Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have a £135m problem – and so do Netflix.
When the Duke and Duchess of Sussex signed their blockbuster deal with the streaming giant last February, bosses would have been rubbing their hands at the thought of getting unprecedented access to two of the world’s most famous royals.
And indeed, a month later, the attention-seeking couple were making headlines around the world for a bombshell TV interview slating the royal family. Except it was with Oprah Winfrey… on an American news channel.
Things have only unravelled further since. Meghan’s animation series was axed earlier this month with a source telling the Mail on Sunday the Sussexes were pitching ‘boring’ shows, while Harry is said to have annoyed bosses again by revealing details of his private talks with the Queen to a rival network.
A year into the deal, not one show has been released by the Sussexes.
Bereft of ideas, both they and struggling Netflix appear to be placing all their eggs in the Queen’s Jubilee basket – whether the Royal Family like it or not.
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While Harry and Meghan have been wisely been banned from the Buckingham Palace balcony, they are determined to still attend events next month – and it’s believed they’ll be bringing the Netflix cameras with them.
And undoubtedly, they will be discussing just how to get desperate executives the inside scoop.
Netflix are no fools – neither are the royals
For the Royal Family, who are working tirelessly to ensure the Queen’s 70 years on the throne are celebrated across Britain, it is a frustrating and nerve-wracking distraction.
It’s not hard to imagine undercover cameras trying to get beyond official lines, and special staff are being employed to ensure this doesn’t happen.
Netflix are no fools. Producers know every trick in the book, and a good documentary maker knows people who can talk their way into an inner circle, searching for the most dramatic stories amid all the positive pictures and videos.
Can you imagine if there’s a fight or a battle behind closed doors and somebody from Netflix, armed with a subtly placed camera, catches it on film?
Even without the cameras, the Royal Family are very nervous to even speak to the couple, as perhaps they’ll just pass on the conversation to whoever wants to pay them.
We’ve seen from Harry’s various chats with Oprah and on NBC that, nowadays, he doesn’t keep secrets. That’s very difficult if he wants to mend a relationship with the likes of Prince Charles or William.
To make a fallout better, you need privacy and above all trust. It feels like the bridges have been burned, and the point of no return has been crossed.
After all the vile things Harry has said about his family – that his father and brother are “trapped”, that he feels sorry for them, and the racism claims – relationships aren’t going to be mended in 10 minutes.
Harry’s also got a memoir coming out, what’s he going to say about all this in that?
Rumour has it he is going to attack his father and Camilla, so they need to think carefully about every word they say, rather than talk openly about how they really feel.
Why should they welcome him? It’s a horrific position to be in – and then you have to think of the Queen herself.
Too much pressure on the Queen
The Sussexes are putting a tremendous amount of pressure on Her Majesty.
These four days are going to be very demanding on her, emotionally and physically. Partly because her beloved husband isn’t there and partly because of the overwhelming warmth sent her way from fans across the UK and around the world.
On top of all of this, she is then given the extra task of meeting her two grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet. To make time for that – during the Jubilee – is a completely unnecessary demand.
Harry and Meghan could come at another time quietly and spend a week together so that the monarch could meet the children properly.
Now, it has now got to be squeezed in, or else Harry will complain that she didn’t have time for them.
The whole point of this amazing Jubilee is to honour the Queen, but these two seem to have other ideas.
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They’re taking the spotlight already because they’re making such a fuss in the run-up to the four days of celebration.
It should be about Her Majesty – instead, it’s all about me, me, me.
