The Duchess of Sussex’s first gig after quitting the royal family has been revealed – with Meghan voicing a Disney documentary on elephants.
Her fee for the project is going entirely to the Elephants Without Borders charity – an organisation dedicated to conserving wildlife and helps protect the animals from poaching.
Meghan agreed to do the voiceover after a direct request from filmmakers, and it is understood that she recorded it in London this autumn after seeing footage of the documentary.
A trailer for Elephant failed to give fans a glimpse of Meghan’s narration – but it did reveal that the story follows a ‘family’s extraordinary 1,000 mile journey across Africa on an adventure that will change their lives’.
It comes after the Duke of Sussex, 35, was filmed touting his wife’s voiceover skills to Disney boss Bob Iger at the UK premier of Lion King in July.
The royal couple are currently in Canada with their 10-month-old son Archie and are self-isolating in their Vancouver Island waterfront mansion.
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The Duchess of Sussex’s first gig after quitting the royal family has been revealed – with Meghan voicing a Disney documentary on elephants (pictured with Prince Harry)
Meghan’s collaboration (pictured) with the popular film making company is set to benefit the Elephants Without Borders charity – an organisation dedicated to conserving wildlife and helps protect the animals from poaching
The Disneynature documentary will start streaming on April 3 on Disney+, three days after she and Harry quit as senior royals, the company revealed today.
It sees African elephant Shani and her spirited son Jomo as they are led by their great matriarch, Gaia, across the Kalahari Desert.
They will face dwindling resources and vicious predators as they try to follow their ancestor’s footsteps to a green paradise.
Last year, the Duchess joked that she and Harry attended the premiere of The Lion King in London, to ‘pitch’ for work, footage from the event revealed.
The Duke of Sussex (left) chats with Disney CEO Robert Iger as Meghan (second right) embraces singer-songwriter Beyonce
The Duke was also filmed touting his wife’s voiceover skills to Disney boss Bob Iger at the occasion in July.
In the shocking video, Prince Harry pointed to his wife and said: ‘You do know she does voiceovers?’ A surprised Mr Iger replies: ‘I did not know that’, before Harry continues: ‘You seem surprised, she’s really interested’.
The Disney boss says: ‘We’d love to try. That’s a great idea,’ while Meghan, who was next to Prince Harry, continues speaking to Beyonce.
Meghan gave up a successful career as an actress – with her most prominent role being is US legal drama Suits – when becoming engaged to Prince Harry in 2017.
But the arrangement with Disney hints at Meghan’s future career plans, which could see the couple use their celebrity status to benefit chosen causes.
A trailer for Elephant (pictured) revealed that it ‘follows one family’s extraordinary 1,000 mile journey across Africa on an adventure that will change their lives’
The arrangement with Disney hints at Meghan’s future career plans, which could see the couple use their celebrity status to benefit chosen causes. Pictured: The actress in London earlier this month
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will officially end their roles as senior royals on March 31 as they ‘work to become financially independent’.
Last month, it was revealed that Meghan could make $100 million this year if she accepts all the offers that come her way, media executive Simon Huck has claimed.
Speaking to The Morning Toast Simon, 36, from Canada, owner of the public relations firm Command Entertainment Group, claims his agency was ‘flooded’ with ‘huge’ offers of work for the former actress in the wake of Megxit.
Simon, who is a close friend of Kim Kardashian, is not believed to be representing Meghan, but has been inundated regardless.
Meanwhile, bosses of The Simpsons have revealed they want the duchess to appear in their popular comedy.
It comes as bosses of the Simpsons revealed they’d like Meghan to do some voiceover work with them after the Duchess steps back from royal life (pictured: A Simpsons version of Meghan in front of Buckingham Palace)
Prince Harry, 35, and Meghan Markle, 38, as they arrived at this year’s Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey in London on March 9
The programme’s showrunner and executive producer Al Jean discussed the prospect of the cameo in an interview with the Radio Times, and said Meghan should ‘give him a call’ about the idea.
He revealed: ‘We’ve talked about Harry and Meghan. I hear she wants to do voiceover work. So if they’re reading this, give us a call.’
Ladbrokes revealed Meghan and the documentary are at 20/1 to win the Feature Length Documentary category at next year’s Oscars.
Jessica O’Reilly of Ladbrokes said: ‘It hasn’t taken long for the Duchess to get back into the Hollywood scene after quitting the Royal Family, however, it’s an outside chance the documentary finds success at the Oscars.’
After visiting the UK for their final engagements this month, Prince Harry and Meghan returned to Canada, where they are currently living with their son, 10-month-old Archie.
The royal couple are holed up at their Vancouver Island waterfront mansion amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry has taken a keen interest in African conservation projects over the years and in 2017 he became the president of African Parks.
In May 2019, the royal couple were given a rare honour by Disney – a beautiful watercolour Winnie-the-Pooh animation to celebrate the birth of the new royal baby.
Hand-drawn by senior principal artist Kim Raymond, the heartwarming story depicts the world’s favourite bear delivering a book to Archie.