As they return to the UK, Harry and Meghan search for a brand that sticks

In late July, the Duchess of Sussex's lifestyle range, called As ever, launched a "rich, vibrant" blackberry spread alongside a softly lit video of her picking the fruit.

A month later, Meghan and her husband Prince Harry are returning to live in the UK just as blackberry season ends. Perhaps we can expect another video soon, shot on these shores.

Key Analysis and Detailed Timeline

Or perhaps not, because experts say the Harry and Meghan brand is at a crossroads.

After the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's acrimonious exit from the Royal Family in 2020, the projects marking their fresh start in California - from streaming to signature scents - have mostly failed to find large audiences, and experts say it's unclear where the couple goes from here.

Their return to the UK has surprised many and we don't know their reasons for the switch, but what's clear is that they will not be working royals when they return. So what could they be doing instead?

Broader Impact and Sector Outlook

Meghan in talks for role in Netflix series The Gentlemen, BBC understands Prince Harry and six others face privacy case legal bill of up to £34.5m Andrew Stephen, the L'Oréal professor of marketing at the University of Oxford's Saïd Business School, says that after they moved to the US the Sussexes "attracted enormous attention and were initially very good at monetising it. But I don't think they have been as successful at converting that initial success into an enduring brand." Now, he says, they have a "fragmented portfolio spanning social impact, entertainment and lifestyle, which has made it difficult to know exactly what their brand stands for".

After splitting with the Royal Family, the Sussexes stated they would work to become financially independent. They began life as civilians with interviews about their relationship with the royals before pivoting to new fields of interest, including media production and lifestyle, which now appears to Meghan's focus.

The couple's aim, according to the mission statement of their Archewell Productions company, is to highlight "our common humanity and celebrate community". They have continued to promote the Invictus Games, the sporting event for injured service men and women that Prince Harry founded, and launched charitable projects around the world through Archewell Philanthropies.

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They are widely reported to have earned $100m (£73m) from a deal with Netflix in 2020. An agreement in the same year with Spotify to produce podcasts was reported to be worth $25m (£18m).

Meanwhile, in 2023, a joint statement from Archewell Productions and Spotify said they had "mutually agreed to part ways". Spotify confirmed it was not renewing Meghan's 12-episode podcast Archetypes for a second series.

Harry & Meghan: Why Are They Moving Back?

After years of global headlines and their high-profile move to California, Prince Harry and Meghan are preparing for a return to the UK.

One challenge facing the Sussexes on their return is that they are once more associated with the Royal Family from which they have tried to stay separate, says Stephen.

"It could make them feel more culturally relevant " The fact the Sussexes have switched between projects brings risks to their brand, says Susan Fournier, a branding expert and former professor at Harvard Business School and Boston University. She says the couple went from royal insiders, giving a glimpse into a secret world, to royal critics, then from media producers to, in Meghan's case, a lifestyle influencer.

"Every time a brand does a 180 like that, you can't go back," Fournier tells the BBC. The most successful brands, she says, are consistent in the image that they present - and a return to the UK risks looking like another U-turn.