Prince Harry wore Dior suit to Coronation – with Meghan Markle on brink of signing deal

Meghan Markle’s potential deal with Christian Dior is a sign she has realised it is ‘easier to be a clothes horse than an issues warrior’, experts told MailOnline today.

Prince Harry is also highly likely to be part of any agreement because the French fashion house will be desperate to have a royal promoting its menswear, it has been claimed.

The Duke of Sussex’s decision to wear a Christian Dior suit for his father’s Coronation is being viewed by some as a ‘plug’ for his wife – or a bid for work himself. And he also appears to have donned $1,000 Dior ‘Bee’ shirts during recent appearances at the High Court in London. He also wore Dior to the UN last year.

PR guru Mark Borkowski told MailOnline today that it is not yet clear if a deal with Dior is already done – or if the Sussexes are touting for one. ‘It shows that they have great power in fashion and they are wanted by fashion houses. It is easier to be a clothes horse than an issues warrior’, he said.

Meghan wore head-to-toe Dior when she attended the National Service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen last June. Dressed in all white, she wore a trench coat, skirt, and shirt from the Dior Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2022 collection by Maria Grazia Chiuri, a white hat from Dior by Stephen Jones, Dior gloves, and Dior D-Moi shoes. 

She has also worn Dior to the Queen’s funeral, Archie’s baptism and other major events and royal tours before Megxit.

Mr Borkowski said: ‘It could be a case of poking the bear (to get a deal) or I suspect that is something that has been running for a while in terms of a negotiation and it now manifests itself into something.

‘It’s no coincidence that they are veering towards fashion. They are more comfortable in this world. Style over substance. It does seem to be a series of weird coincidences: Harry wears a Dior suit at the coronation and Dior at the hacking case and now a deal may be in the offing’. 

Brand and culture expert Nick Ede said: ‘Harry will be part of the deal for sure. Dior are so well known for their menswear that I’m sure they will have wanted to seal an exclusive contract between them both’. 

Meghan was dealt a blow by audio giant Spotify last week after it was announced that they would not be renewing her podcast Archetypes for a second season following a ‘mutual’ decision – a move that could see Meghan and Prince Harry lose $10 million. 

But she is set to weather the storm, reclaiming her identity with one insider close to the California-based couple claiming she could be ‘worth hundreds of millions of dollars’ if she does accept the brand deals reportedly being thrown her way as a super-influencer.

Harry decided to wear a Dior suit for his father’s Coronation that was then promoted by Dior in a tweet. The Duke of Sussex wore the bespoke three-piece suit designed by the fashion house’s artistic director Kim Jones especially for his appearance at Westminster Abbey. Some called it petulant because most other guests wore British labels – but now the couple could be in line for a mega-money deal.

One royal watcher said on social media last night that it was now obvious that ‘Harry wearing a Dior suit was the plug’ for his wife’s deal. 

Another speculated that Meghan’s husband may also be part of any tie up, tweeting: ‘Harry was making a deal with Dior and that’s why he merched his Coronation suit & one of the shirts he wore to court. Maybe they are trying to get a deal by publicly wearing Dior’.

Meghan has been tipped to  become one of the highest paid influencers in the world, receiving £200,000 per post to endorse brands such as Dior, experts have suggested.  

Nick Ede told MailOnline that ‘Meghan could become one of the biggest influencers in the world’ and ‘could command millions’.

He added that if the deal goes ahead it could even rival the revenue Kim Kardashian has brought in over the years through her partnership with Dolce & Gabanna – which saw her paid $47million for simply wearing the designer on her wedding day. 

As part of her revamp, the Duchess has befriended marketing expert Victoria Jackson, who was behind one of the first TV ‘infomercial’ make-up empires.

She is married to Bill Guthy, whose marketing company Guthy-Renker, helped former supermodel Cindy Crawford turn her Meaningful Beauty line of cosmetics into a £80 million brand. She also represents Jenifer Lopez’s company, JLo Beauty.

‘Meghan and Victoria are very close. If anyone can help Meghan develop a skincare or make-up brand it’s Victoria and Bill,’ a Montecito source told the Mail on Sunday.

It comes amid suggestions that Meghan could soon look to bring her wellness and lifestyle blog The Tig, in a bid to rival Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop website, which is reportedly worth £200million.

She recently renewed her trademark for the website that she began in 2014 but closed down in 2017 after getting engaged to Prince Harry.

Mr Ede added: ‘Meghan could become one of the biggest influencers in the world. 

‘She is already one of the most talked about and photographed people so maximising her profit and aligning herself with these brands is a very lucrative step.

‘The whole Kardashian family had a commercial relationship with Dolce and Gabbanna which proved massive for brand sales and their family in fees.

‘With a brand like Dior affiliating with her they could be spending millions on her and make millions too. Meghan therefore could command millions by being a face of Dior and she could make hundreds of thousands per post.’

Alison Bringe, of brand performance company Lauchmetrics added: ‘She’ll be in line with the best-paid mega-influencers, if not the highest paid in the world.’

Those in Los Angeles believe Meghan could be on the brink of singing a deal with Dior, to become the face of the company alongside stars such as Johnny Depp, Rihanna and Jenifer Lawrence.

If she does sign with the brand, she could be on par with the £15 million handed to Depp to remain the face of its men’s fragrance Sauvage.

It would not be a complete shock if Meghan were to sign with the designer. She has been a fan of its fashion for years, wearing it head-to-toe at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee service.

Two years ago, she carried a monogrammed version of the iconic Lady Dior bag to a Global Citizen concert in New York.

And just last month Prince Harry made the bold decision to pair with the French designer for the King’s Coronation instead of military garments.

The Duchess’s rebrand is being headed by her new talent agency William Morris Endeavour (WME) who head up some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Oprah Winfrey – one the couple’s closest friends, who hosted their first bombshell interview in 2021 after leaving the royal family for California.

Ari Emanuel is the chief of the talent agency and is said to be ‘the best in the business’ when it comes to ‘corporate deals and making money’.

Insiders at the agency claim that ‘offers have been pouring in’ since the Duchess signed with WME – including offers to place her Spotify podcast elsewhere.

Jeremy Murphy, who runs New York’s 360bespoke PR agency, added that Meghan is reclaiming her identity.

‘She and Harry seem to be on different tracks which could be an issue,’ he said.

‘I don’t think most people know what Harry believes in other than his wife and children.

‘A growing number of people look at Harry as a deer caught in the headlights and she’s steering the car. Ari Emanuel is going to fix that. There’s finally an adult in the room.’

Experts claimed earlier this week that the actress-turned-royal and Prince Harry would not be receiving the full payout from their $20 million deal with Spotify for not meeting the productivity benchmark.

The deal was signed in 2020 but delivered only 13 hours of airtime in two and half years. It included 12 episodes and a one-off holiday special.

We knew the Spotify announcement was coming,’ a source told the Mail on Sunday.

‘It might be a shock to everyone else, but we’ve been working on the rebranding of Meghan for weeks.

‘Ari is the best in the business when it comes to corporate deals and making money. He’s excited to be representing Meghan and has thrown all his energy into it. The offers have been pouring in, including from other podcast platforms.’

A spokesperson for Spotify said: ‘Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together.’  

But Head of Podcast Innovation and Monetization at Spotify Bill Simmons branded the pair ‘f***ing grifters’ (American for con artists). 

And Netflix are also said to be conducting an ‘ongoing review’ of its £80 million deal with the Sussexes.

Either way, the Duke and Duchess will need to find a stream of revenue to continue to fund their extravagant lifestyle.

Public records in the US show they bought their 16-bathroom Montecito mansion in 2020 for $14.65 million (£11.4 million) and have a $9.5 million (£7.4 million) mortgage on it. On top of that there are annual property taxes of $141,403 (£113,000).

Their security costs are also estimated to be at around £2 million a year, on top of the costs of staff, such as nannies, household help, gardeners and travel costs – including private jets.