'Would have known': The truth behind Prince Harry's mediation with King Charles as exiled royal reels from Netflix calling time on $153 million content deal

Sky News AU

3 days ago

Netflix have grown increasingly unsatisfied with Meghan and Harry's performance on its network, and the dwindling number of viewers who tune in to their shows have had enough too.
The company had originally made a USD$100 million (AUD$153 million) deal with the pair - but that was when the couple were spilling all about the entrails of their relationship with the Royal Family.
When the couple ran out of new material their broadcasts began to flop.
As a result Netflix is not renewing their contract when it expires in September.
It's a massive shock that could significantly affect their lives.
They were rarely apart when they were newlyweds, but will they still stay together?
Meghan now sees herself as a businesswoman despite complaining in a recent podcast that she had to work so hard.
Harry often travels.
Recently he went to Angola to support the work of the HALO Trust that backed Princess Diana's famous walk through a minefield.
Harry no doubt wanted to feel close to his mother, who died in 1997, while bolstering his image.
Meghan likes to keep in the public's eye, readily using social media, despite she and Harry expressing concerns on the negative impacts.
She often shows their two children Archie and Lilibet in her posts but won't show their faces.
And followers are getting bored with them due to their rank hypocrisy.
Her latest series, 'With Love, Megan', failed to reach Netflix's top 300 most-watched programs.
Harry's situation was worse, with his Netflix polo sport feature rating 3,436th in Netflix's engagement report.
Nonetheless, Meghan thinks highly of herself and believes she knows better than the experts around her who often don't stay very long.
Even her produce is not always given enough attention.
About a month ago she produced apricot spread for her 'As Ever' brand, showcasing jam as an important part of her business output.
The Duchess of Sussex was blasted for supposedly picking fruit from a tree which showed some green looking apricots, raising questions on whether the fruit she was using were in season or not.
Jam guru Donna Collins publicly criticised her and called the jam 'a real disappointment'.
Then after you thought things couldn't get any worse, two of the biggest brand experts in the US lashed out at the Princess.
Canadian lawyer Phillip Millar and California marketing executive Camille Moore, both stars of 'The Art of the Brand' podcast called Meghan a 'fraud'.
They said the people behind the 'As Ever' brand are 'milking' her fame she gained after marrying Harry, and that she is 'suckering people into buying her stuff'.
And that the concept of Meghan's lifestyle business was one of the worst they have ever seen.
In mid July there was a meeting between Tobyn Andreae, the King and Queen's communications secretary, with Liam Maguire and Meredith Maines who work for Harry.
The aides sat on a balcony but only for ten minutes, after Mr Maguire spotted a photographer.
Was the snapper there by chance? And was part of the meeting done outside to see if it would leak?
Harry would have known of Netflix's decision, therefore wanted his father to give him much needed money.
The meeting was less likely a ploy to seek peace with his father.
In a recent interview with the BBC he said he missed his country and then used part of the 30 minute-interview to accuse the royal household of influencing the Court of Appeals' decision to reduce his security detail.
Money aside, Netflix's action is a major personal set back.
Does Meghan feel she would be better off without unsuccessful Harry?
It will be a second blow for Harry, who may feel like another 'Spare', similar to the title of his book.
The couple moving back to London seems unlikely.
Meghan knows she is not popular in the UK and so far sources have said that she won't come. Or bring the children.
The King loves Harry like any father loves his child, but hugely disapproves of his behaviour, particularly his rudeness about his adored wife Camilla - calling her 'dangerous' and that she 'left bodies left in the street' on her ascent to royal stardom.
Harry has written in his memoir that Camilla "sacrificed me on her personal PR altar".
Angela Levin is an award-winning British journalist and royal biographer. Her biography Harry: Conversations with the Prince was published in 2018. Her work has been commended twice at the British Press Awards.