Prince Harry and Meghan Markle hire former The Crown executive to help boost their public image
In yet another move that will throw fuel on the fiery feud between King Charles, Prince William and his brother Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan Markle have hired a former TV producer from The Crown to help boost their image.
The woman responsible for the publicity of the hugely popular Netflix series during seasons three through six, Emily Robinson, has ironically been parachuted in by the Sussexes to try and help turn around their disastrous public persona.
Netflix had been accused of taking creative licence too far when addressing some story lines in The Crown, which reportedly enraged members of the royal family.
Ms Robinson was responsible for depicting the episodes as based on actual events, even though there were large chunks of the overall series that had clearly been left to script writers and producers to use their creative licence.
Prince Harry's notorious Nazi costume scandal and the most sensitive Princess Diana moments in the program were all content that Ms Robinson was employed to promote.
Royal commentators have likened the decision to hire Ms Robinson with 'sticking in the knife'.
The Netflix series touched on all the controversial moments for the King and his sons over the years.
'In the circumstances, it's almost beyond belief that Harry and Meghan would hire someone straight from The Crown,' the Daily Mail quoted a royal insider as saying.
Prince Harry has previously spoken about The Crown and said the show had not concerned him at all.
'They don't pretend to be news. It's fiction. But it's loosely based on the truth. Of course, it's not strictly accurate,' he told James Cordern in 2021.
'I'm way more comfortable with The Crown than I am seeing the stories written about my family, or my wife, or myself.'
When asked by Stephen Colbert on his talk show in the US in 2023 if he had watched the show and if he did any fact checking, the Prince responded 'Yes, I have actually watched The Crown'.
'Yes, I do, actually (fact check). Which, by the way, is another reason why it's so important that history has it right.'
The Netflix brand is one the Sussexes are particularly aligned with after the streaming service paid them a staggering $US100 million to produce a range of programs over a five year period including a Harry & Meghan documentary series.
The infamous docu-series included Prince Harry's claim that his family suffered from 'unconscious racial bias', and that they were conspiring against him and his wife.
Although the decision will undoubtedly push the royal brothers further apart, Prince Harry and Meghan have pushed on and hired the former Netflix exec who has also held a number of senior publicity roles around the world.
Ms Robinson has worked in various roles at the A&E Networks, Discovery/TLC, VH1, and Bravo and is expected to only increase the couple's profile and build on Meghan Markle's recent foray's into podcasting and lifestyle programming including her with her show - With Love, Meghan.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Colin Trevorrow couldn't 'engage' with Star Wars after leaving project
Colin Trevorrow has found it a "struggle" to "engage" with Star Wars since he parted ways with LucasFilm. The 48-year-old filmmaker was in the process of developing Star Wars: Duel of the Fates - which ultimately became Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker - when he parted ways with the studio over creative differences, and it is only now he is considering watching spin-off TV show Andor because he has had to distance himself from the franchise. He told The Hollywood Reporter: 'My son and I have both decided that we are going to watch all of Andor this summer. But I do have to be honest; it has been a struggle for me to engage with anything Star Wars-related just on an emotional level. 'So, to the team that made Andor, I guess I can say that you're the ones who've finally brought me back in.' Leaving Star Wars allowed Colin to work on Jurassic World Dominion, and while the 2022 film was pitched as "the epic conclusion of the Jurassic era", he isn't surprised that a new movie, Jurassic World Rebirth, will be released this year. He said: "No, I wasn't [surprised. I was so deeply entrenched in what we were building over all of that time. It wasn't just the films and the two animated series on Netflix; we have the toys and the theme parks and everything else that we did. "So we built something that's strong enough to move forward, and I'm very proud of that. "I also know that pretty much every time a child is born, a new dinosaur fan is born. So I don't think the interest in seeing dinosaurs is ever really going to run out." Meanwhile, Colin wants to help up-and-coming filmmakers further their careers through his production company Metronome. He said: 'Because I've had some success in my career, my absolute top priority is not just paying it forward, but also being able to introduce new talent to move us forward. "We don't have farm teams in Hollywood, and I think that it's a responsibility of filmmakers to identify who's next. A lot of these icons that we have now were identified by another filmmaker, and that's something I would love to have on my record.'
Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Australian chess prodigy Reyaansh Chakrabarty talks grandmaster ambitions
For 11-year-old chess prodigy Reyaansh Chakrabarty, the hit Netflix show The Queen's Gambit sparked a love for the game that now takes him around the world on a quest to become Australia's first world champion. 'During the pandemic, I watched it a little bit, it's one of the things that got me interested in chess,' he told NewsWire this week in an exclusive interview. 'I didn't really know what chess was but I found it quite amusing, the pieces. 'She (Beth Harmon) is like looking up on the ceiling and watching the pieces move.' Like the fictional hero of the smash-hit show, Reyaansh imagines chess games in his head. 'I see pieces kind of everywhere,' he said. Reyaansh, from western Sydney, is a FIDE master with a classical rating of 2346 and his sharp rise has the Australian chess world excited. 'He is showing a lot of promise at a young age,' Australian Chess Federation publicity director Paul Power told NewsWire. The next level is international master, which generally means a rating of 2400 and three 'norms' or performance benchmarks a player needs to hit to gain the title. And then there is the rarefied world of grandmaster, a huge achievement that takes years of dedicated practice, study and ambition. Australia has only produced 10 grandmasters from a global field of about 2000. 'It's hard to predict that he is necessarily going to become a grandmaster, but he is certainly going about it the right way,' Mr Power said. 'Should he get to the GM title, Australia would be very pleased. It would be a feather in the cap, not just for Reyaansh and his family but for Australia.' Reyaansh's ambitions go even further and he dreams about becoming world champion. 'It's a huge call but right now I'm focused on improving step-by-step,' he said. It's an ambition that might seem extraordinary for an 11-year-old, but chess is a young person's game. The world champion is 18-year-old Indian wonder Gukesh Dommaraju, who ascended the throne in 2024 after beating Chinese GM Ding Liren in Singapore. Before Gukesh, the title was held by Norwegian legend Magnus Carlsen, widely credited as one of the greatest players in history alongside Garry Kasparov and controversial American icon Bobby Fischer. Mr Carlson became world champion at the age of 22. Reyaansh, a year 6 student at Strathfield South in Sydney's inner west, trains about five hours a day during the week, one hour before school and then four hours in the afternoon, and then for eight hours on Saturdays and Sundays. 'My school is very supportive of my chess, so I don't have much homework to do,' he said. 'But of course you still have to go to school and complete whatever you have to do.' He practises tactics and openings, or the first few moves in chess that dictate the development of a game, and constantly analyses his games looking for errors. Reyaansh also studies with Polish grandmaster Jacek Stopa through the Sydney Chess Academy, with face-to-face classes. 'He teaches me how deeply you need to prepare to get to the GM level,' he said. 'At the end of the class I'm very tired. The puzzles he gives me are very tough, like grandmaster level.' For black, Reyaansh loves the Caro-Kann and Queen's Gambit Declined defences. For white, he loves the Italian and Ruy Lopez openings. Russian champion Boris Spassky and Mr Fischer are his favourite players. 'I think he (Spassky) was very strong but also a nice guy. Bobby Fischer because he was a genius, one of the best players to ever live.' Reyaansh was born in Kolkata in India and immigrated to Australia at the age of two with his parents Sounak and Tapasri, both of whom support his chess dreams. Reyaansh has already beaten GMs, including Australian heavyweight Darryl Johansen at a match in Melbourne. 'It was the first GM I defeated,' Reyaansh said. 'It was a good game, it was probably heading towards a draw but he blundered and I won it.' Mr Johansen was gracious in defeat. 'He was a bit disappointed, but we discussed some moves after the game,' Reyaansh said. But there was no time to celebrate. 'I had two games the next day, so I had to kind of forget about it and prepare for the next time.' The youngster, who likes to read JK Rowling and the Dog Man comic books, has also interacted with legends of the game, including former world champion Vishy Anand, whom he met in Singapore. 'It was like a dream come true. He gave me advice on staying patient,' Reyaansh said. He returned to Sydney last week after competing in a tournament in Norway and has travelled to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Belgium, Switzerland and Singapore to play against the best players in the world. When asked what he found really special about chess, he emphasised the intensity of the game and the mental focus it took to win. 'Even if you play perfectly the whole game, if you make one mistake, it's over,' he said. 'You need to focus from start to finish. You can't ever let you guard down.' Chess is in the midst of a popularity boom, triggered in part by The Queen's Gambit and the rising visibility of grandmasters on social media. Netflix claims more than 62 million people watched the show in its first 28 days on the streaming platform. Mr Power has also witnessed a growing number of youngsters trying out the game. 'The enthusiasm of primary level students is refreshing,' he said. For Reyaansh, finding a 'love for the game' is the first step children should take in their own chess pursuits. 'You have to find your love for the game,' he said. 'Otherwise, you'll kind of feel it is a chore. If you don't love it, you'll feel bored with it.'
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Is this Aussie 11yo the next world champ?
For 11-year-old chess prodigy Reyaansh Chakrabarty, the hit Netflix show The Queen's Gambit sparked a love for the game that now takes him around the world on a quest to become Australia's first world champion. 'During the pandemic, I watched it a little bit, it's one of the things that got me interested in chess,' he told NewsWire this week in an exclusive interview. 'I didn't really know what chess was but I found it quite amusing, the pieces. 'She (Beth Harmon) is like looking up on the ceiling and watching the pieces move.' Like the fictional hero of the smash-hit show, Reyaansh imagines chess games in his head. 'I see pieces kind of everywhere,' he said. Reyaansh, from western Sydney, is a FIDE master with a classical rating of 2346 and his sharp rise has the Australian chess world excited. 'He is showing a lot of promise at a young age,' Australian Chess Federation publicity director Paul Power told NewsWire. Australian chess prodigy Reyaansh Chakrabarty is a FIDE master and hopes one day to become a grandmaster. Supplied Credit: News Corp Australia He travels the world playing against top players in tournaments. Supplied Credit: News Corp Australia The next level is international master, which generally means a rating of 2400 and three 'norms' or performance benchmarks a player needs to hit to gain the title. And then there is the rarefied world of grandmaster, a huge achievement that takes years of dedicated practice, study and ambition. Australia has only produced 10 grandmasters from a global field of about 2000. 'It's hard to predict that he is necessarily going to become a grandmaster, but he is certainly going about it the right way,' Mr Power said. 'Should he get to the GM title, Australia would be very pleased. It would be a feather in the cap, not just for Reyaansh and his family but for Australia.' Reyaansh's ambitions go even further and he dreams about becoming world champion. 'It's a huge call but right now I'm focused on improving step-by-step,' he said. He was inspired to take up chess after watching the hit Netflix show The Queen's Gambit. Supplied Credit: Supplied It's an ambition that might seem extraordinary for an 11-year-old, but chess is a young person's game. The world champion is 18-year-old Indian wonder Gukesh Dommaraju, who ascended the throne in 2024 after beating Chinese GM Ding Liren in Singapore. Before Gukesh, the title was held by Norwegian legend Magnus Carlsen, widely credited as one of the greatest players in history alongside Garry Kasparov and controversial American icon Bobby Fischer. Mr Carlson became world champion at the age of 22. Reyaansh, a year 6 student at Strathfield South in Sydney's inner west, trains about five hours a day during the week, one hour before school and then four hours in the afternoon, and then for eight hours on Saturdays and Sundays. 'My school is very supportive of my chess, so I don't have much homework to do,' he said. 'But of course you still have to go to school and complete whatever you have to do.' He practises tactics and openings, or the first few moves in chess that dictate the development of a game, and constantly analyses his games looking for errors. Reyaansh also studies with Polish grandmaster Jacek Stopa through the Sydney Chess Academy, with face-to-face classes. 'He teaches me how deeply you need to prepare to get to the GM level,' he said. 'At the end of the class I'm very tired. The puzzles he gives me are very tough, like grandmaster level.' For black, Reyaansh loves the Caro-Kann and Queen's Gambit Declined defences. For white, he loves the Italian and Ruy Lopez openings. Russian champion Boris Spassky and Mr Fischer are his favourite players. 'I think he (Spassky) was very strong but also a nice guy. Bobby Fischer because he was a genius, one of the best players to ever live.' Reyaansh was born in Kolkata in India and immigrated to Australia at the age of two with his parents Sounak and Tapasri, both of whom support his chess dreams. Reyaansh has already beaten GMs, including Australian heavyweight Darryl Johansen at a match in Melbourne. 'It was the first GM I defeated,' Reyaansh said. 'It was a good game, it was probably heading towards a draw but he blundered and I won it.' Mr Johansen was gracious in defeat. 'He was a bit disappointed, but we discussed some moves after the game,' Reyaansh said. But there was no time to celebrate. 'I had two games the next day, so I had to kind of forget about it and prepare for the next time.' The youngster, who likes to read JK Rowling and the Dog Man comic books, has also interacted with legends of the game, including former world champion Vishy Anand, whom he met in Singapore. 'It was like a dream come true. He gave me advice on staying patient,' Reyaansh said. He returned to Sydney last week after competing in a tournament in Norway and has travelled to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Belgium, Switzerland and Singapore to play against the best players in the world. When asked what he found really special about chess, he emphasised the intensity of the game and the mental focus it took to win. 'Even if you play perfectly the whole game, if you make one mistake, it's over,' he said. Reyaansh meets former world champion Vishy Anand. Supplied Credit: News Corp Australia 'You need to focus from start to finish. You can't ever let you guard down.' Chess is in the midst of a popularity boom, triggered in part by The Queen's Gambit and the rising visibility of grandmasters on social media. Netflix claims more than 62 million people watched the show in its first 28 days on the streaming platform. Mr Power has also witnessed a growing number of youngsters trying out the game. 'The enthusiasm of primary level students is refreshing,' he said. For Reyaansh, finding a 'love for the game' is the first step children should take in their own chess pursuits. 'You have to find your love for the game,' he said. 'Otherwise, you'll kind of feel it is a chore. If you don't love it, you'll feel bored with it.'
