Earlier this fall, reports swirled that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, were allegedly getting cold feet about their Netflix docuseries. Putting an end to rumors that the project could follow in the footsteps of Markle’s animated series and be scrapped for good, the streaming service has announced a release date: December 8, according to “Page Six.”
As part of their massive Netflix deal, Harry and Meghan reportedly filmed a docuseries on their lives in Montecito, California, as they raise their two children, Archie and Lilibet. But in light of the queen’s passing, the duo has been rumored to be requesting major changes to the footage. Many assume the footage includes discussion of the couple’s strained relationship with the royal family, which they may want to revisit now that King Charles III, Harry’s father, is sitting on the throne. According to a Daily Mail source, they are trying to “downplay much of what they have said about King Charles III, Queen Consort Camilla, and the Prince and Princess of Wales.” The filmmakers behind the series are reportedly fighting to keep the footage in the production. Another source told the tabloid, “They’ve made significant requests to walk back content they themselves have provided.”
The editing process, which Netflix was allegedly attempting to speed up, sounded rocky — on top of the couple trying to scrub some of their statements, a source says some of the claims they make in the docuseries don’t line up with the manuscript for Harry’s highly anticipated memoir, Spare, which will arrive January 10. In a recent interview with Variety, Meghan suggested that she and Harry had limited creative control over the project. “We’re trusting our story to someone else,” she said, “and that means it will go through their lens.” She added that she trusts Liz Garbus — a director she has “long admired” — with their story, “even if it means it may not be the way we would have told it.”
Meanwhile, Harry appears to be going full speed ahead with his allegedly “explosive” memoir — to the annoyance of certain royals and palace sources. Harry and Meghan’s standing with the royal family is currently in flux. Although they all briefly reunited to honor the queen, their public mourning was accompanied by many rumors of behind-the-scenes family drama — including over Harry’s military uniform and his being uninvited from a royal-family reception of world leaders. And despite Charles settling into his role and the end of the official mourning period for Queen Elizabeth II, the king has yet to confirm Archie and Lilibet’s new titles. According to normal rules of succession, as grandchildren of the king, the two children should be known as prince and princess, but the royal family’s official website still lists them as “Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor” and “Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor.” The Sunday Times reported that a source said, “For [Buckingham Palace] not to make those changes suggests that something is off.” “Page Six” suggested that Charles is waiting to see what is in Harry’s memoir and the docuseries before making a decision.
This post has been updated.