Harry & Meghan finally overtake Will & Kate Middleton on Instagram as Brand Sussex is set to make millions
MEGHAN Markle and Harry may have stepped back from senior royal duties, but have proved they are more popular than ever. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Instagram page is now the most followed royal account, having overtaken over from Prince William and Kate Middleton. The SussexRoyal page currently has 11,038,123 followers, with the KensingtonRoyal […]
MEGHAN Markle and Harry may have stepped back from senior royal duties, but have proved they are more popular than ever.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Instagram page is now the most followed royal account, having overtaken over from Prince William and Kate Middleton.
The SussexRoyal page currently has 11,038,123 followers, with the KensingtonRoyal account lagging just behind with 11,029,804.
The couple revealed their shock news they were changing their roles on January 8, and within a matter of days gained half a million followers, with the number steadily rising.
Brand expert Ronn Torossian, CEO of PR firm 5W Public Relations, told Fabulous Digital that the popularity shows the huge loss the couple are to the royal family.
Ronn said: “Given the recent media frenzy, it comes as no shock that Meghan and Harry have surpassed William and Kate in terms of social following.
“They are carving out a new brand for themselves, and with the increased freedom that comes along with no longer being official royals, it would not be shocking if the Sussexes become more popular that the Kensingtons, albeit in a different way.
“While the Sussexes are clearly on a different path than the Kensingtons, this is another proof point that the royal family has undergone a great loss with Meghan and Harry stepping down – they were, in many ways, the future of the royal ‘brand.’”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they are keen to support themselves and their eight-month-old son Archie independently of the royal family.
They appear to be hoping to turn their brand into a money-making global empire that could be worth millions after launching their slick new website, sussexroyal.com.
Its website shows that “Sussex Royal” has applied to have its trade mark on printed matter, including teaching material, books, magazines, brochures, calendars, posters, postcards and artists’ material.
And in another section, their brand will cover “social care services, namely organising and conducting emotional support groups, counselling, mentoring and personal care services”.
Ronn said the boost in their social media standing could be instrumental in achieving their fortune, and they could rack up £190,000 per post.
He said: “This also continues to demonstrate that Meghan and Harry will have no problem becoming financially independent – in fact, they will be more than fine.”
The news of the couple stepping down as royal has split many commentators, but the branding expert said the Instagram boom proves they could come out of the move better off.
Ronn explained: “While some may not think social following among royals means much, it can be extremely telling of public perceptions. This could mean that the public is on its way to forgiving Meghan and Harry – they are getting over being upset about the departure, and are now curious about what comes next.”
He added that it is unlikely that Kate and Prince William will be able to command the same intrigue and be able to catch up.
Ronn said: “In terms of the Cambridges – I’m not sure if they will catch up. At this point, Meghan and Harry have more of an incentive to continue growing their brand at a rapid pace, as it could easily soon be where the bulk of their income comes from.
“The others do not have that fire behind them, so I think it would be unlikely they will catch up.”
The SussexRoyal broke records when it was launched on April 2 last year.
It became the fastest account to reach one million followers in less than six hours, Guinness World Records confirmed.
This was later beaten by Jennifer Aniston who reached a million followers in five hours 45 minutes, when she joined the site in October.
Unsurprisingly, baby son Archie dominated the SussexRoyal’s top nine most liked pictures from 2019.
Ranking as the most popular of all among royal fans – with 3m ‘likes’ – was a black and white photo of Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, taking Archie to meet great-grandparents the Queen and Prince Philip, alongside grandmother Doria Ragland.
This was closely followed by a post the couple had shared days before announcing the birth of their son, which garnered 2.9m ‘likes’.
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