Nearly 250 years after America’s independence from Great Britain, a descendant of King George III now calls the U.S. home. Since stepping back as a senior member of the British royal family in March 2020, Prince Harry has been residing in the States, specifically his wife’s native California.
In America, known as the land of opportunity, the Duke of Sussex has carved out a new life as a non-working royal.
“I very much enjoy living here and bringing my kids up here,” Harry shared at the 2024 DealBook Summit. “It’s a part of my life that I never thought I was going to live, and I feel as though it’s the life that my mom wanted for me, and to be able to do the things that I am able to do with my kids that I undoubtedly wouldn’t be able to do in the UK, is huge.”
As a non-working royal, King Charles’ younger son has continued his work with the Invictus Games and charitable endeavors, including WellChild, while also joining BetterUp as its first Chief Impact Officer (CIO) and pursuing projects in Hollywood with his wife, Meghan Markle.
In 2020, the Duke and Duchess inked deals with Netflix and Spotify, though they parted ways with the latter in 2023. Despite what the Sussexes have produced in the years since and what they have in the pipeline, crisis and reputation consultant Mark Borkowski believes Harry’s “legacy is largely already secured”.
“Invictus is the substance. Everything else – Hollywood deals, media ventures, streaming content – all a sideshow,” Mark tells HELLO!. “Well-paid, occasionally compelling, but ultimately secondary. The risk isn’t collapse. It’s dilution.”
Under their deal with Netflix, Harry has executive-produced multiple projects, including the documentary series Heart of Invictus and POLO. He will once again be revisiting the world of polo, along with Meghan, in another series, a polo-themed drama, first reported by Deadline in March.
Life after Spare
Stripping away the “gloss” of Montecito, Mark suggests that what remains of Harry is a figure navigating a “post-hype phase” following the release of Spare, his 2023 memoir.
“Sentiment has faded and everyone still judges,” Mark says. “[Harry is] no longer the Spare phenomenon. He has lost purpose. After the cool appraisal from Vanity Fair, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, the Sussex story has shifted from myth to metrics. Not ‘Who are they?’ but ‘What do they actually deliver?'”
The Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, which featured the Duke and Duchess, debuted in December of 2022 with a total of 23.4 million views and reached the English Top 10 TV list in 85 countries. Meanwhile, the Duchess’ lifestyle series With Love, Meghan debuted in the Global Top 10 TV list and reached the Top 10 in 24 countries, drawing 5.3 million views in the first half of 2025, per the streamer.
Invictus Games legacy
Outside of Harry’s Hollywood ventures, what the royal still has “in the mix is hopeful,” according to Mark. “The Invictus Games Foundation carries real, unshakeable authenticity – earned, not engineered,” he says.
The Duke founded the Invictus Games in 2014, while he was still a working royal. The charity behind the event, the Invictus Games Foundation, was established following the success of the inaugural games in London. Harry was allowed to retain the patronage after stepping back from royal duties.
© GettyBy contrast, Mark states that Meghan and Harry’s “Archewell signals intent, but still drifts in that modern haze of wokey worthy ambiguity,” adding that “Netflix remains in the picture, though now less as a partner in storytelling and more as a reluctant investor running the numbers. Everything else feels like noise looking for narrative.”
The American dream
Nonetheless, Harry is living “his version of the American dream,” Mark says. But that dream, he points out, feels “out of sorts” with the Meghan and Harry we saw as working members of the royal family.
The reputation consultant explains: “This one is where freedom replaces structure, where relevance has to be earned daily, and where nobody applauds unless you ship something people actually watch and give a damn. The polo project doesn’t scream creative dominance; it feels something more corporate – ongoing negotiations with reality. They’re still betting on his name. They’re no longer betting blindly.”
At this point, “he’s not really fighting the Palace anymore,” Mark says of Harry. “He’s fighting irrelevance – and that’s a far less forgiving opponent.”
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