People hoped that when Prince Harry married Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, the couple would join forces with Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. Sadly, the Fab Four, as the two couples were affectionately known, was just for a brief time.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are now financially independent of Prince Charles, Harry’s father. The pair have revealed that they would refund the $2.9 million expense of renovating their first royal digs, Frogmore Cottage, on the Windsor Castle estate, which was paid for by the taxpayer. The couple only stayed in the cottage for about six months before moving to Canada and then California, and the cost of the restoration was a hot topic in the media for months afterward.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex declared their decision to cease collecting funding from British taxpayers – like the Royal Family does for their duties – to start making their own money in a statement released in January 2020.

The line that raised the most eyebrows when Harry and Meghan announced that they were “stepping back” from becoming full-time royals was that they wanted to “work to be financially independent.”

The Sussexes are now working to earn their own income, and they are succeeding admirably. For over $100 million, the two landed a Netflix contract to produce documentaries, films, scripted series, and more.

Harry and Meghan’s official statement came out, reading (via ABC News), “A contribution has been made to the Sovereign Grant by The Duke of Sussex. This contribution as originally offered by Prince Harry has fully covered the necessary renovation costs of Frogmore Cottage, a property of Her Majesty The Queen, and will remain the UK residence of The Duke and his family.”

The pair seemed to be hoping to continue performing duties on behalf of The Queen while pursuing this aim at the time.

To several royal observers, the whole scheme seemed to be a foray into unknown space, if not a pipe dream. Recent BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt stated, “It’s unprecedented.”

After spending a portion of the summer as guests of Tyler Perry in one of his Beverly Hills mansions, Harry, 35, and Meghan, 39, moved to a new home in Santa Barbara, California, with their son, Archie, in July.

In little over a year, though, a lot has changed. When they talked to Oprah in a CBS special about their new lives, they were deprived of any remaining royal patronages.

What would the royal couple’s source of income be? Is it possible for them to be half in and half out? Is it possible for them to pair being a working royal with a regular job? Will it not necessarily result in conflicts of interest and allegations that they are simply profiting from their royal status?

Previously, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex received 5% of their revenue from the Sovereign Grant, which is provided by taxpayers.

The monarchy and money can be a dangerous combination, and if history is any indication, Harry and Meghan are in for a bumpy ride. Of course, there is a precedent in the form of the Duke of Windsor, who married an American and wished to have a separate income source.

There’s the money Harry inherited from Princess Diana, Harry’s late mother. When Harry turned 30 in 2014, he allegedly inherited more than £10 million ($13.8 million) from his mother’s estate.

The Duchess of Sussex is well-suited to producing television programs, and proposals for a mental health reality series with Oprah Winfrey were in the works even before this week’s launch. However, the royal couple runs the risk of treading into heavily partisan waters once again.

Meghan adds to the couple’s fortune as well. She was paid about $57,500 per episode of Suits when she played Rachel Zane. Meghan was estimated to be worth about $2 million by Forbes in February, and the pair as a whole was estimated to be worth $10 million.

According to reports, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be compensated for their Oprah With Meghan And Harry special.

William is said to be worth about $40 million, according to Forbes. He has received a $13.8 million inheritance from his mother. According to Harper’s Bazaar, he paid around $70,000 per year as a member of the Royal Air Force Search and Rescue Force. He also gets support from the Sovereign Grant and the Duchy of Cornwall.