple events organized by the company to give speeches. Harry, too, privately delivered such a speech at one of their events. While the stars do not get paid for the said speeches, sources said that appearances like that "pave the way for the Sussexes to forge a lucrative future relationship" with the bank. The firm was accused of playing a role in the 2008 financial crisis.
According to the report in the Daily Mail, Goldman Sachs declined to comment.
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The report comes just days after Harry and Meghan were slammed by critics for choosing to speak at JP Morgan's Alternative Investment Summit in Miami as their first public engagement post-Megxit.
The couple, who have rallied against “fossil fuel emissions . . . jeopardizing” the Earth and spoken of a “ticking clock” to save the planet, making a speech at the event — funded by JP Morgan, which has allegedly pumped over $78 billion into companies behind fracking and Arctic oil and gas exploration — for which they reportedly received more than half a million dollars was a "tacky" choice, according to experts.
“This shows how difficult it is going to be. They’ve got to make a lot of money and they are going to slip up on the way," Borkowski told Daily Mail. “The worry is how many of these types of gigs are there going to be? For JP Morgan, it’s an extraordinary 'get'. They clearly have the money to afford them, but Harry and Meghan need to avoid being perceived as tacky.”