Smiling side by side, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex beamed as they put up a united front in their first public appearance in weeks.
Sitting together in a loveseat in the sun-drenched garden of their Montecito home, the couple was filmed making congratulatory phone calls to the winners of their new scholarship for safer technology.
It’s the first time the pair have been seen amid mounting speculation about their future in Hollywood and rumors of behind-the-scenes tensions.
They are believed to be in danger of losing millions after their lucrative Spotify deal was cut and the Duchess, who turns 42 tomorrow, was dismissed by Hollywood powerhouse Jeremy Zimmer as “not a major audio talent, or necessarily any kind of talent.”
Despite negative speculation, the pair were all smiling when they appeared together in the racy two minute and forty second clip released yesterday afternoon.
It came as sources close to the couple insisted they were “fine,” despite them being “fed up” with the rumor mill and remaining determined to make a success of their life in America.
The carefully staged collaborative video marks a return to public appearances, with a clear statement from the parents of Archie, four, and Lilibet, two.
The last time they were together at a public event was at an awards ceremony in New York in May, which ended in chaotic scenes of claims and counter-claims about a paparazzi chase through the streets of Manhattan.
They have since been plagued by rumors that they would be leaving their joint ventures to focus on solo projects, with Meghan recently signed to energy agency William Morris Endeavor and Harry, 38, who was working on a Netflix series with a trip to Botswana.
But sources close to the couple, who married in 2018 in a lavish Windsor ceremony, said they were growing tired of the constant speculation swirling around them.
A source told OK! Magazine: “The Sussexes’ marriage is fine,” adding that unfounded online snipes stemmed from Harry’s upcoming solo trip to Africa.
That’s a business trip. It’s not a sign of trouble.’
Dressed in a loose-fitting beige turtleneck dress and gold earrings, Meghan held a cell phone as her husband, dressed in brown chinos and a white shirt, leaned over
This echoed an insider who told US gossip website PageSix last month that the rumors were “not true”. It’s literally made up.”
Industry experts said the couple’s career problems stemmed from “serious growing pains” — and the over-expectations placed on them as royals — as they struggled to make their mark in Hollywood.
The pair signed multi-million pound deals with Netflix and Spotify shortly after the move, but production stagnated in the three years that followed.
“The royal element and, in some ways, the drama surrounding it has inflated the price, deals and expectations,” a leading Hollywood insider told People magazine.
While projects involving their past lives within palace walls, such as their tell-all Netflix series that reopened old wounds with new claims, have been relatively successful, those without a royal element have struggled to make it to the public.
Their Netflix documentary series Live to Lead failed to take off, while a Meghan-driven animation called Pearl, about a girl inspired by female leaders, was quietly shelved.
However, an Archetypes source told People magazine that the pair were not set for success on Spotify.
Recipients of the Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund, of which the couple’s Archewell Foundation is a founding member, will receive $2 million (£1.56 million) in grants ranging from $25,000 to $200,000
The Archewell Foundation initiative will consist of 26 youth-led projects designed to make the digital world less toxic to young people
“They weren’t given any formal ground to kick things off, so they were already in a shaky spot before the ink was dry,” the source added.
It was claimed that the couple, who produced just 12 episodes of Archetypes for the audio streamer before their deal was dropped, “had a lot of ideas and pitched them too,” but bureaucracy meant “things moved very slowly on both sides.”
One of those ideas, Bloomberg reported, was Harry’s suggestion that he interview “controversial” guests like Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump about their childhoods and the pope, who has no children, about fatherhood.
But an industry executive told People there was still time for the pair to turn things around, adding, “Has their final chapter been written?” Absolutely not…Hollywood loves a comeback.’
In their new video, the pair gushed as they made surprise calls to recipients of the Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund of which their Archewell Foundation is a founding member.
Meghan, wearing a loose-fitting beige turtleneck dress and gold earrings, held a cell phone as her husband, dressed in brown chinos and a white shirt, leaned over.
The initiative will see 26 youth-led projects, designed to make the digital world less toxic for young people, receive $2 million (£1.56 million) in grants ranging from $25,000 to $200,000.
The Sussexes called several of the fund’s winners and enthusiastically thanked them for all their hard work in making the internet a safer and better place.
Despite negative speculation, the pair were all smiling as they appeared together in the racy two minute 40 second clip released yesterday afternoon
The pair gushed as they made surprise calls to Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund recipients
Referring to their two children, Prince Harry said: “Thank you for everything you do. Our children are especially grateful.’
“They don’t know it yet, but they’ll get there!” added the Duchess with a laugh. The money, which will help with, among other things, the responsible use of artificial intelligence and tackling cyberbullying, has been made available by sponsors, including the Archewell Foundation.
“I can’t believe I’m talking to both of you right now,” Trisha Prabhu, inventor of Rethink Citizens, a technology to detect and stop online hate, said after picking up the phone.
She told the couple about her own experiences of online bullying: “It was like young people were given the strength and courage to say things to me online that they would never say to me in person.
“And so my vision was, can we actually stop cyberbullying at its source with the cyberbully, through a behavioral approach that actually teaches young people to pause and reconsider?”
Harry replied, “This is great. This is exactly why we do what we do… That is exactly why the Youth Power Fund was created.’