Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, has reportedly signed a voiceover deal with Disney. The deal is in exchange for a donation to Elephants Without Borders, a wildlife conservation charity. No details have been released on what project the Duchess is working on as a result.
This is not the royal couple’s first interaction with Disney. When their son Archie was born, Disney presented them with a special Winnie the Pooh cartoon to celebrate his arrival. The couple also attended the London premiere of Disney’s The Lion King last year.
Before marrying Prince Harry in 2018, Markle was an actress best known for her role in the legal drama Suits. Since marrying into royalty and until this week, Markle’s full-time job was to be a senior member of the royal family.
Earlier this week, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stunned the world when they announced that they are stepping back from their duties as ‘senior royals’. They will now split their time between North America and the UK. Markle is reportedly already in Canada. The couple intends to become financially independent from the monarchy. To that end, they have applied to trademark the name “Sussex Royal”.
After this week’s stunning announcement and two years of intense media criticism and scrutiny, the Disney deal shows that Markle is taking back her independence. It also offers a glimpse into the couple’s plans for the future. As they noted in their statement, this will include a continued dedication to charity work.
