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Prince Harry and Meghan have had an online overhaul, launching a newly branded sussex.com website.
It is under the rather grandiose title of “The Office of Prince Harry & Meghan, the Duke & Duchess of Sussex”, with a regal-looking coat of arms.
Their Archewell brand, covering their charity and media business, is now folded inside.
You can imagine the brand gurus fighting over the flipcharts of fonts, photos and wording. So, what are Harry and Meghan trying to tell us?
1. Feel-good message
The website opens up with a dark blue page – a colour that brand marketeers like to associate with trust and quality, not to mention royalty. Then a picture of the couple emerges, smiling and applauding. It’s a feel-good message of positivity and togetherness.
It looks like the picture came from the closing ceremony of the Invictus games in Dusseldorf in 2023, although the guy seen behind Meghan’s right shoulder seems to have been gently faded out of the new website version.
2. The office of…
There is an ex-presidential vibe about the new site, with its “office of”, coat of arms, worthy ambitions and the biographies looking back on former triumphs and awards.
It’s meant to say classy and simple. It might also work for some upmarket, aspirational chocolates. You can imagine a voiceover purring about a Sussex not just being for Christmas.
And why sussex.com? I suppose H&M was already taken.
3. Royal links – or lack of them
There is no mention of any other royals in their biographies. There has been some synthetic outrage about trading on royal connections but the links to the rest of the royal clan are conspicuous here by their absence.
Prince Harry’s profile mentions his military career, his charities and his memoir Spare but nothing about being fifth in line to the throne. This is Harry without a tie or, for that matter, royal ties.
But pushing back the Archewell brand makes sense if they are going to be speaking publicly and personally on issues. Archewell was a difficult concept as a vehicle – was it a charity or a media business?
This is now about them as individuals rather than their corporate structure. Or, as they modestly put it: “Shaping the future through business and philanthropy.”
4. Meghan as feminist
Meghan has decided to focus strongly on her work supporting women, with her biography introducing herself as a “feminist and champion of human rights and gender equity”.
“Her lifelong advocacy for women and girls remains a constant thread in her humanitarian and business ventures,” it reads.
It is a clear piece of positioning and signals the type of projects that could be on the way. It is a CV that doesn’t really mention her time in the Royal Family, beyond marrying into it in 2018. Instead, it highlights her acting career and campaigning on social issues. It mentions Grenfell but not Buckingham Palace.
5. Don’t forget the titles
They might not be working royals, even if they sometimes seem to be a parallel royal court, but there is one place where they clearly assert their family connections.
Both Harry and Meghan’s biographies use their children’s titles, describing them as “Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet”. Dress code casual, but don’t forget the titles.
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