Meghan Markle and Harry: Expert issues warning on lawsuits

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Meghan and Harry have successfully carved out a new, financially independent life, for themselves away from the Royal Family over the last year. With a lucrative podcast deal with Spotify and a historically profitable contract with streaming giant Netflix, the couple have already splashed out on a sprawling mansion in California. The pair also signed up to the same high-profile public speaking agency as former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama, demonstrating how the Sussexes are positioning themselves on the global stage.

In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, tax and immigration advisor David Lesperance explained that this is likely to all make the couple staggeringly wealthy just 12 months after leaving the Firm.

Looking first at the couple’s revenue, he said: “Would they have had any of their deals had they remained as junior royals?

“Probably not.”

He noted that the Royal Family rarely engages in commercial enterprises.

He continued: “A lot of the revenue that is generated from the Crown Estate, Windsor Castle, Buckingham tours, are part of the Crown Estate, not necessarily an asset of a junior royal.

“So certainly on the revenue side, they’re significantly higher in what they’ve got from these commercial third-parties, as opposed to what they would have got from a grant, or even gifts from Charles.

“Their expenses have increased, the major expense probably being security. That was something that was taken care of before, not by them — they are bearing the bulk of that.

“But they are also not going out to restaurants, doing tours, any handshaking or royal duties, so it’s probably a lot easier and cheaper in their current situation than if they were fulfilling their public duties.”

Mr Lesperance then compared the couple’s new wealth to Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince William’s royal finances.

He confirmed that he would expect the Sussexes to now be wealthier than the Cambridges, by a stretch of “multi-millions”.

The tax advisor explained: “Kate and William, for example, what revenues do they have?

“We don’t actually know what the Queen gives to him beyond what is in the Parliamentary stated payments.

“We do know there are certain things such as security which do not tap into the net worth of Kate and William, but they also don’t have third parties such as Netflix and Spotify.”

The Cambridges and the Sussexes used to split £5million between them from Prince Charles’ Duchy of Cornwall estate to carry out royal duties.

It is not known if now the Sussexes have left, the full amount will go to Kate and William’s duties.

Harry and William also inherited approximately £14million from the Queen Mother’s estate, but the bulk of it went towards the Duke of Sussex, according to the BBC, as he will not become the monarch.

William also received approximately £10million from Princess Diana’s estate when he turned 30, like Harry.

While William will most likely be worth more in the future when he inherits the Duchy of Cornwall, or when he becomes the reigning monarch, right now Harry appears to have taken the financial upper-hand.

However, Mr Lesperance also pointed out that the Sussexes will have an additional financial aspect of their new lives to deal with, now they live in the US.

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He said: “Now, they have a tax issue — Harry wouldn’t have had this before, although Meghan would have.

“Meghan would pay tax to the federal government because she is a citizen, and now arguably to California because she is a resident of California.

“There’s now a federal and state level — as opposed to the UK.”

Mr Lesperance also looked at Harry’s taxation, and said Meghan may sponsor him so he could reside permanently in the US — but he would then also be subject to US tax on a worldwide basis.

Yet, their taxes are unlikely to seriously diminish their overall wealth.

The Netflix deal was reportedly worth $100million (£72.3million) while the Spotify contract was believed to be valued at $54.5million (£39.3million).

The couple purchased their new home in the secluded and wealthy community of Montecito for $14.6million (£10million) with 5.4 acres of land.

Shortly after these deals were announced, the pair declared that they had paid off the £2.4million they owed to the taxpayer for their renovations on their Windsor property, Frogmore Cottage.

They also allegedly paid a lump sum as rent for the home, and stopped receiving payments from Prince Charles’ private income, the Duchy of Cornwall.

One of the top concerns for the couple’s life outside of the royal fold related to how they were going to pay for their security.

They had claimed they were “internationally-protected people” when revealing their first plan of “stepping back” from the Royal Family last January, meaning they would still be entitled to state-paid bodyguards.

However, after the Sandringham Summit, it was clear the couple could not be “half-in-half-out” of the Firm and therefore would have to become completely private citizens and pay for their own security.

Harry was already worth an estimated $25million (£18million), due to his inheritance from his late mother Princess Diana and his annual allowance from Prince Charles.

With a successful acting career under her belt, Meghan was worth approximately $5million (£3.6million), prior to her royal departure.

Clearly, their worth has skyrocketed upon their royal exit — commonly known as Megxit.

However, there is a risk the couple may have to put a pin in their commercial aspirations as the 12-month review of their post-royal life was expected to take place in March.

Although there are reports that the review has been extended or cancelled altogether as the Sussexes are content with their current arrangement, there has been no official confirmation that the review will not be going ahead this year.

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