The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Harry and Meghan, are reportedly looking to move to the United States, at least eventually, after President Donald Trump leaves office. But while they may be eyeing the leftist paradise of Los Angeles, California, the pair’s commitment to social justice apparently ends at their pocketbook.
Just before the pair announced that they planned to separate from the British royal family and earn their own keep — at least partly — Duchess Meghan revived her California-based lifestyle company, Frim Fram Inc., and moved it out of the state of California, re-registering it in Delaware, where the tax code is far more business-friendly, per the Telegraph.
Frim Fram, Inc. applied to be a Delaware corporation on New Year’s Eve, sliding in just under the wire so that the newly revived company could avoid paying taxes to the state of California for any income the business might earn in 2020, now that the royal pair are in talks to separate from their current source of income, Prince Charles.
“Frim Fram Inc. — which ran Meghan’s defunct website ‘The Tig’ — registered as a new corporation in Delaware on Dec. 30, according to business records. The former actress founded ‘The Tig’ in 2014, but shut it down in 2017, just before marrying Prince Harry,” added Delaware Online. “The company was previously incorporated in California, but started the process to incorporate in Delaware this fall, according to documents. Meghan’s business manager, Andrew Meyer, was listed as the secretary on the certificate of merger.”
Many, many, corporations register in Delaware where “companies are not required to reveal the names of their owners,” Delaware Online says, and where the climate is much better for businesses looking to pull down serious profits. Other states have similar business tax structures, of course, but Delaware’s policies, which allow a “lawyer or an agent to sign as the authorized person,” thus
“allowing owners’ identities to remain secret” was probably a big bonus for the royal couple.
Harry and Meghan announced last Friday that they plan to “step back” from royal duties and “work to become financially independent.” After some back-and-forth with Queen Elizabeth, Harry’s father, Prince Charles, and his brother, Prince William, the royal family now says they’re creating a roadmap for the pair to wean off of public funds (to a certain extent), and live a decidedly non-royal life, jetting back and forth between the United Kingdom and Canada.
The pair also, it seems, wants to pursue a more overt political agenda, something members of the royal family are prohibited from doing. Duchess Meghan, at least, has broken that protocol several times, even after announcing her engagement to Prince Harry. The pair ran into trouble over the summer after Prince Harry suggested people should have two children or fewer to avoid over-taxing the Earth’s resources just before he, his wife, and his young son boarded a series of carbon-spewing private flights to spend quality time in exclusive locations with celebrity hosts.
Eventually the pair plan to move to the United States — at least according to reports that surfaced over the weekend, indicating that Harry and Meghan want to end up in Los Angeles, California, eventually. The pair, who are said to be talking to George and Amal Clooney and Oprah Winfrey about their plans, won’t make their home in the United States, though, until after Trump leaves office. Duchess Meghan has been an open critic of Trump.