This is how much Meghan and Harry would earn in normal jobs, according to experts

A phrase that’s being pored over from Prince Harry and Megan’s Wednesday letter of resignation from their own family is their expressed wish to become “financially independent”.

What does this mean, the people wonder, in the case of individuals who are used to be being bankrolled by the state (well, Harry more so) and have such huge gaps in their CV?

Are they going to be logging onto Indeed to sift through marketing assistant positions in Slough? Or devote three hours to creating an exhaustive LinkedIn profile that contains every bit of work experience they’ve done since they were 16?

Well, if that scenario does unfold, they should be OK – by our standards at least.

Training and qualifications site The Knowledge Academy (TKA) has assessed the couple’s individual work history and come up with a conclusive answer on just how well they would fare if they dipped their toes in the 2020 job market.

According to the research, Meghan is the best poised to earn big bucks, thanks to the fact she was already a successful actress (no comment on how talented, but, yes, successful) at the time of meeting Harry.

Her regular role as Rachel Zane on Suitsnetted her around £350,000 a year, in addition to various endorsement deals and sponsorships (like the two fashion collections she released with Canadian retailer Reitmans).

TKA says Meghan could either pick up where she left off and return to acting (there’s also a kind offer of reality TV from Real Housewives producer Andy Cohen), earning potentially even more thanks to her increased public profile, or try her luck as a fashion designer, earning about £38,276 in the UK.

Averaging it out, they estimate if she was a civilian, her CV would have her able to earn an average salary of around £139,685.

In comparison, Harry is the lesser earner of the pair (gender roles found rotting).

Thanks to his military career, TKA thinks he could net an average annual salary of £40,684 if he decided to re-enter the armed forces, and up to £55,000 if he reached the rank of major.

But as he’s stated he wants to become a charity manager, Harry would probably be looking at a year wage closer to £39,617.

Sounds pretty good to us when you consider that £30,420 is the average UK salary.

It’s unlikely to come to this however. Prince Harry has a whacking great trust fund to fall back on (much like that guy in your uni halls who always complained he was “flat broke” but then moved into a penthouse flat with a private pool in second year).

First there’s the trust fund from their great-grandmother, the queen mother, which gave both William and Harry £6m to split between them (reportedly weighted in Harry’s favour as compensation for not becoming king) when they were 21.

The brothers will also get another £8m from the same trust fund to split when they’re 40. Although it remains to be seen whether that money will still go to Harry if he removes himself from the line of succession entirely…

Plus there’s their trust fund from Diana, which works out to about £8 million split between the princes. They started receiving this in instalments of roughly £344,250 a year when they were 25 so how useful this is now as a “F*ck Off Fund” depends how much Harry’s blew through during his… wilder days.

Ultimately – they’re rich! And famous! They’re going to be just fine. Fret no more (and maybe crack on with that CV update you've been meaning to do).

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