Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were paid ‘up to $1m’ to speak at JP Morgan summit in Miami

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are thought to have been paid ‘up to $1m’ to speak at a star-studded JP Morgan summit in Miami.

During his keynote speech on Thursday night the Harry, 35, told American bankers he has been in therapy for seven years to cope with loss of his mother.

Now an expert has estimated the couple, who left the royal family two weeks ago for Canada in search of a private life, would have been extremely well paid for the gig. 

Ronn Torossian, CEO of New York-based firm 5W Public Relations, said he expects the couple to have made between $500,000 and $1million (£387,000 and £775,000) from the appearance.

He told Dailymail.com: ‘One would imagine they flew privately from Canada to Miami, had a hotel suite, and hair and makeup artist, which could cost $100,000 (£77,000) to $250,000 (£193,000) in expenses.

‘Harry and Meghan will be the highest-paid speakers that exist on the corporate market. 

‘I would not be shocked if they earned in excess of $1million (£775,000). Over the year their earning power could be unlimited.’

PR executive Simon Huck – who is a friend of the Kardashians – has already estimated that Meghan, 38, alone can make $100million this year.   

The Alternative Investment Summit was the first public appearance the couple have made since they left the royal family two weeks ago. 

The star-studded event at the 1 Hotel South beach attracted business titans and celebrities like Bob Kraft, Alex Rodriguez and Magic Johnson.    

Meghan is said to have introduced her husband onto the stage before he spoke about having therapy (pictured the 1 Hotel South Beach, where the exclusive summit took place)

Sources told Page Six that Gayle King introduced Meghan to the stage which was erected under an enormous tent on the beach. 

Meghan then spoke briefly about her ‘love for her husband’ then introduced him. After the speech, they are believed to have had a private dinner with some of the other esteemed guests.

A source said: ‘Harry spoke about mental health and how he has been in therapy for the past few years to try to overcome the trauma of losing his mother. 

‘He talked about how the events of his childhood affected him and that he has been talking to a mental health professional. 

‘Harry also touched on Megxit, saying while it has been very difficult on him and Meghan, he does not regret their decision to step down as senior royals because he wants to protect his family.

‘He does not want Meghan and their son Archie to go through what he did as a child.’

Prince Harry with his mother, the late Princess Diana, in 1995, two years before her death. He told the crowd that he has been in therapy since he was 28 to cope with her 1997 death 

Harry and his brother bow their heads at their mother’s funeral in 1997. He was only 12 and William was 15 

The visit to the luxury five-star hotel marks the first public appearance Meghan and Harry have made as a couple since their shock announcement that they were taking a step back from royal duties.  

While the pair have not confirmed the appearance, a close source told DailyMail.com on Friday: ‘I can confirm reports the Sussexes attended a JP Morgan gathering in Miami yesterday, where the Duke spoke.’  

One insider said they were ‘smart’ to take the gig. They said: ‘[It was] a very smart move to get in with some of the world’s richest people. 

‘The conference is all about building wealth for future generations, and making the world better for future generations, a topic close to Harry’s heart.

‘Harry talked a lot about his and Meghan’s decision to step down as senior royals, because of the trauma he suffered and how he doesn’t want the same to happen to his family.

An insider said Harry spoke about wanting to protect his wife and son, saying: ‘He does not want Meghan and their son Archie to go through what he did as a child’  

‘He said despite how difficult the separation with the British royal family has been, he does not regret their decision, saying that he and Meghan are optimistic about their future, optimistic about being able to be financially independent while still working on projects that mean a lot to them and supporting the charities they believe in,’ the unnamed source told Page Six.

It is not clear how Harry and Meghan – who were widely criticized for taking private jets last year after preaching about climate change publicly – traveled to Florida.  

JPMorgan’s private Gulfstream jet had flown to Vancouver Airport in Canada, near to where the couple have been living since quitting royal life. 

It then left at at 12.10pm Wednesday and landed in Palm Beach at 8.03pm. Harry and Meghan stayed at Serena Williams’ home in Palm Beach during the appearance. 

It is unclear if they were on that jet. Palm Beach is around 80 miles north of Miami. 

As she left the hotel on Friday, DailyMail.com spoke to Gayle King who was coy about her involvement in the event. 

Hopping into a limo, she said: ‘What interview? Why do you think they were here?’ 

Patriots owner Bob Kraft, rapper Meek Mill with his pregnant girlfriend Milan Harris, billionaire businessman and philanthropist Robert Frederick Smith and business mogul Michael Rubin were among those at the summit

Magic Johnson, Robert Frederick Smith and Alex Rodriguez. Jennifer Lopez was also rumored to have been in attendance 

Gayle King is seen speaking with Bob Kraft, Michael Rubin and Meek Mill. She introduced Meghan to the stage 

When we pressed her for details, she smiled broadly and added, cryptically: ‘Where do you people get your information from? I’m glad you’re in Miami’. 

Harry’s wife and an array of well-heeled investors and celebrities were said to have hung on the Prince’s every word as he came on stage. 

‘Harry told the audience he started seeing a therapist at 28 as he struggled with the trauma caused by his Mother’s death,’ dished the insider. 

‘He said he felt trapped as a Royal although he said that relationship with the Queen was still OK.’ 

Details on the super-exclusive event were being kept under wraps today.

But attendees are believed to have included Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez, Magic Johnson, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the architect Norman Foster, Russian heiress Dasha Zhukova and her husband Stavros Niarchos.

The Sussexes have been lying low in their $14million Canadian hideaway with baby Archie since they left the royal family.  

JPMorgan’s private Gulfstream jet flew from Vancouver, near the couple’s hideaway, to Palm Beach in time for the event

The amount that they were paid for the event is so far unknown. 

Hello! magazine is also reporting the pair were asked to present the Best Picture award at Sunday’s Oscars. 

Though they were ‘honored’ to have been asked, they turned it down, according to an unnamed source cited by the magazine.   

Among the many celebrities in attendance at Thursday’s event was Magic Johnson, Alex Rodriguez and Bob Kraft.  

Gayle King is in the midst of her own scandal and, according to best friend Oprah, is ‘not going well’. 

She faced fierce backlash this week over an interview she did with WNBA star Lisa Leslie where she asked Leslie about the 2003 rape allegation against Kobe Bryant. 

It was a brief moment in an otherwise wide-ranging interview but CBS This Morning tweeted it as a promo. 

It drew the ire of celebrities and Bryant fans who accused King of trying to sully his legacy and push Leslie into condemning him.