31]
WIKIPEDIAMEGXIT
THE GUARDIANDOES MEGXIT MEAN MEGXIT? HAVE THE SUSSEXES REALLY ESCAPED THE ROYAL FAMILY!18 DECEMBER 2020
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/dec/18/does-megxit-mean-megxit-have-the-sussexes-really-escaped-the-royal-family
Harry and Meghan have left the UK for the US. But can they just walk away from the Firm?
It was a historic breakaway movement that divided the country, and will keep constitutional experts busy for years. Not Brexit, obviously, but Megxit, or Prince Harry and his wife Meghan’s decision to effectively resign from the royal family.
On 8 January, they confirmed plans to raise their son, Archie, overseas, free from the constraints of palace life and a media the prince felt was hounding his wife much as it once did his late mother.
What was originally planned as a soft Megxit – keeping the HRH titles, but working towards becoming self-supporting – became a hard one when Buckingham Palace ruled out the option of being half in and half out of royal life. The Sussexes moved to Los Angeles, near Meghan’s mother; shortly afterwards, Harry’s father, Prince Charles, fell ill with coronavirus back home. By summer the prince was rumoured to be struggling to adjust to his new life, although Meghan’s recent revelation that she had a miscarriage in July sheds new light on what was evidently a sad time for the couple.
Yet the year ends on a more settled note. The Sussexes have signed deals with Netflix and Spotify to produce documentaries and podcasts, declared financial independence by refunding the £2.4m in public money spent renovating their British base at Frogmore Cottage, and postponed (for undisclosed personal reasons) a potentially messy court hearing over the Mail on Sunday’spublication ofa letter from Meghan to her father. So has this experiment in quasi-royal living worked?
“You can see from Meghan’s reactions in discussions that have been posted online that she’s really happy to be back in the US,” says Victoria Murphy, royal correspondent for Town & Country magazine and the author of Sixty Glorious Years: Queen Elizabeth II. “If you imagine what they might have hoped to achieve when they decided to go their own way, I’d say they have ticked a lot of those boxes.”
Had she been a working princess, the duchess might well have found it harder to reflect on the Black Lives Matter movement (in a virtual address to her old school’s summer commencement ceremony) or urge Americans to vote in a bitterly contested presidential election. Harry’s relaxed but moving cameo appearance on Strictly Come Dancing tosupportcontestant JJ Chalmers, a fellow ex-soldier wounded in Afghanistan, meanwhile, was a reminder that he can now engage with the media only on terms that suit him.
Yet their ongoing relationship with the Firm remains a work in progress. “Harry’s relationship to the crown is not going to lessen over time; if anything it will be closer when he is the son, rather than grandson of the monarch,” says Murphy. “So everything they do publicly will always be discussed in the context of the royal family.” And there have been awkward moments; the palace’s refusal to let Harry send a wreath for laying at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Day looked petty, given he has served in combat. Drafting the Queen’s annual Christmas message may also be a challenge, although Murphy points out the monarch usually glosses over personal difficulties. Meanwhile, the latest series of The Crown, which portrays the young Harry and William as little boys swimming in a dysfunctional goldfish bowl, seems likely only to increase millennial sympathy for the Sussexes. Who would want that life for their own child?
END OF THE ARTICLE
[32]
PEOPLEMEGHAN MARKLE AND PRINCE HARRY HAVE LEFTCANADA AND NOW SETTLED IN L.A.26 MARCH 2020
https://people.com/royals/meghan-markle-and-prince-harry-have-left-canada-and-are-now-settled-in-the-l-a-area/
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have moved to Los Angeles
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have moved to Los AngelesBy Monique Jessen, Simon Perry and Erin HillMarch 26, 2020 05:10 PM
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have left Vancouver Island in Canada for the U.S., a source tells PEOPLE.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved from the home they were staying in on Vancouver Island and are now settled in the U.S., the source says. They are in Los Angeles — Meghan’s hometown. They have been living in a secluded compound and haven’t ventured out amid the coronavirus pandemic.
A representative for the couple had no comment.
Although the couple and their 10-month-old son Archie had been living in Canada since announcing they were stepping back from their royal roles in January, sources told PEOPLE that they had been making plans to spend time in L.A.
Meghan, 38, has a big support system in L.A., including her mother Doria Ragland, who works as a social worker and yoga instructor, and several friends who visited the couple on Vancouver Island.
A person in their circle previously told PEOPLE that they were “looking at houses in L.A.”
“Harry is looking straight ahead at his future with his family,” another source said. “They will be spending time in California…He’s not looking back.”
On Wednesday, it was announced that Harry’s father Prince Charles, 71, tested positive for the coronavirus.
Prince Charles has spoken to his sons Prince William and Prince Harry to share the news of his positive coronavirus diagnosis, the palace confirms.
Charles was last with his sons William and Harry in public on March 9 at the annual Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey. The event marked Harry and wife Meghan Markle’s last official royal event in the U.K. before they officially step down as senior working royals on March 31.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have shared messages of support amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“These are uncertain times. And now, more than ever, we need each other. We need each other for truth, for support, and to feel less alone during a time that can honestly feel quite scary,” they wrote on Instagram last week. “There are so many around the world who need support right now, who are working tirelessly to respond to this crisis behind the scenes, on the frontline, or at home. Our willingness, as a people, to step up in the face of what we are all experiencing with COVID-19 is awe-inspiring. This moment is as true a testament there is to the human spirit.”
On Monday, they paid tribute to healthcare workers in a post, saying: “Around the world, the response from people in every walk of life, to protect and look out for their communities has been inspiring. None more so than the brave and dedicated healthcare workers on the frontline, risking their own well-being to care for the sick and fight COVID-19. Wherever you are in the world, we are all incredibly grateful.”
Meghan’s first post-royal gig was announced on Thursday. The Duchess of Sussex has provided the narration for the upcoming Disneynature documentary, Elephant, streaming on April 3 on Disney+.
END OF THE ARTICLE
[33]
”The Sussexes are reportedly happier than ever now that they’ve settled into their new Montecito home with their son, Archie, and feel like they’ve become an even stronger couple during the past several months, Prince Harry is “thriving,” per Us Weekly, and has “grown in confidence…Harry isn’t looking back.”
THE OBSERVER
THE OBSERVERPRINCE HARRY AND MEGHAN ARE HAPPIER THAN EVER WITHTHEIR NEW LIFE IN MONTECITO
https://observer.com/2021/01/prince-harry-meghan-markle-happiest-stronger-post-royal-life-montecito/
It’s been exactly one year since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their intention to step down as senior royals, and over the past 12 months, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved to California, purchased their first home together, signed a huge Netflix deal and launched their nonprofit, Archewell.
The Sussexes are reportedly happier than ever now that they’ve settled into their new Montecito home with their son, Archie, and feel like they’ve become an even stronger couple during the past several months, Prince Harry is “thriving,” per Us Weekly, and has “grown in confidence…Harry isn’t looking back.”
While Prince Harry and Meghan’s move was dubbed “Megxit” by a number of media outlets, that term seems to be a major misnomer, as it was actually Prince Harry who was the main force behind the final move, according to a new report in Vanity Fair. Meghan was “simply the catalyst,” as it “came to the point where [Prince Harry] wanted a different way of life.”
Prince Harry and Meghan’s announcement last year came as a shock to many, though, and the royal family was reportedly taken aback by the Sussexes’ decision to release a statement before the details of the exit deal had been finalized. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had actually been carefully working on the plan for months, per Vanity Fair, and only had to make their announcement in such a way because the news had been leaked to the press.
The royals weren’t thrilled with the way the whole situation unfolded, and the already tense relationship between Prince William and Prince Harry only worsened, as the Duke of Cambridge was reportedly so angry with his brother that he refused to join Prince Harry and Queen Elizabeth for lunch prior to the now-infamous Sandringham Summit.
Over the past several months, however, the brothers have been working to repair their relationship, and though they haven’t been able to see each other in-person in nearly a year due to the COVID-19 crisis, they’ve been talking more regularly, and are hoping to reunite in the U.K. in the next few months, in time for Prince Philip’s milestone 100th birthday celebration in June, as well as for the unveiling of a statue in Princess Diana’s honor in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace over the summer. Prince William and Kate Middleton are also reportedly planning on making a big trip to the Sussexes’ side of the pond, as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are hoping to travel to Santa Barbara to see the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s new home before the end of the year.
END OF THE ARTICLE
[34]
THE OBSERVERPRINCE HARRY AND MEGHAN ARE SO EXCITED TO GIVE ARCHIEA SIBLING
https://observer.com/2021/02/meghan-markle-prince-harry-pregnancy-royal-baby-news-excited-archie-sibling/
On Valentine’s Day, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced the exciting news that they’re expecting their second child. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are thrilled that they’re going to become a family of four, and are so happy that they were able to become pregnant again after suffering a miscarriage last summer.
Prince Harry and Meghan were devastated by the loss, but according to People, remained “hopeful that they would get pregnant again.” The Duke and Duchess are “overjoyed” that it happened so quickly, as they always wanted to give their son, Archie, a sibling that’s close in age.
The Sussexes are “super excited” that Archie will have sibling, as they’ve long planned on having two children. Archie turns two in May, and while Prince Harry and Meghan haven’t disclosed any details, a royal source told Us Weekly that Meghan is due in late spring.
If true, that means that Archie will be approximately two years older than his little sibling, which is just about the same age gap as Prince Harry and Prince William.
Prince Harry and Meghan are delighted by the pregnancy, though they were understandably both nervous after the miscarriage they experienced last year. “It took them a while before they could fully relax and enjoy this pregnancy,” per People, but now they’ve been able to take it all in.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are in full nesting mode, and have already begun designing the nursery at their nine-bedroom Montecito home, where there is plenty of room for their children to play around. Indeed, immediately upon moving into the Santa Barbara mansion, Prince Harry and Meghan made sure that there were special spaces for Archie, including an outdoor play area.
While the Sussexes have remained quiet about the pregnancy since their big reveal, eager royal watchers might get a bit more info on the royal baby soon, as Prince Harry and Meghan are sitting down for a special interview with Oprah Winfrey that’s set to air March 7, and per Oprah’s pal Gayle King, “nothing is off-limits.”
END OF THE ARTICLE
[35]
”Oprah: So, hi.
Harry: Hello.
Oprah: Thanks for joining us.
Harry: Thanks for having me.
Oprah: You’ve been watching on the side, yeah?
Harry: Some of it.
Oprah: Yes. I want to say, first of all, let’s say congratulations . . .
Harry: Thank you.
Oprah: . . . for the new addition to your family. Meghan said she wanted to wait until you were here to tell us, is it a boy or is it a girl?
Meghan: You can tell her.
Harry: No, go for it.
Meghan: No, no.
Harry: It’s a girl.
Oprah: (Squeals)
Meghan: It’s a girl.
Harry: Yes!
Oprah: You’re going to have a daughter. Wow.
Meghan: It’s a girl.”
OPRAH WINFREY MEETS PRINCE HARRY AND HIS WIFE MEGHAN
MARKLE/FULL TEXT OF THE INTERVIEW
ASTRID ESSED
10 MARCH 2021
OR
[36]
BBC
MEGHAN, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX, TELLS OF
MISCARRIAGE ”PAIN AND GRIEF
20 NOVEMBER 2020
The Duchess of Sussex has revealed she had a miscarriage in July, writing in an article of feeling “an almost unbearable grief”.
“I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second,” Meghan said in a piece for the New York Times.
She went on to describe how she watched “my husband’s heart break as he tried to hold the shattered pieces of mine”.
Meghan wrote that “loss and pain have plagued every one of us in 2020”.
The 39-year-old shared her experience to urge people to “commit to asking others, ‘are you OK?'” over the Thanksgiving holiday in the US.
- Profile: Duchess of Sussex
- Becoming a mother has been ‘struggle’ – Meghan
- Harry and Meghan to step back as senior royals
A source close to the duchess confirmed to the BBC that the duchess is currently in good health and the couple wanted to talk about what happened in July, having come to appreciate how common miscarriage is.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “It’s a deeply personal matter we would not comment on.”
The duchess and Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, moved to California to live away from the media spotlight, after stepping back as senior royals in January.
Their first child, Archie, was born on 6 May 2019.
The duchess began her article by describing a “sharp cramp” she felt while looking after Archie.
“I dropped to the floor with him in my arms, humming a lullaby to keep us both calm, the cheerful tune a stark contrast to my sense that something was not right,” she wrote.
“Hours later, I lay in a hospital bed, holding my husband’s hand. I felt the clamminess of his palm and kissed his knuckles, wet from both our tears.
“Staring at the cold white walls, my eyes glazed over. I tried to imagine how we’d heal.”
AN ANALYSIS BY JONNY DEMOND
ROYAL CORRESPONDENT
Meghan made it clear from the first event that she spoke at as Harry’s bride-to-be that she wanted women’s voices and women’s experiences to be heard more clearly.
Now she has written of her loss, and her heartbreak. She has set it in the context of a year of breathtaking turbulence. And she has made a plea for tolerance and compassion.
She weaves in the struggles of so many with Covid-19, the battles over truth and lies in our divided age, the killing of black Americans by the police.
And on an experience that so many women have lived through, she has made her grief a way of bringing miscarriage closer to the everyday conversation.
The duchess continued: “Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few.
“In the pain of our loss, my husband and I discovered that in a room of 100 women, 10 to 20 of them will have suffered from miscarriage.
“Yet despite the staggering commonality of this pain, the conversation remains taboo, riddled with (unwarranted) shame, and perpetuating a cycle of solitary mourning.
“Some have bravely shared their stories; they have opened the door, knowing that when one person speaks truth, it gives license for all of us to do the same.”
The duchess also referenced a TV interview in which she was asked by a journalist if she was ok, during her tour of South Africa last year.
She said she was asked the question during a time in which she was “trying to keep a brave face in the very public eye”.
“I answered him honestly, not knowing that what I said would resonate with so many – new moms and older ones, and anyone who had, in their own way, been silently suffering,” she said.
The duchess is the second member of the Royal Family to open up about having a miscarriage.
In 2018 the Queen’s granddaughter Zara Tindall spoke about suffering two miscarriages before having her second child.
The duchess’s miscarriage happened at a time when she was involved in legal action against the Mail on Sunday over the publication of a letter she wrote to her father. Last month she was granted a postponement of her privacy trial until autumn next year.
‘Breaking down stigma’
An estimated one in four pregnancies ends in a miscarriage, according to the charity Tommy’s.
Tommy’s midwife Sophie King said talking about baby loss in pregnancy is “a real taboo in society” so “mothers like Meghan sharing their stories is a vital step in breaking down that stigma and shame”.
She said the duchess’s “honesty and openness” sends a “powerful message to anyone who loses a baby: this may feel incredibly lonely, but you are not alone”.
Clea Harmer, chief executive of stillbirth and neonatal death charity Sands, said it was a “sad reality” there was a stigma surrounding pregnancy loss and baby death, which “leaves many parents feeling isolated”.
“The isolation we have all felt this year has made it even more difficult for parents whose baby has died during the Covid-19 pandemic and has brought back painful emotions for all those who have lost precious loved ones,” she said.
Dr Christine Ekechi, of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said it was “important” that any stigma or shame surrounding this issue was removed.
“Sadly, early miscarriages are very common and they can be a devastating loss for parents and their families,” she said.
And Alice Weeden, from charity the Miscarriage Association, told the BBC: “When somebody, particularly in the public eye, talks about it openly, it’s helpful for other people to know that they are not alone.”
END
FOLLOWING [THE SAME LINK]
MISCARRIAGE: A DEEP AND LASTING IMPACT ON PARENTS
BY SMITHA MUNDASAD, BBC HEALTH REPORTER
By Smitha Mundasad, BBC health reporter
There are around 250,000 miscarriages every year in the UK alone, the majority occurring within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
It is a shockingly common experience, often dealt with privately at home or swiftly in hospitals.
Many parents carry their grief silently and can feel society expects them to “get back to normal life” too soon.
But charities and scientists say much more needs to be done to acknowledge the longer-term effects of pregnancy loss.
Research suggests that one in six women go on to have symptoms of post-traumatic stress.
For some, nightmares and flashbacks continue for many months while anxiety and depression are also common afterwards.
Partners report suffering too, with one in 12 facing similar issues.
Pregnancy experts in the UK say it is vital that women and partners are offered psychological support, alongside physical help, yet this kind of care is often under-resourced.
Often, it is not known why miscarriages occur – whether in the first or second trimester of pregnancy, and many pregnancy losses cannot be prevented.
Usually, something goes wrong with the development of the foetus in the womb.
Warning signs can include bleeding and/or cramping pain in the lower tummy.
Pregnant women are advised to seek medical advice if they have either of these symptoms.
END OF ARTICLE
THE GUARDIANMEGHAN, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX, REVEALS SHE HAD A MISCARRIAGE
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/nov/25/meghan-markle-duchess-of-sussex-reveals-she-had-miscarriage
Duchess writes about her grief and pain in losing a baby, and addresses the stigma of miscarriage
The Duchess of Sussex has revealed her grief after suffering a miscarriage, in an article that speaks to loss and the importance of asking about others’ welfare in times of pandemic and polarisation.
Meghan shared the devastation that she and Prince Harry felt after she lost a baby in July and was admitted to hospital.
Writing in the New York Times, she described the moment, as she was changing the couple’s son Archie’s nappy at their home in Los Angeles, that she “dropped to the floor” in pain.
“I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child that I was losing my second,” she wrote. “Hours later, I lay in a hospital bed, holding my husband’s hand. I felt the clamminess of his palm and kissed his knuckles, wet from both our tears. Staring at the cold white walls, my eyes glazed over. I tried to imagine how we’d heal.”Advertisement
She added that “watching her husband’s heart break as he tried to hold the shattered pieces of mine”, she realised that the only way to begin to heal “is to first ask: ‘Are you OK.’”
Addressing the stigma surrounding miscarriage, Meghan continued: “Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few.”
In the pain of their loss, the couple had discovered that “in a room of 100 women, 10 to 20 of them will have suffered from miscarriage,” she wrote. “Yet despite the staggering commonality of this pain, the conversation remains taboo, riddled with (unwarranted) shame, and perpetuating a cycle of solitary mourning.”
Those who had bravely shared their stories had given licence for others to do the same. It was important to ask other women how they were doing. “In being invited to share our pain, together we take the first steps toward healing,” she wrote.
She referred to her TV interview in South Africa, given when she was “exhausted” and breastfeeding and “trying to keep a brave face” in the public eye. The ITN journalist Tom Bradby asked if she was OK, and she answered him honestly, she recalled. “‘Thank you for asking,’ I said, ‘Not many people have asked if I’m OK.’”
Her off-the cuff remark, she said, “seemed to give people permission to speak their truth”. But it was not her answering honestly “that helped me most, it was the question itself”.
In the New York Times article, headlined “The Losses We Share – Perhaps the path to healing begins with three simple words: Are You OK?” she wrote that loss and pain had plagued many in 2020.
She referenced those whose loved ones had died from Covid-19. She also addressed the deaths of Breonna Taylor, a Louisville hospital worker, and George Floyd, both killed by police officers.
The world had become polarised – over facts, over science, “over whether an election has been lost or won”, she wrote. “That polarization, coupled with the social isolation required to fight this pandemic, has left us feeling more alone than ever.”
At Thanksgiving, with the pandemic separating many from their loved ones, “alone, sick, scared, divided and perhaps struggling to find something, anything, to be grateful for,” she wrote, “let us commit to asking others: ‘Are you OK?’”
The new normal, with masks concealing faces, was forcing people to look into each other’s eyes “sometimes filled with warmth, other times with tears”, she added. “For the first time, in a long time, as human beings, we are really seeing one another. Are we OK? We will be.”
Buckingham Palace made no comment, saying it was a deeply personal matter for the couple. Sources said there was understandable sadness in the royal family.
Responding to Meghan’s article, Dr Christine Ekechi, of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said miscarriage remained a taboo subject.
She said: “Sadly, early miscarriages are very common and they can be a devastating loss for parents and their families. Up to one in five women may experience a miscarriage in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
“In many circumstances, the reason for the miscarriage is unknown. We are improving our understanding of why miscarriages occur and who may be at risk, but the topic is still largely under-researched and the care for women and their partners under-resourced.
“Currently, many miscarriages cannot be prevented, however. A warning sign of miscarriage occurring may be bleeding and/or pain in early pregnancy. Pregnant women are advised to seek medical advice if they have any of these symptoms.
“Miscarriage remains a taboo subject, despite how common it is. It is important that we remove any stigma or shame surrounding this issue and adequately support families during this time.”
Zara Tindall, the daughter of the princess royal, and married to the former England rugby captain Mike Tindall, lost two babies to miscarriage before giving birth to the couple’s second daughter, Lena.
The first miscarriage occurred after the couple had publicly announced the pregnancy. She said she received so many letters saying “‘we’ve been through the same thing,’, which was incredible, it just showed how often it does happen,” she said in 2018. She also spoke about the effect on fathers, who felt helpless, saying “it’s hard for those guys, too”. It was a “horrible road”.
The Countess of Wessex spoke of her sadness at losing an unborn baby after having an ectopic pregnancy and collapsing at home in 2001. She and Prince Edward went on to have a daughter and a son.
At the time, Sophie, who required hospital treatment, said: “I’m obviously very sad – but it was just not meant to be. But there will be other chances.” Edward said at the time losing the baby in such a way “was about the most painful thing anyone can undergo”.
END OF THE ARTICLE
[37]
BBCPRINCE HARRY AND MEGHAN SIGN SPOTIFY PODCAST DEAL16 DECEMBER 2020
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-55327171
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have signed a deal with streaming service Spotify to produce and host podcasts.
Prince Harry and Meghan’s charity will receive an undisclosed sum from the partnership between their production company, Archewell Audio, and Spotify.
In a trailer, Prince Harry and Meghan promised “different perspectives” and interviews with “amazing people”.
It comes after the couple this year signed a Netflix deal to produce a range of programmes and series.
Their first podcast, due for release during the Christmas period, is described as a holiday special.
- ‘Living in Meghan’s shoes’ helped Harry see bias
- Harry and Meghan call to end ‘structural racism’
- Harry urges US voters to ‘reject hate speech’
The trailer on the Spotify’s website features the duke and duchess promoting the deal, with Harry saying: “That’s what this project is all about, to bring forward different perspectives and voices that perhaps you haven’t heard before and find our common ground.”
About the first podcast episode, Meghan said: “We’re talking to some amazing people, they’re going to share their memories that have really helped shape this past year which has been, as we know, a difficult one for everyone.”
Prince Harry said: “So many people have been through so much pain this year, experiencing loss, a huge amount of uncertainty, but it feels worth acknowledging that 2020 has connected us in ways we could have never imagined, through endless acts of compassion and kindness.”
The couple are now living in California after announcing in January that they would be stepping back as senior royals.
END OF ARTICLE
” They added that Netflix’s “unprecedented reach will help us share impactful content that unlocks action.” Netflix currently houses more than 200 million global subscribers.”
THE OBSERVERHARRY AND MEGHAN’S BIG HOLLYOOD DEALSHELPED THEN WEATHER THE FAMILY CHAOS
https://observer.com/2021/03/prince-harry-meghan-markle-netflix-spotify-deals-value-salary/
Speaking with Oprah Winfrey in a tell-all interview Sunday night on CBS, Prince Harry revealed that the royal family “literally cut me off financially” after he and Meghan Markle stepped away from royal duties. The Prince said the pair were cut off in the first quarter of 2020 shortly after publicly announcing that they would no longer be active working royals. Harry cited the money left to him by his late mother, Princess Diana, as a huge help at this time in their lives.
“Without that, we wouldn’t have been able to do this,” he said of the family’s move to California.
But the pair have been shrewd about planning their future amid a tumultuous split from the royal family and the financial stability that comes with it. In September, six months after their split from the House of Windsor, the duo signed a multiyear deal with Netflix to produce documentaries, series, feature films, scripted shows and children’s programming.
“Our focus will be on creating content that informs but also gives hope,” the couple said in a statement at the time of the announcement, per the New York Times. “As new parents, making inspirational family programming is also important to us.” They added that Netflix’s “unprecedented reach will help us share impactful content that unlocks action.” Netflix currently houses more than 200 million global subscribers.
Though it remains unconfirmed, estimates and reports peg the value of the deal at north of $100 million.
We’re incredibly proud they have chosen Netflix as their creative home and are excited about telling stories with them that can help build resilience and increase understanding for audiences everywhere,” Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-chief executive and chief content officer, said in a September statement.
In December, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex also entered a partnership with Spotify through their production company, Archewell Audio. The pair will host and produce podcasts in a deal estimated to be worth around $25 million. Harry and Meghan hope to promote “different perspectives” and feature interviews with “amazing people.” Their first episode, a 2020 holiday special, arrived on the service Dec. 29 and featured famous guest appearances from Sir Elton John, James Corden, tennis champion Naomi Osaka, author Deepak Chopra, spoken word performer George the Poet, filmmaker Tyler Perry, and British activist Christina Adane.
In a recent appearance for Spotify’s Stream On event, the couple stated that they are “using podcasts to drive powerful conversations that inspire, challenge and educate.”
One of the first projects under the pair’s Netflix deal will be an animated series focused on inspiring women, which is reportedly already in development. But, a future in streaming was not a considered possibility at the time of the couple’s split from Windsor
“This was never the intention,” Harry told Winfrey during the couple’s Sunday night interview. “We’re certainly not complaining, our life is great now, we’ve got a beautiful house, I’ve got a beautiful family. The dogs are really happy. At the time during Covid, the suggestion by a friend was ‘what about streamers?’ and we hadn’t thought about it. There were all sorts of different options and from my perspective, I just needed enough money to pay for security to keep my family safe.”
“Life is about storytelling,” added Markle. “For us to be able to have storytelling through a truthful lens that is hopefully uplifting is going to be great, knowing how many people that can land with and be able to give a voice to a lot of people that are underrepresented and aren’t really heard.”
END OF THE ARTICLE
[38]
THE OBSERVERPRINCE HARRY AND MEGHAN TOLD QUEEN ELIZABETHTHEY WON’T RETURN TO ROYAL ROLES19 FEBRUARI 2021
https://observer.com/2021/02/meghan-markle-prince-harry-royal-roles-leave-official-queen-elizabeth-statements/
SEE FOR THE WHOLE TEXT OF THE ARTICLE, NOTE 2
[39]
THE INDEPENDENTIS HARRY STILL A PRINCE AFTER LEAVING ROYAL DUTIES?8 MAART 2021
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/royal-family/is-harry-still-a-prince-b1814265.html
SEE FOR THE WHOLE TEXT OF THE ARTICLE, NOTE 3
MEGHAN MARKLE AND PRINCE HARRY’S SON IS NOTA PRINCE BUT HE’S STILL IN LINE FOR THE BRITISH THRONE12 MARCH 2021
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-12/who-is-in-the-line-to-the-british-throne-royal-family-tree/13243558
SEE FOR THE WHOLE TEXT OF THE ARTICLE, NOTE 3
[40]
OBSERVERPRINCE HARRY AND MEGHAN AREN’T HAPPY ABOUT LOSINGTHEIR ROYAL PATRONAGES24 FEBRUARY 2021
https://observer.com/2021/02/meghan-markle-prince-harry-royal-patronages-exit-reaction-not-happy-queen-elizabeth/
SEE FOR THE WHOLE TEXT OF THE ARTICLE, NOTE 2