Megabucks Meghan to become $20million Duchess of Dior as she builds 'global brand'

It is part of talent agency WME's mission to 're-invent' Meghan in the wake of Prince Harry's memoir Spare, which dented the couple's popularity in America.

If the deal comes off, Meghan will join global stars Rihanna and Jennifer Lawrence as the public face of the brand.

A prominent Beverly Hills socialite said: "Meghan is all anyone is talking about.

"There have been rumours for weeks that she's about to sign a deal with Dior which has put the gossip mill into overdrive.

"If she pulls that off, then no one will remember that her silly little podcast got cancelled after one season."

On Friday Spotify cancelled its contract with Meghan and Harry after they failed to produce enough content on their podcast, Archetypes, to warrant a full payout of the $20m deal they signed in 2020.

It delivered just 13 hours of programming in two-and-a-half-years, including 12 episodes of Meghan's Archetypes podcast and a one-off "holiday special".

In a joint statement from the couple's Archewell media company and Spotify the parties confirmed they had "mutually agreed to part ways".

Archetypes is described as "a podcast where we investigate, dissect, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back".

The Duchess, 41, though has been determined to build her public image through WME and the Dior deal could be the first of many on the horizon.

A source at WME told the Daily Mail: "We knew the Spotify announcement was coming.

"It might be a shock to everyone else but we've been working on the rebranding of Meghan for weeks.

"Ari [Emanuel, the WME CEO] is the best in the business when it comes to corporate deals and making money.

"He's excited to be representing Meghan and has thrown all his energy into it.

"The offers have been pouring in, including from other podcast platforms."

It understood content streaming giant Netflix is also reviewing its £80 million deal with the Sussexes.

But reputation crisis expert Eric Schiffer says Team Meghan will use the drama to their advantage.

He said: "These guys were already on a war footing because they knew the Spotify announcement was coming.

"Ari will have a strategic and tactical battle plan in place to link her with sophisticated brand partners, like Dior.

"This is an opportunity to distance Meghan from the negativity of the past.

"It's no accident that she didn't go to the Coronation, that she didn't show up in London alongside Prince Harry when he was in court recently.

"Meghan is wise to distance herself from her husband's toxic dramas.

"This is a woman who constantly moves forward. This is about building a global brand. There will be some big deals announced soon."

The Sussexes need a significant income to finance their lavish lifestyle.Public records in the US show they bought their 16-bathroom Montecito mansion in 2020 for $14.65 million (£11.4 million) and have a $9.5 million (£7.4 million) mortgage. There are annual property taxes of $141,403 (£113,000).

They also have to pay millions for staff, including nannies, chefs, office staff, gardeners and travel costs, including private jets.

Meghan has long been a fan of the French fashion and fragrance house and chose to wear head-to-toe Dior for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee service.

Two years ago, she carried a monogrammed version of the iconic Lady Dior bag to a Global Citizen concert in New York.

Eric Schiffer, chairman of Reputation Management Consultants, told the Mail: "I think Meghan is reading the tea leaves correctly in seeking to distance herself from the toxic emotional drama that Harry seems unable to put in the past.

"This is a strategy and she is getting very good advice. People are sick and tired of Harry constantly castigating his family and I don't think he is doing himself any favours to keep blaming the press for everything that went wrong in his life and dredging up stories from 25 years ago.

"Meghan will focus on the positive and all the things which made her so appealing to millennials and Gens X and Z in the first place.

"She will go back to an image of a strong, successful woman who built her own career and will focus on serious women's issues, but also things that are fun and aspirational, like couture fashion."

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved to California in June 2020, saying they wanted privacy to raise their son Archie, and to develop their charitable Archewell Foundation.

Their daughter, Lilibet, was born in 2021.They returned to the UK for the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee in June 2022, and her funeral in September.

Prince Harry has since returned briefly for his father's Coronation and to make a historic court appearance, in which he accused Mirror Group Newspapers of hacking his phone.

Prior to stepping down as working royals they received 95 per cent of their income - several million pounds - from Harry's father, then Prince of Wales.