The biggest surprise from this week’s release of a trailer for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s upcoming Netflix documentary is that it appeared. Amid speculation that the show, titled Harry and Meghan, was still being edited or had been delayed until next year, here was finally a commitment that the day would soon go to air .
“When the stakes were so high, doesn’t it make more sense to hear our story?” Meghan is seen asking.
But the decision to release the minute-long clip, in which the couple pledge to give viewers their account of royal life, came at an awkward time for the rest of the royal family, who had faced a race and the start of the Prince and Princess of Wales tour of the USA.
There was speculation that there had been a back-and-forth between the royal couple and Netflix over whether to delay the show following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
If, as now seems likely, Netflix moves forward with a pre-Christmas release date for the documentary, it also suggests the streaming company needs eyeballs to recoup its multimillion-dollar investment in the pair, especially after the launch of its new subscription basic level ad-supported.
This reflects the change in fortunes at Netflix since it signed the deal with the royal family’s production company, Archewell, in September 2020. At the time, the streaming company was still riding high financially as customers stayed in house due to the pandemic that subscribed to the subscriptions. . This helped to go on a spree in signing big deals that now seem decadent, such as buying the entire Roald Dahl estate.
Harry and Meghan, Netflix.
At the time, the Sussexes were reported to be in a bidding war with Disney+ and Apple TV+, with the couple seeking a deal worth around $100m (£81m) for an extensive documentary.
It is unknown if they reached a deal worth that sum and how much of the money would be tied to the successful delivery of finished products. Harry and Meghan’s documentary has already lost a director, while another project, a Meghan-directed animation about a girl who takes influence from prominent women in history, was canceled as part of Netflix’s cuts to beginning of the year
It will also provide a window into the level of public interest in the pair, at least in the UK, where viewership data for Netflix shows is now readily available. While the streaming service previously kept its viewing numbers under wraps, independent audience data will now be available for the show. It could also highlight the very different reactions to the couple in the UK, where they have faced hostile media coverage and are suing several newspapers, in contrast to the US, where they have been widely welcomed into their new life in California.
The couple, however, have received an unexpected PR boost for their controversial case that the royal family struggled with race-related issues when Lady Susan Hussey, a long-time aide to the late queen, resigned this week after of questioning the founder of the charity Ngozi Fulani in a palace. reception about where he was “really” from.
Tom Bower, who wrote a critical biography of Meghan, has previously claimed that Lady Hussey was tasked with helping Markle integrate into the royal family, with little success.
“This will all end in tears,” he reportedly said of the couple’s relationship.
As if to illustrate the circular nature of the Netflix-family-royal relationship, Hussey appears briefly in episode eight of the latest series of The Crown. In the programme, she is described as having a discussion with her husband, then BBC chairman Marmaduke Hussey, about the difficulties of royal media coverage.