By Sara
Nathan
The
US $14 million waterfront mansion in North Saanich on Victoria Island in Canada
was the perfect stronghold for Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle to plot an
abdication.
As bunkers go, Meghan’s is as luxe as it gets.
There’s a battle-ready stone turret, of course, in the
$14 million Vancouver mansion where the Duchess this week will wait out the
tense Megxit negotiations across the pond.
Built of gray boulders and ringed by evergreens, a
crystal blue bay, and new, six-foot security fencing, the mansion had been a
perfect stronghold for plotting an abdication — as Meghan and Prince Harry did
over a six-week Christmas vacation there with baby Archie.
Called “Mille Fleurs,” the estate is now the perfect
fallout shelter for Meghan as Prince Harry meets Monday in Britain with his
roiled royal family.
The emergency peace talks will take place at the Queen’s
Sandringham estate. Meghan is expected to join in what the British press is
calling the “Sandringham Summit” — but by telephone.
It will be the first family meeting since the couple’s
bombshell announcement last week that they intend to step down as “senior”
royals, become financially independent, and split their time between the UK and
“North America.”
The summit agenda is a long one, and mostly involving
money and duty, the
Sunday Times of London revealed.
Among the items for discussion is how much “official”
royal work the two will continue to do in the UK and abroad on behalf of the
family.
They’ll decide if the two will keep their “HRH” titles,
the Times said.
The two have so far held on to the potentially marketable
titles, even signing last week’s announcement as “Their Royal Highnesses, The
Duke and Duchess of Sussex.”
Prince
Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess Of Sussex with baby Archie.WireImage
They’ll also discuss how much money they can expect to
receive from the Queen and from Harry’s father, Prince Charles, who reportedly
funds 95 percent of the couple’s expenses, with taxpayers footing the remaining
5 percent.
They’ll also discuss what commercial deals the couple
might be free to strike, the Sunday Times reported.
Then there’s security. Will the pricey armed protection
squads that currently guard the couple and their eight-month-old son be
maintained at their current levels? Will they be downgraded to cheaper officers
toting only Tasers?
Whatever is decided, it better be quick. The Queen, 93,
has put her sensibly shod foot down and demanded Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
strike a Megxit deal with the palace within 72 hours, meaning by Tuesday, the
UK’s Sun reported.
Prince Harry won’t leave until they do, the paper
reported.
Meanwhile, Meghan has no plane ticket back to London —
she’d taken a budget, $175 one-way a one-way flight back to Canada and the baby
after just three days with Harry in the UK last week, fooling the paparazzi,
who’d expected she’d be on a private jet, the
Daily Mail reported.
She has no royal duties on her schedule, and she’s even
flown her dogs to Canada.
It’s unclear if she’ll even be able to gain British
citizenship, a process with a strict three-year residency requirement. Meghan
has dug in on the North America side of things.
It was at the picturesque mansion, in the flickering glow
of chandeliers and roaring fireplaces, that she and her Prince ripped up the
royal rule book and hatched “Megxit” — a move that has turned the monarchy upside
down and drawn the wrath of the public and the royal family.
The Sussexes had spurned the mandatory December family
retreat at Sandringham in favor of huddling up with Meghan’s mother, Doria
Ragland, and a coterie of the duchess’ old friends — including “Suits” actress
Abigail Spencer and fashion stylist Jessica Mulroney, the daughter-in-law of
former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
Canada had already become an adopted homeland for the
Duchess while she filmed seven seasons of the cable legal drama “Suits” in
Toronto.
So she turned to her childhood pal, actress Katharine
McPhee, whose music-producer husband, David Foster, hooked the royals up with
Mille Fleurs, rumored to be owned by a Russian billionaire.
The 10,000-square-foot home, complete with a game room,
media room and pizza oven, would make a cozy base camp while Meghan, 38, and
Harry, 35, finalized their decision to go rogue.
Initial reports from palace sources had that the Queen
was furious that the Sussexes made their announcement despite her express
instructions that they wait until a thorough plan is ironed out.
Charles and Prince William were reportedly “incandescent
with rage.”
Now, though, reports are that Charles is worried Harry is
continuing to struggle with the mental-health issues that arose with the 1997
death of his mother, Princess Diana.
And William is despondent over the broken bond with his
brother, the Sunday Times of London reported.
“I’ve put my arm around my brother all our lives and I
can’t do that any more; we’re separate entities,” he told a friend.
If Britons have their way, there’ll be a hard Megxit —
with 54 percent of respondents to a Daily Mail poll saying the pair should be
stripped of their royal titles.
Nearly 80 percent say the couple should get no support
from either the royals — Charles reportedly funds 95 percent of the couple’s
expenses — or taxpayers, who pay the remaining 5 percent.
But Meghan and her prince will never be paupers. Both are
solid millionaires in their own right, according to Business Insider.
Harry’s $25 million personal fortune is comprised of an
inheritance from Diana, and an annual allowance from his father. Meghan, who
pocketed $40,000 per episode while filming “Suits,” is worth around $5 million.
Still, the two have signaled that they want to start
earning.
Meghan
MarklePOOL/AFP via Getty
Meghan began dipping her toes back into an acting career
before the Canada holiday, recording an undisclosed voice-over role for Disney.
Royals can’t accept payments, so Disney instead made a
donation to a pet charity of the couple, Elephants Without Borders.
The story of Sarah, the Duchess of York, serves as a
cautionary tale, said Patrick Jephson, Princess Diana’s former chief of staff.
Sarah Ferguson, a k a Fergie, made a killing in the US
following her dramatic 1996 divorce from Prince Andrew, in which she kept the
right to call herself “Duchess.”
She was the face of Weight Watchers, endorsed Avon and
Wedgewood, and put her name to a number of books. But following money woes and
seemingly no shortage of scandal, she’s become a bit of a joke.
Said Jephson: “There is a blurred line between celebrity
and royalty, and royal people cross it at their peril.”
Meanwhile, they have already trademarked a slew of
products — including clothing, stationery and possibly their own magazine —
with the “Sussex Royal” brand.
If Harry and Meghan are willing to give up their royal
titles once and for all, the sky is the limit for their earning potential.
British branding expert Mark Borkowski told The Post they
could each expect to snag at least half a million dollars per talk, and could
sign a production deal with an outlet like Netflix or Apple for their own
documentary channel.
“With the kind of work that Meghan and Harry want to do,
they have to be free from palace protocol and politics,” he said. “You can’t
speak out properly with the palace breathing down your neck.”
Jephson told The Post Meghan and Harry have worked hard
to “maintain a growing US network of friends and advisers.”
The couple are said to have taken guidance from Barack
and Michelle Obama, who have their own multimillion-dollar production deal with
Netflix.
They have also had advice from other American power
figures including Hillary Clinton, who made a recent visit to Harry and
Meghan’s home, Frogmore Cottage, on the grounds of Windsor Castle — which has
just undergone a $3.1 million renovation at taxpayer expense, and which the
couple reportedly intend to keep.
Harry is equally responsible for this week’s
announcement, an insider told The Post, despite blame being pointed at his
wife.
“They made this decision together. This was not Meghan
deciding for the both of them,” the insider added. “She’s been vilified for the
most minute actions — from making avocado toast to her British Vogue
‘Changemakers’ cover. Show me one person who could withstand this.
“Harry is a man who loves his wife, his child and their
family they’re creating together. These are two people eager for a fresh
start.”
Additional reporting by Sara Dorn, Jon Levine
and Laura Italiano.
