Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have come out fighting after suffering a bruising and, at times, humiliating year in 2023.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have made several major moves across the first seven weeks of 2024, indicating they are gearing up for a transformative year after a rough 12 months.
This week alone, the couple have launched a brand new website, announced a new podcast partnership and are set to attend a launch event for the 2025 Invictus Games.
The announcement of Meghan's podcast deal with Lemonada confirmed that the duchess will produce a brand new series for the company, and the new Sussex content will not stop there.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have made several major moves across the first seven weeks of 2024.
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Earlier this year, a Netflix executive confirmed that Meghan and Harry are actively working on four projects for the streaming platform, including one film.
The couple look to be undergoing a significant brand shift away from the Royal Family. In a combined 950 words across their two biographies on their new website, there was no mention of their time within the monarchy.
However, their children's titles of Prince and Princess were a noticeable addition and will keep the Sussexes linked to the Royal Family.
The pivot away from producing content surrounding their time in the Royal Family could not be more different from how the couple began last year.
The pivot away from producing content surrounding their time in the Royal Family could not be more different from how the couple began last year.
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They had an explosive start to 2023 coming off the back of their Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan which was released in December 2022.
Prince Harry then doubled down on the couple's decision to share intimate behind-the-scenes details on their lives in the Royal Family as he released his autobiography Spare in January 2023.
The content of his book was damaging to the monarchy with senior royals Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Kate heavily criticised in sections of Spare.
Harry's relationship with the Prince and Princess of Wales completely deteriorated following the publication of his autobiography and remains incredibly strained.
The couple had hoped the documentary and autobiography would boost their popularity in the US but their approval ratings plummeted just a month after their releases.
The Duchess of Sussex has not been to the UK since September 2022.
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In May 2023, Meghan chose not to attend King Charles's Coronation with reports claiming a factor in her absence was fear of being booed by UK crowds during the landmark event.
The Duchess of Sussex has not been to the UK since, with her last visit coming in September 2022.
Prince Harry attended the Coronation on his own and looked uncomfortable throughout the occasion, as he was humiliatingly relegated to the third row in Westminster Abbey, alongside other non-working royals including his disgraced uncle Prince Andrew.
A month later in June 2023, it was announced that the Sussexes and Spotify had cancelled their podcast deal.
Meghan and Harry may not look back at 2023 with too much fondness.
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Meghan and Harry were then brutally labelled "f*****g grifters" by a disgruntled Spotify executive in an interview when he reflected on the company's partnership with the royals.
In a final insult, the couple was named by The Hollywood Reporter among the biggest losers of 2023, with the publication pointing to their humiliation at the hands of South Park's 'World-Wide Privacy Tour' episodes and the 'grifters' label that had been attributed to them.
Meghan and Harry may not look back at 2023 with too much fondness but the couple appear to be determined to make 2024 memorable for all the right reasons.
By Valentine's Day, the Sussexes have shown their intentions of executing a transformative year for their brand, time will tell whether it is a false dawn.
