Are Harry and Meghan now the Duke and Duchess of Dior?

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle could be taking on a new role with Dior, only days after Spotify ended its deal with the California-based royal couple.

It was reported this week that Duchess of Sussex is in talks about taking on a new partnership with the luxury fashion brand. The Mail on Sunday asked if she was about to become the “mega-bucks Duchess of Dior”.

However, a spokesperson for the Sussexes has told The Telegraph that the rumours are not true. A source at Dior was also quoted by the publication as saying that the French fashion house is “nonplussed as to how the story came about”.

It comes after Archewell Audio announced that “Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways”, after producing the first season of Meghan’s podcast, Archetypes.

Rumours that Meghan could becoming the “face of” the French couture house have been “swirling around LA,” the Mail reported.

“There have been rumours for weeks that she’s about to sign a deal with Dior which has put the gossip mill into overdrive,” a source told the publication, adding that if Meghan “pulls that off, then no one will remember” her podcast being cancelled.

Meghan’s team at her talent agency, William Morris Endeavor (WME), “knew the Spotify announcement was coming,” it reported.

“It might be a shock to everyone else but we’ve been working on rebranding Meghan for weeks,” the source claimed, before adding that the chief of the talent agency, Ari Emanuel, is the “best in the business” when it comes to managing “corporate deals”.

“He’s excited to be representing Meghan and has thrown all this energy into it,” the source from WME claimed, before alleging that “offers have been pouring in” from other podcast platforms to sign with Meghan.

On Twitter, many people have criticised the possible partnership between Dior and Meghan. Some claimed that the brand should stick with the ambassadors they already have, while others questioned the timing of this alleged deal, since the couple just ended their partnership with Spotfiy.

“And why, oh why, would you sign Harry and Meghan when you already have Grace Kelly’s grandson Pierre Casiraghi and his wife, who is an Italian aristocracy, Beatrice Borromeo already serving as ambassadors,” one wrote.  “She looks divine in Dior!!”

“The #Dior thing is a PR tactic to distract from their getting booted, cancelled, fired from Spotify,” another claimed. “And to distract from the fact they were promptly called out for exactly what they are. ‘F***ing grifters.’”

However, other people defended the fashion house and duke and duchess, with claims that the pair could help boost sales.

“Dior deals in facts. They saw the trend, if Meghan wears an item, then it immediately sells out,” one wrote. “Haters deal in lies and not facts because they don’t live in reality. Meghan and Harry are good people that have a mob of people hating them based on nothing but jealousy.”

“​​Both classy and naturally beautiful people inside and out. They just keep climbing the ladder,” another added. “Funny thing is. The haters comment so much about them wearing Dior has put Dior on top. The more they talk the more Meghan keeps moving up.”

After Spotify split with Harry and Meghan, ending their $20m deal, a leading Spotify figure didn’t hesitate to lash out at the couple.

On Friday, Bill Simmons, who sold The Ringer to Spotify for $200m in 2020 and is now an influential executive there, slammed the Sussexes on his own podcast. “The f***ing grifters. That’s the podcast we shoulda launched with them,” he said.

“I gotta get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea,” he added. “It’s one of my best stories.”

Regarding why the couple ended the deal with Spotify, the Wall Street Journal also reported on Friday that they haven’t “met the productivity benchmarks required to receive the full payout from the deal”, citing insiders familiar with the matter.

Under the terms of the 2020 deal, Harry and Meghan were signed on to produce and host “programming that uplifts and entertains audiences around the world” in the form of podcasts that championed diverse voices. Meghan only delivered 12 episodes of Archetypes since she and Harry partnered with Spotify.

Meanwhile, the couple have shown their support for Dior on multiple occasions. At King Charles III’s coronation in May, Harry wore a bespoke suit designed by the fashion house. At the time, the brand tweeted that it had dressed the duke in a custom design by celebrity favourite British-born Kim Jones, saying to do so was an “honour”.

Back in 2021, Meghan attended the Global Citizen Concert in New York City with a black Lady D-Lite purse by Dior in her hand. The Dior Lady D-Lite Bag, which is the “sister bag” of the Lady Dior handbag, was also named after Prince William and Harry’s late mother, Diana.

Meghan’s outing with the purse also appeared to boost sales. At the time, royal expert Omid Scobie noted that hours after it was posted, the Medium Lady D-Lite Bag, which retails for $4,900, had sold out on Dior’s website .

The Independent has contacted representatives for Meghan, Harry, and LVMH, the owner of the Dior, for comment.