Of all the manufactured controversies, “Prince Harry got paid for doing something” is never going to move me. Prince Harry got paid for his MasterClass episode, which his office apparently confirmed to various media outlets. And I just… couldn’t care less. Tom Sykes incoherently claimed that Harry is “monetizing grief,” a bizarre claim in big 2026, more than three years after Harry’s Spare became a bestseller, with millions of copies sold. That’s what struck me more than anything else about Harry’s MasterClass – much of what he’s saying in the episode is well-trod throughout his 2023 memoir. I would argue that all of this is in Harry’s wheelhouse, he’s been a strong advocate for mental health and the power of therapy for years now, and his MasterClass episode is just another way for him to reframe his advocacy in another medium. Still, the Daily Mail is clutching their pearls at Harry taking home a six-figure payday.
Harry was paid to give his 99-minute ‘masterclass’ on coping with grief and may have pocketed $100,000 plus a share of subscription revenue in the process.
The Duke of Sussex should not be criticised for speaking at length and ‘from the heart’ about the subject, a source close to the prince has said.
Harry gave a raw and emotional account of dealing with the death of his mother, Princess Diana, as well as his struggles with depression and feelings of uselessness following Megxit. A spokesman for Harry confirmed he was paid by MasterClass for taking part in Redefining Grief: Building Resilience Through Loss, but declined to comment further.
‘I’d encourage everyone to watch it before casting any judgement,’ a source close to the prince told the Daily Mail.
MasterClass instructors can expect an upfront payment of at least $100,000, plus 30 per cent of any subscription revenue generated by their courses, according to Forbes.
A spokesman for Harry declined to comment on the $100,000 figure. Fans wishing to watch Harry’s interview, where he hopes he will help them ‘discover new ways to process grief and loss so you can find your way back to you’, cannot do so for free. Access to the full online lecture costs between £10 and £19 a month through a subscription to the San Francisco-based tech company, which is valued at $2.75billion. A source close to Harry reportedly said no one has the right to judge him for how he has dealt with the grief of losing his mother at the age of 12.
I think $100K plus a percentage of new subscriptions sounds pretty normal for what this is. It also sounds like something Harry would have done for free or for less money – he has given free speeches before, and he’s given paid speeches before, and MasterClass is arguably an extension of that. Additionally… Harry doesn’t need the money. They’re trying to make it sound like “Harry is so desperate for cash, he’s selling his never-before-told grief stories!” Rather than… Harry, a longtime mental health advocate, was approached about doing a MasterClass about his specific wheelhouse and he agreed, and he was probably paid their flat rate.
Additionally, Rob Shuter claims that MasterClass paid Harry $250,000, and that Harry told MasterClass that he would not speak about his brother, his sister-in-law or his degenerate uncle Prince Andrew. I mean… I’m assuming that Harry put together his MasterClass episode, so he got to decide what to say entirely.
Screencaps courtesy of MasterClass videos.
I don’t care that he got paid. Sounds like this franchise can afford to compensate him for time and labor. What I don’t get is his staying mum on his degenerate uncle. He’s spilled all kinds of tea on the rest of the family, and I would like to see him link Andrew’s rapey behavior to the general dysfunction in this family. That would be an incredible public service. Andrew is the worst of the worst.
I feel really uneasy that most of that family seems to think that Andrew had poor judgement, but didn’t do anything wrong.
Why would he speak in a Masterclass about dealing with grief about his uncle or brother? This wasn’t an interview.
It wouldn’t have to be on this particular platform. I’m sure he could find an appropriate venue to speak on the subject.
MasterClass is a great forum and this is an excellent platform for Harry to work with a highly respected professor/scientist to talk about loss and grief. And both Scotty’s Little Soldiers and a US charity for young people are benefiting.
I have watched a few clips of his talk on insta. It sounds great. I never heard of MasterClass before this came out. If the media and the Firm didn’t want him to work and get paid they should have accepted half in. I am so happy H&M did not.
Why on earth would Harry ever say anything about those people? He already covered the ground quite definitively in Spare.
There are only so many ways to say ‘my brother is a rage monster,’ ‘my sister-in-law is a racist,’ and ‘my uncle is a degenerate pedophile.’ And to top it all off, the british media would rather chase him than report on this because of some tacit agreement to keep royalty secrets.
So again, why on earth would Harry bother to say anything?
Having booked corporate speakers…$100k for someone like Prince Harry is a deal!
I was about to say, 100K is too low for Harry. I hope he got at least 250 if not more. I wouldn’t have done it for less if I were him.
Firstly, of course he was paid. As was the professor he’s with and folks doing other MasterClasses. Why on earth wouldn’t he be? Secondly, Scotty’s Little Soldiers in the UK and an Amercan charity for grieving young people are benefiting.
Good for Prince Harry. Nice to see him receiving money for sharing his experience.
My thoughts exactly!
Rob Shutter involves himself too much with Harry and Meghan! He seems to be saying a lot lately and me doubts he has any plausible sources… it’s giving I am making stuff up
Why would he talk about Kate or Andrew in a class about dealing with grief and loss? This wasn’t a free form interview where he could be asked anything. It was about a very specific topic. And for William – I could see him talking about him only in reference to their shared loss, but he probably avoided him entirely. So I dont even think he would have needed to have set parameters for what he was willing to talk about.
As for getting paid…..good for him.
So much of the anger about Harry and Meghan making money is rooted in the fact that their income streams can’t be tampered with and were unexpected. Including the monarch and heir so many of the royals and even the rota make money by selling access to themselves or others as well as selling honors and citizenship. They also endorse products like weight watchers, milk or cannabis. They all thought Harry and Meghan would follow the same path, selling access to themselves and others. That’s why they kept emphasizing the Sussexes were “no longer royals” and none of the royals “speak to them anymore”.
It never occurred to them that Harry and Meghan would start their own businesses. Not only does Sussex income not rely on access but it also means the royals can’t interfere with it. Harry talking about his grief with professionals and using it to help others is both personal and dignified. Meghan’s brand As Ever is a warm elegant brand. The Archewell production company focuses on heartwarming and uplifting documentaries. The Sussexes various businesses and investments aligns with their values. Unlike the rest of the royals who are constantly mired in cash for honors/access scandals and various other financial crimes the Sussexes make their money ethically and legitimately.
The firm and the rota thought they would watch Harry and Meghan humiliate themselves for money to fund their security and lifestyle and then mock them that they were nothing without the royals. Instead Harry and Meghan have shown that if you were willing to work hard there were many ethical and legal ways to earn money. How the Sussexes conduct themselves really highlights just how greedy and lazy the other royals are for engaging in such shady financial dealings.
Thus the anger about them “earning money”.
Good for him. I don’t see what the problem is for Harry to be paid for his work.
Of course he got paid. What a nonissue.
I’m sure the grief expert who also appeared was paid.
Would these royal reporters really prefer that Harry was living on the public dime like the rest of his grifting family?
And? Former United States presidents get paid for speaking and that is the norm. The current one is making billions off of his presidency, which is corrupt and illegal imo, but he has no boundaries now that he neutered the Supreme Court and the Congress.
I don’t really see what Harry should be expected to say about Andrew. Given that Charles and Andrew famously don’t get along, just how much time do we think Harry spent with Andrew growing up? I don’t think he knows Andrew particularly well and probably wasn’t as up to speed on Andrew’s activities as Charles and eventually maybe William became.
Rob Shuter gets more moronic by the day. What on earth would Kate or Andrew have to do with Harry’s GRIEF journey? They are completely irrelevant to how Harry dealt with his mother’s loss. Even William is irrelevant in this context bc they did not deal with their grief together at all, in any way. So again, none of these people were ever going to be discussed in this project bc there is simply nothing to say, not bc Harry needed to ban them from being mentioned. Rob Shuter does not have sources, he looks at a situation and makes up additional “exclusive” details that could sound plausible at first glance, but not when you actually pay attention to he’s saying.