Members of Prince Harry’s team reportedly discussed him working with controversial American investment bank Goldman Sachs in November, two months before he and his wife, Meghan Markle, stunned the world by announcing that they had “no option” but to leave royal life and become financially independent for the well-being of themselves and their baby son, Archie.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, and Queen Elizabeth II at the Queen’s Young Leaders Awards Ceremony at Buckingham Palace on June 26, 2018. (Photo by John Stillwell – WPA Pool/Getty Images) 

According to a new report in The Mirror, Queen Elizabeth’s grandson first made contact with Goldman Sachs while the Sussexes were on their extended 6-week holiday in Canada — when they were said to be trying to work out if they were going to give up their roles as senior members of the royal family.

Harry and Meghan’s team in London declined to comment on the Mirror’s report when contacted by the Daily Mail, but a royal insider insisted to the Daily Mail that it wasn’t the prince himself, but one of his patronages, that was in talks with Goldman Sachs. The insider said the potential Goldman Sachs arrangement was meant to benefit one of Harry’s charities, not Harry himself or the Sussex Royal brand.

The report about the Goldman Sachs talks comes after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were reportedly paid up to $1 million to appear at a summit last week for wealthy investors in Palm Beach, Florida, hosted by another American banking giant, JP Morgan Chase.

Meghan Markle reportedly said a few brief words at the event, before Harry gave a talk about leaving the royal family and his mental health struggles following the 1997 death of his mother, Princess Diana.

Representatives for the Sussexes confirmed that they appeared at the JP Morgan event, but have refused to confirm whether they earned a fee, the Daily Mail said. Guests at the event included Jennifer Lopez and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

With regard to Goldman Sachs, top U.K. public relations expert Mark Borkowski told the Mirror that Harry could become a speaker for the bank’s “Talks at GS” series, videotaped conversations with “leading thinkers to share insights and ideas shaping the world.”

In the past, these “leading thinkers” have included other celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, David Beckham, Katie Couric and Karlie Kloss. Borkowski said the stars aren’t paid for these talks — which Goldman Sachs makes available on its website. But the exposure can lead to other corporate deals and work as a “brand ambassador.”

In Harry’s case, participating in a GS talk could pave the way for more lucrative work for him with the bank, Borkowski said. He believes that Harry and Meghan together could earn a combined $1 billion.

“They’re going to earn fortunes, whether through speeches or ambassador work,” he said.

But Borkowski said the couple need to be careful about which corporations and brands they associate with. He told the Mirror that their appearance at the JP Morgan event was “not the best look.”

That’s in part because some of JP Morgan’s business dealings don’t appear aligned with the Sussexes’ stated values, especially when it comes to their professed concerns about the environment.

Harry and Meghan reportedly flew on JP Morgan’s private jet to Florida from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, where they are temporarily living. The couple have previously faced criticism for their use of private jets, all while urging others to choose more environmentally-friendly ways to travel.

Moreover, JP Morgan and other major multinational banks, including Goldman Sachs, play a “troubling” role in contributing to climate change, according to a 2019 report by the Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club and other environmental groups.

These banks have pumped $1.9 trillion into financing fossil fuel companies since the Paris Climate Agreement was signed in 2015, the report said. On their own, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and other large U.S. banks account for 37 percent of all global fossil fuel financing.

An arrangement for Harry with Goldman Sachs could be controversial in other ways, notably for the bank’s role in the financial crisis of 2007-2008. The U.S. Senate and others said Goldman Sachs sold clients billions of dollars in sub-prime mortgage products and then profited from the collapse of the US housing market. The “too-big-to-fail” company also paid 953 of its employees $1 million or more in bonuses after receiving billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded bailout money.

Borkowski said that how Harry and Meghan “accept money, and from whom, is going to be a challenge going forward.”