The Dukes’ Troublesome Period
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle are certainly not going through one of their best periods. Just a few days ago, Spotify, with which the Dukes had signed a contract for $15 million, dumped the former actress due to the lack of success of her podcast. To make matters worse, a heavy accusation has been made against Harry’s wife: she would have deceived her listeners by proposing false interviews. Now another blow has been dealt to the Dukes. The prestigious Wall Street Journal has dedicated an article to the couple with the title “Harry and Meghan have produced a flop in Hollywood: themselves”.
The Dukes’ Production Activity
The article then analyzes the Dukes’ production activity, which is described as “failure”: “The Sussex are unproductive and have no ideas”. This is exactly what Spotify must have thought, since it has just torn up the contract signed by the couple in 2020. But that’s not all. According to the Wall Street Journal, Netflix will not renew the Dukes’ contract, worth about 150 million euros, which expires in 2025. So far, only one project of the Sussex has been released on the streaming giant: the docuseries Harry & Meghan, another opportunity for the usual litany of complaints against the royal family. Then, nothing else. Meanwhile, Netflix not only canceled Pearl, the animated series created by Meghan, but also rejected all the other proposals from the Dukes because they would have been copies of existing shows, starting with a male version of the successful series Emily in Paris.
The Dukes’ Popularity Decline
If Netflix were to really dump the Sussex, it would be another blow for the Dukes. Which would be part of a very complicated picture: Harry and Meghan’s popularity, due to Spare – the bombshell book in which Harry fiercely attacked the royal family – is at its lowest ever not only in England but also in the United States, which initially welcomed them with sympathy. And in fact the last thrashing came from the American (and very prestigious) Wall Street Journal. Preceded a few months ago by the equally prestigious New York Times, which after the publication of Spare had defined the Sussex narrative as “repetitive and boring”. Noting that Americans had started to get tired of the Dukes: “Something has changed”.
