Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Keeping Their Distance in Public for 'Crucial' Reason

The "toxic duo" label Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have navigated around for years is reportedly "taking its toll" on Team Sussex, so they both "are doing something about it."

PR analyst Ed Coram James may have the answer, and told an outlet, "Since their marriage, Harry and Meghan have had a distinct brand. That brand is based on a duo. Call it 'Harry and Meghan,' call it 'the Sussexes,' call it whatever you like. The fact is that for years they have become synonymous with one another."

Harry and Meghan had the magic of a senior royal wedding and coupling at engagements, which soon was replaced by the incarnation many know of them today after 2020's "Megxit."

James added, "And, since the famous Oprah interview, in which they took a simmering disagreement between themselves and the rest of the royal family and essentially declared all-out-war, that brand has been steadily becoming more toxic and thus commercially untenable."

In the wake of many unflattering nicknames and hashtags, James said it has gotten "to the point where not that many major brands are going to be rushing to write them a large check based on their brand value."

He continued, "This is because the ongoing confrontation with the rest of the royal family, as well as much of Meghan’s family, have made them appear confrontational and combative, their string of commercial projects that haven’t worked out and have led to a sense that they aren’t the best producers. And their worldwide publicity tour made them look whiney, ungrateful, and unconscious to the enormous privilege that they have enjoyed."

Some believe that the pair's ultimate goal was to keep the highs of the post-Oprah interview era "alive and well," by tapping into "woke culture" to placate the Tinseltown status quo. James feels that regardless of what their motives may have been, it all backfired and will take work to fix.

"But, it is achievable," he further observed. "To do it, they need to lean into the exact opposites of these labels. The first step in this always had to be to dissociate themselves from the brand that had achieved such labels in the first place."

He concluded, "When combined, the Sussexes brand is, from a PR perspective, toxic. But, when separate, they have a genuine chance of creating an entirely separate brand, with completely different labels. If they manage to achieve this, then one day they could again reunite brands, and create a new combined brand that works."

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are both reported to be working on Netflix projects, which some analysts believe takes up most of their time.

Daily Mirror reported on James' remarks.