Royal Family ‘Laughing Discreetly’ at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s News, Biographer Claims
While the royal family has made headlines for events like Trooping the Colour and their appearances at the Royal Ascot, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have also been in the news but not for reasons they would have liked.
In June, Spotify declined to renew the duchess’s Archetypes podcast for a second season. Spotify executive Bill Simmons then publicly called Harry and Meghan “f****** grifters.” On top of that, their ideas for Netflix were labeled as “subpar” prompting reports that the streaming giant will end its contract with the pair when it’s up in 2025. The royal family hasn’t commented on any news related to the Sussexes but according to a biographer, they’re laughing about it now.
Expert says the Sussexes ‘might be too far away from their audience’s tastes’
After stepping down from their royal duties in 2020, the prince and former Suits star signed lucrative deals with both Netflix and Spotify. But after Spotify canceled Meghan’s podcast, the Wall Street Journal reported the couple was told that their ideas for Netflix aren’t very good.
The publication noted that after having several of their ideas axed, the Sussexes got the green light to produce a show called Bad Manners based on a feminist version of Miss Havisham from Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations.
PR expert Mark Borkowski told the Daily Mail: “Studio execs are subject to constant pitch ideas that have to be good. It shows they might be too far away from their audience’s tastes. Worthy content has to be good. It’s not about broadcasting to their bubble.”
Royal author Richard Fitzwilliams added: “It is one thing for Meghan to narrate Elephant for Disney, another to take on Dickens! Meghan’s animated series, Pearl, was canceled by Netflix and Spotify were far from pleased with Archetypes. Harry’s documentary, Heart of Invictus, is reportedly due out soon — but it’s reasonable to ask why have they done so little despite their high profile and expectations that their brand would have huge international appeal.
“Harry’s judgment about what to include in his memoir, Spare, was badly flawed too. Surely Meghan’s new agent is able to arrange more work for them? Hollywood dislikes failure. Many are asking how talented they really are.”
Biographer says the royals are ‘discreetly laughing’ at Harry and Meghan’s ‘unravelings’
Editor-in-Chief of Majesty Magazine and royal biographer Ingrid Seward says the royal family is likely sitting back now and “laughing” at the Sussexes’ “unravelings.”
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex appear to be on a different path. When they first hit California, they hit it running and were feted by everybody snapping up deals left right and center,” Seward said via The Mirror. “The amounts of money they seemed to be earning were awesome. Netflix was first swiftly followed by Spotify … Then the Publisher Penguin Random House signed up Harry for an autobiography which he didn’t even have to write himself.
“Suddenly they seemed far further away than the five thousand miles which separate them from the royal family. Instead of hats and suits, they were barefoot in jeans. Instead of Frogmore Cottage under the Heathrow flightpath, they had the beauty of the mountains and the ocean. It was all sunshine and palm trees and sprinkler-fed lawns. Then, the unraveling began.”
Seward continued: “The Sussex silver has become tarnished. Without them dissing on the royal family, which they have intimated they won’t be doing any more — what have they to offer? There are many with more talent and experience. They will be taking the news in their stride but will not be happy. Their ‘private’ life costs a fortune to run. Despite their combined riches, they need a huge income just to keep going.
“The royal family will be laughing discreetly. They do not wish the Sussexes any harm but are smarting from the way the Californian couple has run down the monarchy they have worked so hard to preserve. It has upset King Charles and Queen Camilla and was quite unnecessary. It may continue to come back and haunt them for some time.”
