Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have signed up with an elite speaking agency which represents high-profile stars including the Obamas and the Clintons.
The Duke, 35, and Duchess of Sussex, 38, have joined the Harry Walker Agency in their first career move since leaving the royal family and moving to Los Angeles.
According to the LA Times, the couple have plans to speak on social issues including racial justice, gender equality, the environment and mental health.
It has previously been reported that the Queen’s grandson and his wife want to model themselves on the Obamas, and would set up a similar working model to the former president.
Prince Harry, 35, and Meghan Markle, 38, have signed up with the Harry Walker Agency, a high-profile speaking agency, according to the LA Times
The Harry Walker Agency has high profile clients, many of whom are friends of the Duke and Duchess, including Prince Harry’s environmentalist friend Jane Goodall, Oprah Winfrey, Meghan’s bestie Serena Williams and the actor Tyler Perry – whose $18million (£15million) Beverly Hills mansion they are living in.
Speaking could prove an extremely lucrative booking for the Duke and Duchess, who vowed to become financially independent from the royal family when they stepped back in January.
According to their hometown newspaper, President Obama reportedly earned $400,000 for a speech in 2017, while the Clintons averaged $250,000 per appearance in 2014.
In January, it was reported that Barack and Michelle Obama had advised the Sussexes on their plans for a new life outside the Royal Family.
Other high flying clients signed to Harry Walker Agency include former President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama
Harry and Meghan have become close friends with the former US president and his lawyer wife and turned to them for help after making the decision to step back from royal duty.
At the time, sources confirmed Harry and Meghan had discussed their plans with the former US president and his wife and wanted to mimic the way they had managed to build a successful, but dignified, life for themselves after the White House.
A source said: ‘They have found huge commercial success without actually looking like they are getting their hands dirty, to put it bluntly, and retaining their popularity.
‘In fact it is fair to say that their star has soared since leaving the White House, particularly Michelle’s, and this is something Meghan admires very, very much.’
Meanwhile the agency also boasts other clients including former US president Bill and Hillary Clinton
Meanwhile royal expert Omid Scobie also claimed the couple have big plans for the next few years, and are basing their working model on the Obamas.
He said their plans were ‘not too dissimilar’ from what the former president created after leaving the White House and setting up Higher Ground production company.
He pointed to the Obama’s multiyear production deal with Netflix to produce films and documentaries covering topics like race, class and civil rights.
Harry has been friends with the couple for years, bonding over humanitarian and military issues, as well as his inspirational Invictus Games for injured military personnel and veterans. They even took part in a video skit with the Queen to publicise it.
Grin: Mr Obama meets Meghan Markle at The White House in 2016. Harry and Meghan have become close friends with the former US president and his lawyer wife and turned to them for help
Meghan is also close friends with the former US first lady, and secretly attended a talk Mrs Obama gave in London in 2018. Last summer the duchess interviewed the mother-of-two for her collaboration with British Vogue. Meghan also wrote of how Mrs Obama had become ‘such a globally respected public figure’. She said: ‘Whatever your background, it’s easy to feel connected to Mrs Obama. There’s something magical about the way in which she draws you in with her endearingly frank, down-to-Earth personality.’
Since leaving office Mr Obama, 58, and his wife, 55, have set up a charitable foundation that champions good causes including girls’ education and tackling youth violence.
They signed a joint book deal with Penguin Random House worth a reported £50million in 2017 and spent some of their new-found wealth on a luxury home in Martha’s Vineyard, off Cape Cod.
Meanwhile Prince Harry has also become good friends with Mr Obama over the last few years, and turned to them for help after making the decision to step back from royal duty
The news comes days after a friend told DailyMail.com Meghan’s instinct to leave the United Kingdom and move to California all makes sense to her now, because she believes she was ‘destined’ to help fight systemic racism in the United States.
The Duchess feels that her ‘gnawing urgency to uproot from England’ was fate so she could be at the ‘forefront’ of the movement, the insider explained.
They added: ‘Meghan said her work as a leader is more important than ever right now and that she’s been speaking with Oprah and other community leaders on how she can be part of the solution.
It comes days after it was revealed Meghan plans to use her platform to help fight systemetic racism in the United States. Earlier this month she spoke out on the death of George Flloyd amid on-going protests around the world
‘Meghan feels like her mission goes far beyond acting. She said she wants to use her voice for change and hasn’t ruled out a career in politics.’
Meghan, who quit her royal duties with husband Prince Harry earlier this year and relocated to LA in March, recently distanced herself from best friend Jessica Mulroney after she threatened to sue a black influencer over a dispute.
It came as the United States has been rocked by protests across the country in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd and other African-Americans who have died at the hands of police, sparking national conversations about racism.