In the fall of 2020, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry delighted their royal fans with the announcement that they had officially gained their financial independence by inking not one but two massive deals.
The powerful couple landed multi-million dollar contracts with streaming giants Netflix and Spotify.
According to experts, it is believed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were paid the hefty sum of $151 million or £109 million for the Netflix deal, and Spotify shelled out $50 million or £36m to land them.
Backers of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been eagerly awaiting for them to deliver the fascinating and uplifting projects that they promised in their official statements.
Yet almost one year later, Prince Harry and his wife have not delivered much. The California residents have announced an animated series called Pearl inspired by Meghan Markle’s childhood.
Prince Harry has also promised a documentary, Heart of Invictus, that will focus on the incredible athletes preparing for the 2022 games.
As for the Spotify bosses, they have only 35 minutes of content for their large check. There has been no follow-up to their Christmas 2020 special that was published under their Archewell Audio brand.
And supporters should not expect much from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle because they are on a 20-week parental leave with daughter Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.
An expert spoke to Express.co.uk and revealed that the pair learned about the embarrassing reason the heads of the big companies are happy to spend so much money for so little content — Harry and Meghan’s brand attract subscribers.
Professor Simone Ferriani, who is an expert in entrepreneurship who specializes in film and media, shared: “I think there is not much behind it other than the attempt to leverage Harry and Megan’s global brand and attract new prospective Netflix subscribers. Content-wise, I don’t think there’s any special capability as Harry and Megan’s production company – as far as I know – has not developed anything so far, so they literally have zero production experience.”
Ferriani added: “More than anything, it looks like this is a big marketing hook.”
Meanwhile, a few royal experts predict that at some point down the line, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will feel some kind of pressure from the bosses who forked over millions of dollars to deliver the goods they promised.
Daniela Elser shared: “When the Sussexes do start unveiling their slate of TV and podcasting projects, they will get one shot; that is, one chance to impress audiences and make their mark either in terms of steaming figures or critical plaudits. When the novelty and the lustre of working with members of the Royal Family wear off if they don’t have streaming counts or a clutch of awards to show for themselves, will their contracts be renewed? Essentially, they will have a brief window to prove they are worth the hundreds of millions that corporate behemoths have bet on them.”
She continued: “No pressure now or anything. The fact is, even billion-dollar companies can’t afford to keep plowing truckloads of cash into two very, very famous contractors if they do not prove to be a sound investment.”
Prince Harry has recently inked a $20 million deal for a tell-all book, and many say he will air the royals’ dirty laundry for that large amount.
