Future Shock

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Have Big Plans to Change the World

Meghan and Harry move to ensure their charitable activities are as effective as possible. Plus, more scandal in Dubai, and Andrew and Fergie’s wedding day, 33 years ago.

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Big break

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry unveiled the name of their new, solo charitable foundation this week: “Sussex Royal The Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.”

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Tom Sykes

It seems likely the foundation will be abbreviated to all extents and purposes to Sussex Royal, making it SEO-ready as it points to and from their Instagram feed which is also called Sussex Royal, and recently surpassed 9m followers, with spikes after they posted the first pictures of their new baby, Archie Harrison.

A source told The Sun: “The new name is all about Harry and Meghan building their brand and doing it their way.”

By giving the foundation the same name as their Instagram handle, Meghan and Harry are making it clear they regard their social media presence as an important factor in leveraging their influence. 

Indeed, this week, Meghan and Harry were named on a list curated by Time magazine of the “25 Most Influential People on the Internet,” which said their “forward-thinking, cause-oriented approach to social media fits neatly with other ways they are establishing their identity beyond the crown.”

Fight for the crown

There looks set to be a series of fights over who gets to primarily represent the favored causes that used to be shared between the young royals when they had a joint foundation.

Harry’s appearance at The Lion King premiere, and an accompanying Instagram post which boasted that Disney had “made a donation to the Duke of Sussex’s upcoming environment & community initiative which will be formally announced this autumn,” makes it clear he won’t be surrendering the environment without a fight.

The documents formally establishing the foundation named Natalie Campbell, formerly a key employee at the joint foundation, as a director of the new operation along with Sara Latham, their PR supremo. 

Latham’s appointment to a senior position at the foundation explains her willingness to jump ship from a senior role at Freuds for the career wasteland of ‘no-comment’ royal PR. The Sussexes clearly intend her to have a pivotal role in all aspects of their public life going forward. 

Royal fashion watch

At The Lion King premiere last weekend, Meghan glam’d up in a black Jason Wu dress with long sheer sleeves (cost $2,450).

Stifled

A letter written by Sheikha Shamsa Al Maktoum, the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the billionaire ruler of Dubai whose wife has run away and is in hiding in London, has surfaced in The Sunday Times.

The letter was written in 1999, a year before Shamsa fled the family’s massive estate in Surrey, England, only to be recaptured two months later. Shamsa was allegedly taken back to Dubai and has not been seen in public since.

Her fate is believed to have triggered the attempted escape of her sister, Latifa, who fled Dubai last year in a yacht but was captured off the coast of Goa and returned to Dubai. Latifa released a 40-minute video describing how she and Shamsa, 38, had been held prisoner by their family.

Princess Haya in turn is believed to have fled her husband’s stifling regime at least in part in relation to the treatment of Latifa and Shamsa.

This week in royal history

On July 23, 1986 Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, aka Fergie, married at Westminster Abbey. They divorced, of course, and both have seen their fair share of scandals, from toe-sucking (her) to questionable involvement with Jeffrey Epstein (him). Andrew and Fergie seem to be good friends though, and are clearly close to their daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie.

Unanswered questions

What is behind dramatic reports of the divorce of Sultan Muhammad V of the Malaysian state of Kelantan and his wife, Russian beauty pageant entrant Oksana Voevodina?

The couple had a lavish wedding just last year, but their divorce was registered on July 1, with the date of the divorce listed as June 22 in Singapore, according to reports. It was reportedly carried out by the utterance of the word ‘talak’ (divorce) three times.

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Tom SykesEuropean Editor at Large

Tim TeemanSenior Editor and Writer

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