Meghan knew demand for her photos will shoot up after Megxit and help her brand grow, says photographer
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made an enormous $20 million property in Canada their sanctuary for six weeks before Christmas and enjoyed their privacy for a small period with their nine-month-old son Archie. They hiked, jogged and took their dogs for a walk, according to reports. Weeks later, news broke about their whereabouts and the press arrived. The couple, however, continued to remain there undeterred.
On January 8, Prince Harry and Meghan made a shock announcement, saying they would step back as senior members of the royal family and work to become financially independent. The move could see the couple splitting their time between the UK and Canada.
With pictures showing a plastic sheet preventing the media from getting a peek inside their Canada property grounds, the ongoing tension between the Sussexes and the press — stationed outside their gates — seems to be intensifying.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex called in their lawyers overnight last week after pictures of Meghan along with baby Archie and her two dogs were splashed across the UK newspapers. A letter was sent out by a firm acting on behalf of the couple, alleging that the pictures had been taken by paparazzi "hiding in the bushes and spying". The Sussexes, previously, filed a lawsuit against the UK media outlets like the Daily Mail for their "ruthless campaign" against Meghan.
Harry, in a speech on Sunday night, January 18, had talked about how he was hoping to live a more "peaceful" life now after the Sussexes' shocking decision to distance themselves from the royal family. However, according to a celebrity photographer, it is highly likely that the prince's wish will not come true.
London Entertainment Group's Giles Harrison, who has spent two weeks on the Vancouver island where the couple has been stationed, said that it is highly improbable that the frenzy around the couple will die down anytime soon. Harrison, who photographed Meghan departing by a seaplane for a day trip to Vancouver last week, said that "the appetite for photos of them is not going to end," and that one picture of the trio could be worth nearly $1 million, according to news.com.au.
"They are one of those celebs that no matter what they do you're going to make money off of it," Harrison said. He has 25 years of experience as a celebrity snapper and added: "There were people that all they did was follow his mother around and they made a fortune."
Harrison also said that the equation between the press and the Sussexes is more than what is projected by the latter, that of the hunter and hunted. He added that Meghan knew what was going to happen after the royal family separation. "I feel strongly that to a certain degree, they've been at this game long enough to know exactly what would happen (when they quit the royal family and came to Canada)," the celebrity photographer said. "I truly think Meghan Markle knew what was going to happen. And I think, all it does is to help, at least from her perspective, her brand and helps push her cause. And it helps make her famous."
"She could've lived a quiet life, opening shops and glad-handing old ladies at hospitals (as a member of the royal family) and they would have been able to have a tighter control on the press and the press coverage than they do now," Harrison added.