The Reason Prince William Is So Angry About Prince Harry’s Netflix Deal Has to Do With Their Mother, Princess Diana
Six months after stepping down from their roles as senior royals, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex announced that they have signed a deal with Netflix. This will give the couple the financial independence they had hoped for, but not everyone is happy about that.
It’s being reported that over on the other side of the pond Harry’s brother, Prince William, is fuming about the deal and the reason has to do with their late mother, Princess Diana.
How much Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s deal is worth
On Sept. 2, Variety reported that the Sussexes inked a mega-deal with Netflix that is worth in the neighborhood of $100 million. The duke and duchess will be producing a number of documentaries as well as children’s programs for the streaming giant.
Following the announcement, Meghan and Harry released a statement which read:
As new parents, making inspirational family programming is important to us, as is powerful storytelling through a truthful and relatable lens. We are pleased to work with (Netflix’s co-CEO) Ted [Sarandos] and the team at Netflix whose unprecedented reach will help us share impactful content that unlocks action.
Prince William is ‘livid’ because of how Netflix will portray Princess Diana
The Duke of Sussex’s big brother is reportedly pretty angry about Harry’s decision to work with Netflix because of what’s to come in the biographical series The Crown about their family.
Prince William isn’t a fan of The Crown. In fact, Hello! noted that he once told Olivia Colman, who plays his grandmother on the hit show, that he doesn’t watch it.
Season 4 will be a real sore spot for the royals as it will depict a terrible time in the life of Princess Diana. The upcoming season will be released on Nov. 15 and will dive into the princess’s battle with bulimia which according to The Sun is something that is likely going to make the royal family very “uncomfortable.”
“William and other senior royals are incredibly uncomfortable about this drama and livid Harry is now in partnership with the company that’s airing it,” an insider told the publication. “It’s the latest in a long line of flashpoints between the brothers, but there are few more sensitive subjects than the plight of their mother.”
The source added, “Viewers of The Crown wouldn’t expect the writers to ignore something which is now a matter of public record. But the royal family also wouldn’t expect one of their own to take money made by the profits of shows like this.”
Prince Harry previously had an issue with ‘The Crown’
Before he signed the deal with Netflix, Harry revealed that he had an issue with the show as the time period continued to inch closer to modern times.
Royal biographer Angela Levin told BBC Breakfast that when she interviewed the Duke of Sussex in 2018 he asked her if she watched The Crown and said, “I’m going to make sure I stop it before they get to me.’”
Now though Harry is working with the streaming platform not against it.
As for what will be shown involving such a dark time in Princess Diana’s life, a spokesman for Left Bank Pictures, which makes The Crown for Netflix, said: “Producers worked closely with the eating disorder charity, BEAT, to ensure that their portrayal of Princess Diana’s bulimia in season 4 was both accurate to the disorder and sensitively handled.”
