Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Netflix Series Might Be \201cShelved Indefinitely\201d

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published 8 October 2022

Prior to the Queen’s death at 96 years old last month, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had plenty of projects at near completion: Meghan’s podcast on Spotify, Archetypes, had launched the month before; Harry’s tell-all memoir is due to be released by the end of the year; and filming for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s docuseries with Netflix was well underway.

Now, however, the temperature has changed after the Queen’s death, and, according to Tatler, the couple’s forthcoming docuseries could be “shelved indefinitely,” as the Sussexes want to make “extensive cuts” to the show and are “at odds” with producers, the outlet reports. (The Sussex docuseries comes in addition to season five of The Crown—due out in November—which will cover the 1990s and likely portray Harry’s father, King Charles III, in a not so favorable light.)

According to Page Six, the changes Harry and Meghan wish to make to their show are so wide-ranging that the show might be shelved indefinitely. The show would have been the first offering from the couple since they signed a multimillion-dollar deal with Netflix in 2020; the biographical documentary series was set to follow the release of The Crown and come out either late 2022 or early 2023.

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“It is likely that, given the recent death of Prince Harry’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, the couple are now looking to ‘downplay’ much of what they have said about King Charles III, the Queen Consort, and the Prince and Princess of Wales, as it is believed the project will ‘include a number of truth bombs’ about the family,” Tatler reports.

Now the release date for the series looks like a definite 2023 drop, per the outlet, and the couple might be having second thoughts altogether, potentially delaying—or even axing—the project.

“Harry and Meghan are panicked about trying to tone down even the most basic language,” an insider told Page Six. “But it’s their story, from their own mouths.” According to a source from Netflix, “Netflix has been keen to have the show ready to stream for December. There’s a lot of pressure on [Netflix CEO] Ted Sarandos, who has the relationship with Harry and Meghan, to get this show finished.”

Reports emerged back in May that Harry and Meghan had welcomed cameras into their home in Montecito, though it’s not known whether the show will include their two children, Archie and Lilibet. In July, sources said Netflix wished to air the show before Harry’s upcoming memoir hits shelves, which is also reportedly receiving hard edits following Her late Majesty’s death.

“There is a lot to organize and a lot of things at play here,” a source tells Page Six. “Netflix wants to make sure they get in there and don’t get scooped…[Netflix executives] knew the book was coming out, which is why they wanted the series this year…They don’t want to hold off any longer.”

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.