Prince Harry and Meghan Markle might need to rethink their business deal with Netflix after the streaming platform released the latest season of The Crown. A royal editor said that the drama series about the royal family is filled with distorted stories which viewers might consider as the truth.
In her column on Daily Mail, Emily Andrews questioned Prince Harry's motives for taking millions from the company that defames his family. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex landed a lucrative contract with the streamer, where they will produce a series of shows and movies in the next five years.
Andrews explained that The Crown has not been factual in its storytelling and depiction of the real-life characters, many of whom are still alive. She wrote that the show is filled with "dramatic stereotype to titillate the paying viewer."
The columnist accused the creator of the series, Peter Morgan, as a Republican who has criticized the Queen's intelligence and compared the monarchy to a mutating virus. She said that Harry and Meghan's contract with Netflix seems hollow if they claim to be purveyors against fake news and online hate because here was The Crown distorting the royal family with imagined dialogues and dramatic scenes.
Andrews also disclosed that Netflix has plans to release a documentary about Harry and Meghan's split from the royal family. Noting well-placed sources, Andrews alleged that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have homemade footage of their first two years in Frogmore Cottage, before uprooting their lives and packing their bags for California. She urged the couple to reconsider their Netflix deal.
Friends close to the family also told Daily Express that they question Prince Harry and Meghan's move to go with Netflix for the dramatization of Prince Charles and Princess Diana's marital breakdown. An insider said that The Crown is an exploitation of Harry's parents while the streamer earns millions from its subscribers who are hooked on the royal family's story.
Royal biographer Penny Junor, who has personally met and talked to members of the royal family in the last 40 years, said that The Crown's portrayal of the characters hardly comes close to who they are in person. As with Andrews, Junor accused Morgan of being an "inventor" of a story that needs a hero/heroine and a villain to fulfill a multi-million contract with Netflix.
Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan's first production with Netflix is expected to be ready in 2021. The streamer's CEO, Reed Hastings, said that he's sure their show, which will likely be a documentary, could be next year's most-watched content on the platform.
