The traditional public relations industry operates on established norms where relationships and monthly retainers have long been standard practice. Then came AJ Ignacio, who decided to challenge conventional models with a different approach: offering guarantees for PR work.

Baden Bower emerged from Australia four years ago with an approach that diverged from industry standards. According to the company, Ignacio decided to offer money-back guarantees for media placements. While many agencies continued charging clients monthly retainers, Baden Bower states that its team offered to work with clients on publishing timelines with refund options.

The company reports that it now serves clients across multiple countries spanning five continents.

A Different Approach

Traditional PR agencies often operate in a system where outcomes aren't always directly tied to fees. According to Baden Bower, the company changed this model by accepting accountability for results. Baden Bower describes its approach as focusing on placements in established publications, supported by technology that assists with media targeting.

The company's approach aims to address credibility challenges that can affect business growth. Research shows a significant percentage of buyers investigate companies online before purchasing, yet many businesses struggle to build authority. This challenge is particularly acute for PR firms for startups, which often need to demonstrate measurable impact quickly to attract investors and customers. According to Baden Bower, the company helps businesses build visibility and credibility by securing media coverage that may contribute to website engagement and customer acquisition efforts.

Baden Bower states that its timeline differs from traditional competitors who may require extended periods for pitching cycles. The company reports offering expedited processes through its network of media outlets. According to Baden Bower, this approach stems from data-driven content optimization rather than solely relationship-dependent processes.

Global Expansion Through Digital Infrastructure

Baden Bower's international expansion reflects a technology-oriented approach to growth. The company reports establishing operations across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East while maintaining client service through staff located across time zones. According to Baden Bower, this reach enables culturally relevant storytelling that resonates with local media outlets and audiences.

The company has contributed content to various global publications, reflecting its presence in the PR sector.

Baden Bower states that its technology focus differentiates it from competitors who rely primarily on personal relationships and editorial connections. According to the company, investment in technology for media placement optimization offers potential advantages in visibility over agencies that depend predominantly on individual journalist relationships. Baden Bower says this technological foundation supports its growth while maintaining quality control across global operations.

Shifting Industry Dynamics

Baden Bower's development represents more than business growth; it signals a potential shift toward accountability in professional services. The company's pricing model, according to Baden Bower, contrasts with traditional retainer fees that may not guarantee specific outcomes.

The PR industry now faces questions about maintaining established practices or adopting results-oriented models that some clients seek. Baden Bower's journey from startup to internationally operating firm suggests that performance-based models may influence traditional service industry approaches. According to the company, when clients can choose between different pricing structures, the value proposition becomes an important consideration.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle should savor the time they have with their royal titles.

After Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor lost his titles over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, biographer Tom Bower thinks the Duke and Duchess of Sussex should be concerned they're next.

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Harry and Meghan's realization

The monarchy set a new precedent with the Duke of York — just one signal that King Charles III and his successor, Prince William, are enacting change within The Firm.

"For Harry, it was an unbelievable shock that the king could strip Andrew of his titles — including prince — and it changes everything," Bower told The Mirror.

"He must really fear that William will strip him, Meghan and [their two] children of their titles when he succeeds to the throne," he continued.

"They are on borrowed time and vulnerable now, because I don't think there is anything they can do to reverse the hurt they have caused Kate [Middleton] and William, and William is still furious," he added.

Harry and Meghan could spill more royal secrets

With a downgraded Netflix deal and Meghan's As Ever brand struggling to find an audience, the couple might need to spill more royal secrets to make money.

"The Sussexes have a real problem because Meghan isn't making any serious money. Nor is Harry really, so the threat is they'll do something foolish and damaging to the royal family," Bower said.

"They are uncontrolled, so the danger lies in Meghan maybe writing her own memoir, or doing another interview like Oprah Winfrey," Bower continued, referencing the couple's headline-making 2021 sit-down with the media mogul. "The legacy of that interview cannot be overestimated, and Meghan's accusations that the royal family is racist still echo. Who knows what else she might say in the future?"

Meghan using her title

The Spare author and the Suits actress allegedly agreed to refrain from using their royal titles — His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness — when they retired from The Firm, but Meghan reportedly continues to refer to herself as "HRH The Duchess of Sussex."

"[The title is] a great trading asset, and she uses it ruthlessly and with impunity," Bower said.

"It's nothing to do with the royal family — she couldn't care two hoots about that," he continued. "She just uses it to give herself the status she craves."

When will Harry and Meghan lose their titles?

The mother of two continues to profit off her ties to the royal family, so the prospect of losing her title is likely deeply concerning for her.

"I don't think Meghan realized until Harry told her that his uncle had lost his title, that that is a reality," Bower said. "I don't think she, or any of us, realized they could be so ruthless. I can only imagine she's now sitting there thinking, 'What are we going to do?' Because without the titles, who is she? But she is betraying the royal family every time she uses the title."

"With the Sussexes' titles, it's a rock and a hard place for the royal family. The only way to undermine Meghan's status, although it would look like sour grapes, is to take away her title," he continued.

"It won't happen during Charles's lifetime," he added. "He will only act on William's pressure and there's no reason ostensibly at the moment to strip them of their titles — they haven't done anything embarrassing, other than using it to trade on. They would have to be very careful about how they do it, but I think it is inevitable."

Meghan Markle's first interaction with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was one for the books.

In his 2023 memoir Spare, Prince Harry recounts the awkward moment when his now-wife encountered the former Duke of York for the first time.

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What did Meghan think?

In 2016, Harry introduced Meghan to his extended family during a lunch at Royal Lodge with his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and several other members of The Firm including Mountbatten-Windsor, Sarah Ferguson and Princess Eugenie.

But the Suits star apparently confused Mountbatten-Windsor for a member of the royal staff.

"After a moment, Meg asked me something about the queen's assistant," the father of two wrote, adding that Meghan referred to Mountbatten-Windsor as "that man holding the purse" and "that man who walked her to the door."

"She definitely hadn't Googled us," the Duke of Sussex joked of his future wife.

Mountbatten-Windsor loses his titles

King Charles III officially removed his younger brother's titles over Mountbatten-Windsor's friendship with the late Jeffrey Epstein and the allegations of misconduct against them both.

"His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the style, titles and honors of Prince Andrew," the palace said in a late October statement.

"Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor," the statement continued. "His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence. Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation. These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him."

"Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse," the statement concluded.

Could Meghan and Harry be next?

According to royal biographer Tom Bower, Harry and Meghan could suffer the same fate as his estranged uncle when Prince William becomes king.

"For Harry, it was an unbelievable shock that the king could strip Andrew of his titles — including prince — and it changes everything," Bower told The Mirror.

"He must really fear that William will strip him, Meghan and [their two] children of their titles when he succeeds to the throne," he added.

Prince William's revenge?

The Princes of Wales might not be forgiving to the Sussexes when he becomes king.

"They are on borrowed time and vulnerable now," Bower said.

"I don't think there is anything they can do to reverse the hurt they have caused Kate [Middleton] and William, and William is still furious," he continued.

"The Sussexes have a real problem because Meghan isn't making any serious money and nor is Harry really, so the threat is they'll do something foolish and damaging to the royal family," he added

Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice may need to be cautious about their every move after their parents' scandal erupted.

"So far, they have emerged relatively unscathed, although personally I think they would be wise to curtail their business activities and visits to the dripping-with-money venues of the Middle East," royal correspondent Jennie Bond told The Mirror.

"They need to be careful not to become tarred with the same brush as their parents: both Andrew [Mountbatten-Windsor] and Fergie appear to have been seduced by great wealth for much of their lives, and their reckless pursuit of that wealth has been part of their undoing," Bond added.

Eugenie and Beatrice, who aren't working royals, continue to attend official gatherings despite their father's public downfall. Mountbatten-Windsor has been pushed out of the royal fold due to his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Mountbatten-Windsor isn't expected to attend Kate Middleton's annual Christmas gathering, but the Princesses of York are likely to receive invitations.

"I assume that Catherine sends out personal invitations every year to members of the royal family. That would be the normal thing to do when you are organizing an event like this, and the sisters have been regular fixtures at the carol concert, so it would be a very pointed criticism of them if the Princess had omitted them from the guest list this year," Bond said.

"It has been made clear throughout the scandal involving Andrew that Beatrice and Eugenie remain valued members of the royal family and will be invited to get-togethers like this, as well as Christmas at Sandringham," the correspondent continued. "It will be up to them to decide if they want to face the cameras and join the rest of the royal family, or spend time with their parents."

Bond noted that balancing their loyalty to their parents and the royals will "be an ongoing dilemma" for Eugenie and Beatrice, adding that "most people feel quite sorry for them."

"It must be incredibly tough to see your parents so publicly humiliated and evicted from their home. Beatrice and Eugenie must have deeply divided loyalties," Bond continued.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor isn't the only member of the royal family who apparently scored a sweet deal on rent.

After it was alleged that the former Prince Andrew paid nearly nothing in rent at Royal Lodge — from which he was recently evicted — a new report claims one of his relatives also secured a significant discount on a royal residence.

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Prince Edward's peppercorn rent

According to documents held by the Crown Estate and disclosed to The Times, Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son, Prince Edward, paid $9,261,635.92 for a 150-year lease extension for his home, Bagshot Park, in 2007.

The Duke of Edinburgh now pays minimal rent for the property where he and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, have lived for 25 years.  

The documents state that there are no conditions on a potential sale of Edward's lease, except that the new tenant must be able to afford to maintain the sprawling estate.

Pushback over Edward's living arrangements

There has been backlash over Edward's alleged living arrangements — despite his status as a senior working member of The Firm.

Former liberal Democrat minister Norman Baker called the situation "obscene" and said that the royal couple should not be given state-funded housing.

"Most people have no idea who Edward is or what he does. Why is he getting any state subsidy?" a spokesperson for the politician said in a statement.

What did Andrew pay in rent?

Before he was thrown out of Royal Lodge over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, Mountbatten-Windsor allegedly benefitted from the family's privileges.

According to a report, the former Duke of York originally signed a $9,883,720.93 lease for 75 years for the estate but wasn't paying a hefty amount in monthly rent.

King Charles III forced Mountbatten-Windsor and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, off the property they called home for around 20 years.

Charles puts his foot down

Charles is reportedly gearing up to make significant changes within The Firm, including which members of the royal family are on the payroll.

"Over time, that is all going to change. Properties will be let at commercial rates going forward and to people outside the family. Where it is in a palace environment, they will, of course, be security vetted," one insider told Daily Express.

Snarked a second source, "The king isn't running a housing association for distant relatives."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's shocking request was shut down by Queen Elizabeth II.

After the Sussexes' 2018 wedding, Her Majesty gifted the duo Frogmore Cottage, but a royal insider claimed the pair hoped to live in Windsor Castle.

"There are empty bedrooms and suites in the private apartments which the Sussexes may have had their eye on, or perhaps some former living quarters in the castle grounds converted into other things," Hugo Vickers told The Times. "But I can see how it might not be entirely appropriate to have a young family living there."

Her Majesty's cousin Lady Elizabeth Anson previously discussed how important it was for the monarch to give the Sussexes' Frogmore Cottage.

"The cottage was a big deal. The Queen's entrance into the gardens is right next to their cottage. It is essentially her backyard, her solitude, and her privacy. She was giving that up in gifting Harry and Meghan Frogmore Cottage. We all thought it was very big of her," Anson said, per Daily Express. "She said, 'I hope they'll respect it.'"

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Before moving into Frogmore Cottage, the Sussexes lived at Nottingham Cottage — a property the couple later described as underwhelming.

"I was excited to welcome Meg to my home, but also embarrassed. Nott Cott was no palace. Nott Cott was palace adjacent – that was the best you could say for it," Harry wrote in Spare.

In Harry & Meghan, the Sussexes reminisced over their old living space.

"As far as people were concerned, we were living in a palace, and we were, in a cottage…" the Duke of Sussex emphasized while sharing home videos of the abode. "We were living on palace grounds."

"Kensington Palace sounds very regal, of course it does, it says 'palace' in the name. But Nottingham Cottage was so small," Meghan added.

The Sussexes ended up finding their forever home in California — away from the royal family.

"We did everything we could to get this house," Meghan told The Cut when discussing her West Coast mansion. "Because you walk in and go … Joy. And exhale. And calm. It's healing. You feel free."

"The Montecito house is the kind of big that startles you into remembering that unimaginable wealth is actually someone's daily reality," the article's writer, Allison P. Davis, said, per New York Post.

Queen Elizabeth II frequently complimented Kate Middleton on her signature brown tresses.

"Meg looked beautiful and I told her so. She was wearing a black-and-white dress, with a full skirt, patterned with flowers, and when I put my hand on her back, I could feel how delicate the material was," Prince Harry wrote in his memoir, Spare, referring to Meghan Markle.

"Her hair was down because I suggested she wear it that way. Pa likes it when women wear their hair down. Granny too. She often commented on 'Kate's beautiful mane,'" Harry added.

Over the years, Kate and Elizabeth developed a close bond.

"I don't think she really trusted anyone on first impression, we're all performing the same show, the show is supporting the Queen," royal expert Richard Kay told Daily Mail.

"But with Kate and the Queen, it grew deeper than that, there was a real grandmotherly affection between the two," Kay added.

Royal commentator Ingrid Seward highlighted how Elizabeth viewed Kate during their time together.

"I think the Queen saw her strength and saw that she is a caring person who had this amazing affiliation to duty," Seward noted. "I think Kate would have really appreciated the kindness and attention the Queen had given to her, and she knows better than anyone how busy the Queen is. She put time aside to make Kate feel appreciated."

Following his grandmother's death, Prince William gave insight into Elizabeth and Kate's relationship.

"I, however, have lost a grandmother. And while I will grieve her loss, I also feel incredibly grateful. I have had the benefit of The Queen's wisdom and reassurance into my fifth decade. My wife has had twenty years of her guidance and support. My three children have got to spend holidays with her and create memories that will last their whole lives," William said in a statement.

Prince George's next phase of education could face backlash.

"If the Wales family runs true to form, they will announce Prince George's secondary school at the eleventh hour, possibly as late as September 2026," managing editor of The Good Schools Guide Melanie Sanderson told Hello!.

"They understand that the school itself, as well as George's new peer group, will fall under intense scrutiny as soon as it is revealed and will probably want to minimize this, allowing the young royal to transition to his new school with as little fanfare as possible," Sanderson continued.

Prince William, who is an Eton alum, and Kate Middleton haven't confirmed where they'll send George, but many royal experts think the youngster will follow in his father's footsteps.

"I believe Eton is the most likely choice for Prince George. In our most recent review, we describe it as 'traditional, radical, expectation-busting and packed with confident boys with nary a hint of entitlement,'" Sanderson said. "To me, this encompasses all the values we are told are important to this generation of royals."

The Waleses have a history of keeping school decisions under wraps until two weeks before the term starts.

"The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have today announced that Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will attend Lambrook School in Berkshire from September 2022," the couple's team said at the time. "Their Royal Highnesses are hugely grateful to Thomas's Battersea where George and Charlotte have had a happy start to their education since 2017 and 2019 respectively and are pleased to have found a school for all three of their children which shares a similar ethos and values to Thomas's."

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The Prince and Princess of Wales are often applauded for their down-to-earth parenting.

"William and Catherine are more than partners in duty, they are parents in vision with complementary strengths," Jo Frost, who is best known as "Supernanny," wrote in an Instagram post.

"William carries the weight of history and responsibility but also the empathy of a man shaped by loss and scrutiny, wanting to get it right for his children. He places emotional safety and stability at the heart of his parenting," Frost continued. "Catherine pairs this with calm, centered, hands-on practicality. Her championing of early childhood development echoes my own mission, deeply personal and reflective of her home life."

Princess Charlotte might not be able to keep her royal titles.

Due to a specific monarchy rule regarding Prince George, Prince William's only daughter is at risk of not being able to use the honor.

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The rule that risks Charlotte's title

According to protocol, when William becomes king of England, George will likely assume the title of Prince of Wales. This honor has been held by the father of three and King Charles III.

However, this will spell trouble for Charlotte. "Her right to be Princess of Wales flies out the window when her brother gets the official title of Prince of Wales," a broadcaster at the OSSA channel claimed.

"A royal lady can only be a princess if she's married to a prince or the daughter of a prince," they added.

What could happen?

Since William will eventually become the leader of England, the 10-year-old will likely take on a different title.

Like her great-aunt Princess Anne, Charlotte could take on the title of Princess Royal. However, she can use it only after the 75-year-old passes away.

Charlotte makes history

Charlotte is third in line to the throne, a monumental moment for the monarchy.

"For the first time in British history, the spare is a princess, even though she has a younger brother," historian Dr. Nige Fletcher said in a Channel 5 documentary via Daily Mail.

"Princess Charlotte is in line after George, after a change in the law and she now outranks her brother, Prince Louis," he said.

What role could Charlotte have within The Firm?

According to royal commentator Phil Dampier, Charlotte will have to decide when she's older about whether she wants to be a senior working member of The Firm.

"William and Kate [Middleton] see George as primus inter pares — first among equals. Yes, he's the future king, but the way things are going, Charlotte and Louis may have major roles too," he said via The Royal Observer.

Author Sally Bedell Smith told The I Paper, "I would imagine Charlotte will be part of the picture. I'm not so sure about Louis."

Could Charlotte choose her own path?

Despite being born into a special position, royal expert Ingrid Seward thinks Charlotte still has the freedom to choose her own destiny.

"It's not like it was in Charles' youth. Nowadays, children make their own decisions. It's just so different from when even William was brought up. I think children have immense choices now that they didn't have even 15 years ago," she said via The Royal Observer.