They were welcomed to the States with open arms in July 2020, but the ‘tide has turned’ for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, according to royal experts.
When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the UK behind, US media companies gave every indication that they would support their American duchess and her prince charming.
Deals came in left, right and centre for the Sussexes: Netflix spent a rumoured figure of £60million to partner with the couple a few months before Spotify reportedly pledged £15million with Archewell Audio in late 2020.
But after a series of business missteps, the media organisations that were once cheerleaders of the Sussexes are now changing their tune, royal experts have claimed in Channel 5’s new documentary, Harry & Meghan: Has America had Enough?
The Daily Mail’s Editor at Large, Richard Kay, explained that there was an enormous sense of goodwill towards the couple when they relocated in 2021.
‘America likes people who are having another go, and Harry, in a sense, was having another go,’ he explained. ‘He felt he’d been driven out of his home country, he got this lovely American wife, and I think America respected him for coming to them and building a new career on their side of the pond.’
It was no surprise that Netflix quickly came calling, hoping for the exclusive tell-all about their experiences in the royal family. But Harry and Meghan first sat down with Oprah for CBS before Harry released further insight in his book Spare.
‘Netflix were the least beneficial. Oprah got the first bite of the cherry, and Spare had loads of exclusive materials that hadn’t been told,’ journalist Jack Royston told the show.
Author Alexander Larman, author of Power and Glory: Elizabeth II and the Rebirth of Royalty, added: ‘Netflix are not a stupid company. But they are beginning to look, very strongly, like they had gambled far too much money on a public appetite for a brand that doesn’t exist.’
When they first moved across the pond, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were welcomed to the States with open arm from US media companies, but according to experts, that’s all changed
‘In America, there is this great love and affection for the royal family, but there’s also the sense that Harry and Meghan were not quite the people they thought they were going to be.’
Meghan split from Netflix in March and took complete control of her As Ever food and homeware brand – just months after the streaming giant dropped her lifestyle show.
Insiders claimed Meghan thought Netflix was being too ‘cautious’ and wants to ‘go global’, believing her brand can ‘stand on its own’.
But the abrupt split came just two months after the streaming giant axed With Love, Meghan, which ran for two series.
The documentary explained that another turning point in the couple’s perception was the release of the February 2023 South Park episode, ‘The World Wide Privacy Tour’.
The show ridiculed Meghan and Harry’s demands for privacy while on a publicity blitz for the prince’s autobiography ‘Waaaagh’ – a dig at Harry’s memoir Spare.
The cartoon prince and princess carried banners emblazoned with the ‘Respect Our Privacy’ slogan, and they shouted at anyone who looked their way.
Journalist Emma Loffhagen explained: ‘In America, that was perhaps the first time that that perception had been broadcast in that way. It’s a sign that the tide was turning, and that scathing tone would become more popular.’
Archetypes reportedly explored the ‘labels that try to hold women back’ – but Spotify axed the podcast deal after one season
At the same time, the Sussexes’ relations with Spotify also took a turn. The streaming giant and the Sussexes’ audio production company Archewell Audio reportedly signed a £15million ($20million) deal in late 2020.
A ‘well-placed’ royal source told The Mirror at the time: ‘Meghan was the driving force behind the deal. She was incredible in the meetings with executives and had a clear vision of what they, as a couple, had to offer.
‘Spotify’s whole business plan is to acquire the world’s most talked about celebrities in one place and Harry and Meghan fit the bill entirely. It’s a win-win scenario.’
After the deal was signed, Dawn Ostroff, Spotify’s chief content and advertising business officer, issued a gushing statement which read: ‘The Duke and Duchess of Sussex may live in California, but the power of their voices rests in their status as citizens of the world.
‘That they are embracing the extraordinary capacity of podcasts on Spotify while also seeking to elevate underrepresented voices is a testament to their appreciation for the potential of audio storytelling.’
But after one season of Meghan’s podcast Archetypes, Spotify announced it was axing the deal in June 2023.
Insiders claimed at the time that the royal couple did not meet the productivity benchmark required to receive the full payout.
Sources have since claimed the couple ‘wanted a big theme that would explain the world, but they had no ideas’.
Some of Harry’s concepts allegedly ranged from reviewing hot chocolate every week to interviewing the likes of Putin and Donald Trump about being ‘sociopaths’.
Meanwhile, Meghan is said to have found it hard to commit to a single idea before ‘backtracking’ and ‘watering them down’, meaning each episode had to be ‘completely reimagined late in production’, the article stated.
The couple were also disparaged by podcaster Bill Simmons, who worked with the Sussexes at Spotify.
In June 2023, he referred to the couple as ‘grifters’, adding: ‘I have got to get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories.… F*** them. The grifters.’
Spotify appeared to have made a business-led decision that the Duke and Duchess don’t have the media brand value they once had.
Harry & Meghan: Has America Had Enough will air on Channel 5 on June 13 at 8.35pm.
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