NO TIME TO SPARE

Prince Harry Seeks to Push Back Netflix Series to Bolster Delayed Memoir

Netflix has reportedly been fielding requests from Harry to screen the Meghan and Harry show after Christmas.

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Prince Harry is reportedly putting pressure on Netflix to delay screening his and Meghan’s still unconfirmed documentary until after Christmas, so its release supports the publication of his delayed memoir coming out on Jan. 10.

A source told British tabloid the Sun: “Harry simply does not want it coming out before Christmas,” adding that it was “not known if a final decision has been made.”

It has long been reported that Netflix’s plan was to stream the Harry and Meghan documentary, which, it should be noted, is still unconfirmed by Netflix, soon after the new series of The Crown drops Wednesday, but Deadline reported last month that executives at the streaming service were “rattled” by the controversy stirred by fictional scenes in The Crown and the negative portrayal of the queen as a bad parent, with critics accusing the company of insensitivity given the queen died just two months ago. (The Daily Beast exclusively revealed Netflix was not going to append a disclaimer to the new series despite such a note prefacing the trailer of the new series.)

Of the putative delay, Deadline quoted a source as saying: “They’re rattled at Netflix, and they blinked first and decided to postpone the documentary.”

The unconfirmed docuseries is understood to have been partially filmed at Harry and Meghan’s California home. Cameras have also followed the couple on some high profile engagements, prompting speculation their philanthropic life will be a major focus of the films.

While the couple have declined to confirm details about the series, understood to comprise of multiple episodes, Meghan told an interviewer for The Cut, when asked directly about it: “The piece of my life I haven’t been able to share, that people haven’t been able to see, is our love story.”

However, Meghan also gave a hint that she was not entirely happy with the end product. Referring to director Liz Garbus, she said: “It’s nice to be able to trust someone with our story—a seasoned director whose work I’ve long admired—even if it means it may not be the way we would have told it. But that’s not why we’re telling it. We’re trusting our story to someone else, and that means it will go through their lens.”

Harry’s book, Spare, was originally due to be published this year before being shunted to January 2023, so seeking to delay the transmission date of the films could be understood as a consequence of that move.

Archewell, Harry and Meghan’s U.S. charity, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Tom SykesEuropean Editor at Large

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