George must abide by sad rule <\/a><\/p>\n \u2018Desperate\u2019: Harry\u2019s fear when Wills is King<\/a><\/p>\n Prince Harry and wife Meghan\u2019s $150 million deal with Netflix has been scrapped.<\/p>\n \u2018Dull indulgence\u2019<\/p>\n Even The Guardian was moved to describe With Love, Meghan as \u201cthe sort of gormless lifestyle filler that, had it been made by the BBC, would be used to bulk out episodes of Saturday Kitchen\u201d.<\/p>\n In truth, the show is a smash hit compared to her husband\u2019s vanity docuseries \u201cPolo\u201d, blasted as \u201ca dull indulgence about a rich person\u2019s pursuit\u201d.<\/p>\n In the first six months of the year the program attracted a disastrous 500,000 views globally, ranking it at number 3442 out of around 7000 shows.<\/p>\n Re-runs of the nine-year-old cartoon \u201cHe-Man And The Masters Of The Universe\u201d scored similar numbers.<\/p>\n A Netflix insider has pronounced the couple\u2019s lucrative contract \u201cdead\u201d, adding: \u201cthey\u2019re just waiting for the credits to roll.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re letting it expire without drama. There\u2019s no appetite for anything new.\u201d<\/p>\n The end of what many regarded as a reliable source of vast income for the former HRHs has set off a bomb under Project Sussex and its bold ambitions.<\/p>\n A Netflix insider has pronounced the couple\u2019s lucrative contract \u2018dead\u2019. Picture: Netflix<\/p>\n And of course it is not the Sussexes\u2019 first media deal that has gone south.<\/p>\n Their reported $29 million podcasting deal with Spotify was terminated in June 2023, with senior Spotify executive Bill Simmons labelling the duo \u201cf***ing grifters\u201d.<\/p>\n Hosted by Meghan, the Archetypes podcast featured conversations with friends and celebrities including Serena Williams, Mariah Carey and Trevor Noah.<\/p>\n Critics said that in the episode with Williams it took 11 minutes before the tennis legend got a word in edgeways.<\/p>\n In 2023 Simmons said: \u201cI wish I had been involved in the \u2018Meghan and Harry leave Spotify\u2019 negotiation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe F***ing Grifters. That\u2019s the podcast we should have launched with them.<\/p>\n \u201cI have got to get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s one of my best stories. F*** them. The grifters.\u201d<\/p>\n Meghan and Harry\u2019s podcasting deal with Spotify was terminated in 2023.<\/p>\n The Sussexes\u2019 undoubted TV hit was docuseries \u201cHarry & Meghan\u201d, released in December 2022. <\/p>\n It became Netflix\u2019s biggest documentary debut, with more than 28 million watching in the first four days of its release.<\/p>\n In it the couple accused the Royal Family of \u201cunconscious bias\u201d and claimed Palace aides were complicit in negative media briefings against them.<\/p>\n Podcast boss Simmons said of Harry that year: \u201cYou live in f***ing Montecito and you just sell documentaries and podcasts and nobody cares what you have to say about anything unless you talk about the Royal Family and you just complain about them.\u201d<\/p>\n While the Netflix deal will lapse, Meghan\u2019s As Ever collection of wine, jam and cookies is displaying \u201csold out\u201d signs on her website.<\/p>\n There was backlash over Meghan\u2019s new name \u2018As Ever\u2019. Picture: As Ever<\/p>\n It raises the question of whether it will be her earnings that are increasingly relied upon to fund the family\u2019s expensive Hollywood lifestyle, and if so, will it be enough?<\/p>\n PR expert Nick Ede believes that in the future the Duchess will provide the surest revenue stream, saying: \u201cMeghan is the best way of making money for the two of them.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is the breadwinner.\u201d<\/p>\n However, marketing experts Camille Moore and Phillip Millar accused Meghan\u2019s As Ever brand of being \u201cnot intelligent\u201d and \u201cnot well executed\u201d.<\/p>\n Speaking on \u201cThe Art Of The Brand\u201d podcast this week, Mr Millar accused Meghan of trying to rinse the maximum value from her \u201cfame that came from \u201cSuits\u201d and being a part of the Royal Family\u201d.<\/p>\n Mr Millar added: \u201cHer brand wasn\u2019t one built on substance. It was based on using people.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Harry, who has two paying jobs \u2014 with sustainable tourism firm Travalyst and coaching company BetterUp \u2014 seems most passionate when he is undertaking his charitable endeavours.<\/p>\n During a recent trip to Angola, The Duke followed in the footsteps of Princess Diana by walking through a minefield on behalf of his charity The Halo Trust.<\/p>\n Marketing experts Camille Moore and Phillip Millar accused Meghan\u2019s As Ever brand of being \u2018not intelligent\u2019 and \u2018not well executed\u2019. Picture: Instagram<\/p>\n \u2018Life of service\u2019<\/p>\n Harry said in a statement: \u201cAs a father to young children, it breaks my heart to see innocent children still living and playing next to minefields\u201d. <\/p>\n Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond commented: \u201cI think this is precisely the sort of work that Harry should do.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is not only a hugely worthwhile cause, but it also connects him with his mother, which is something he yearns for.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he is coming to recognise that the LA celebrity world is one in which he is not especially comfortable.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd he seems quite willing to let Meghan take the limelight over there.<\/p>\n \u201cHe speaks frequently about a life of service, and trips like this certainly serve a very good cause indeed.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet charity missions, while good for the soul, do not pay the bills.<\/p>\n And the Sussexes\u2019 court in the Californian sunshine is not a cheap enterprise.<\/p>\n Their home, a nine-bedroom, 16-bathroom mansion close to the Pacific in Montecito, is in America\u2019s fifth most expensive postcode.<\/p>\n The Sussexes splashed out $US14.65 million ($A20.9 million) after the drama of Megxit in 2020, and the following year Harry said in his tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey that his father has \u201cliterally cut me off financially\u201d.<\/p>\n Without the money left to him by Diana \u2014 said to be \u00a310 million ($A20.4 million) \u2014 Harry said \u201cwe would not have been able to do this\u201d.<\/p>\n Harry and Meghan splashed out $US14.65 million on their home after moving to the US. Picture: Supplied<\/p>\n Harry\u2019s finances got a boost last September when he turned 40 and a fund set up by the late Queen Mother gave him access to around \u00a38 million ($A16.3 million).<\/p>\n But while most people could live very well on that kind of cash, Harry and Meghan\u2019s lifestyle is not like most people\u2019s.<\/p>\n They have more in common with the super-rich of California than your average couple. Indeed, they are said to have mortgage payments of around \u00a3350,000 ($A715,000) a year, while staffing costs come to an estimated \u00a3180,000 ($A367,000).<\/p>\n Harry has also spent on court cases and could be in line for a \u00a31.5 million ($A3 million) bill for his failed attempt to get the Home Office to pay for his security in the UK.<\/p>\n Security is a very real worry for Prince Harry, who served two tours of Afghanistan. <\/p>\n Former royal protection officer Simon Morgan estimated the Sussexes\u2019 protection costs come to at least \u00a33 million ($A6 million) a year, adding: \u201cSecurity is not a fashion accessory, it\u2019s a need\u201d.<\/p>\n Harry\u2019s autobiography Spare became the fastest-selling non-fiction book ever. Picture: Penguin Random House<\/p>\n Eye-watering tab<\/p>\n It leaves the Sussexes with an eye-watering tab just to meet their estimated outgoings.<\/p>\n Last month, royal financial expert Norman Baker told Channel 5 show Meghan And Harry: Where Did The Money Go? that the Sussexes\u2019 earning potential was on the wane.<\/p>\n The former Liberal Democrat MP said: \u201cThey\u2019ve done the big hits that they could do.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve done the big Spotify event, they\u2019ve done the big book, there is nothing else to come, nothing else to sell apart from themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n Harry\u2019s autobiography Spare became the fastest-selling non-fiction book ever and has gone on to sell more than six million copies worldwide.<\/p>\n With their Netflix deal over, perhaps Meghan will feel the time is right for her to release her own blockbuster tome to get the cash registers ringing again.<\/p>\n Both Netflix and Harry and Meghan are yet to comment.<\/p>\n Parts of this story first appeared in The Sun<\/a> was republished with permission.<\/p>\n RELATED: Harry and Meg slash staff in brutal move<\/a><\/p>\n Wild reason Charles can\u2019t kick Andrew out<\/a><\/p>\n \u2018Disrespectful\u2019 Charles slammed as Diana\u2019s home left to rot<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Speculation is mounting over how Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will fund their lavish lifestyle after their $150…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26740,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,134],"class_list":["post-26739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
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