Meghan and Harry: Netflix announces Heart Of Invictus docuseries

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex amazed royal fans when they managed to secure a deal with streaming giant Netflix just months after their dramatic exit from the monarchy. A contract of historic value, it is estimated to be worth around $100million (£72million) even though the couple have little experience as producers. Their deal was seen as the couple’s first major move into financial independence, although Harry told Oprah Winfrey that they only looked into streaming platforms after his family “literally cut me off financially”.

The contract allowed the pair to pay for their extensive security costs and to pay back the £2.4million they owed the taxpayer for their Frogmore Cottage renovations dating back to 2019.

PR expert Mark Borkowski said: “It’s a fantastic deal for Netflix and a phenomenal deal for the ex-royal couple.

“If they get it right, if they surround themselves with the very best people… it could be the mother lode for them.”

However, he conceded that it was going to be challenging for them, because “producing content is very difficult”.

Speaking to Canadian outlet CBC, he said: “Disney will tell you, you’re not making that overnight.

“There’s a long journey and you need people with the necessary scar tissue to help you.”

Royal biographer Penny Junor also claimed: “This Netflix deal could be the perfect vehicle for them, if it works as they intend.”

She continued: “Harry and Meghan have always said they want to make the world a better place.

“That was one of the things that brought them together in the first place, and as working members of the Royal Family, they were ideally positioned to do that.”

She then asked how the kind of programming they intend to produce — which “informs but also gives hope” — “will get the sort of viewing figures that Netflix will presumably want for this sort of money”.

Indeed, a YouGov poll conducted last September found just nine percent of Brits said they were “fairly” interested in watching the couples’ Netflix content, while only three percent they were “very” interested.

However, the couple are known to have made Americans their new target audience since moving to California last year, so the apathy from Britons is not necessarily a deal-breaker for the Sussexes and Netflix.

But, Meghan and Harry have only announced one programme with Netflix so far, ‘Heart of Invictus’, which will follow competitors as they prepare for next year’s Invictus Games in The Hague.

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A Sussex spokesperson also told Town & Country that any compensation for this particular production will be redirected to The Invictus Games Foundation.

As the couple have also just announced they will be taking a break until November to spend time with their newborn daughter Lilibet Diana, it’s unlikely they will be preparing to make any other productions public soon.

Ms Junor concluded: “I find it hard to see how this could be a permanent income stream for Harry and Meghan.”

The couple’s Netflix deal allows them to produce a range of content from scripted series, documentaries, features and children’s programming.

So far, their most successful appearances have actually been on other streaming platforms — such as Harry’s mental health docuseries ‘The Me You Can’t See’ released on Apple TV+, and the couple’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey on CBS in March.

The couple are therefore yet to establish a presence on Netflix 10 months after announcing their deal, which has raised concerns about how long their contract will last if they do not act soon.

But, it’s not the only contract they’ve secured since their royal departure; the Sussexes signed a multi-year deal with Spotify for their new podcast series, Archewell Audio, last December.

They also have a contract with the Harry Walker Agency, a public speaking organisation that also represents Barack and Michelle Obama.

Meghan has opened up an investment portfolio too, having invested in the Californian start-up Clevr Blends, while Harry has become the Chief Impact Officer of the US mental health company BetterUp.

The pair surprised royal fans further when they signed a new deal with consumer goods company Procter & Gamble — a firm Meghan campaigned against in her youth after taking issue with a sexist slogan.

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