OPINION – – The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are back in the spotlight promoting their latest venture into the world of film, barely a week since Prince Harry’s emotional turn on the witness stand in London.
But this new project from the royal couple is going to be a tough sell, despite its wholesomeness.
Prince Harry and Meghan are executive producers on the documentary Cookie Queens, about America’s Girl Scouts movement, their new project following a long list of flops with streaming giant Netflix.
The Duchess of Sussex on stage at the Sundance Film Festival promoting her new documentary. (Getty)
Their media company, Archewell Productions, partnered with Beautiful Stories and AJNA Films on the film.
The duke and his wife do not appear in the movie, but they did their best to publicise it by attending a screening at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah at the weekend.
Meghan spoke about her own experiences as a Girl Scout and said it was harder to sell cookies back then, so she was forced to rely on other tactics.
“We didn’t have the same perks and leverage of using social media and Venmo, and QR codes that the girls use these days,” the duchess told Deadline.
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with Alysa Nahmias, who directed Cookie Queens. (Getty)
“It was really about a charm and a smile and who doesn’t love a Girl Scout cookie? It’s a pretty easy sell.”
The duchess said being a Girl Scout “embeds such great values” in its members.
“I was a Girl Scout, my mom was a troop leader, and I think the value of friendship, of being dedicated to a goal, as you can see that in Cookie Queens, it’s so reflective of how these girls stick with something that’s important to them and don’t give up.
Meghan was in Utah to support the documentary Cookie Queens, about America’s Girl Scouts movement. (Getty Images for Sundance Film F)
“And self-belief is an integral value that comes with being a Girl Scout.”
Last year when launching her As Ever shortbread cookie mix, Meghan shared photographs of herself as a child selling cookies in her Girl Scouts uniform.
She was asked whether her own daughter, Princess Lilibet, would one day join the American youth organisation, which now has about two million members. It was founded in 1912.
Meghan was asked whether her daughter, Lilibet, would join the Girl Scouts as she did when she was a child. (Instagram/meghan)
“I think we’ll continue to explore whatever feels right,” she said.
“Alysa [the director] is a mum of a daughter, and I think for both of us working on this project it’s been incredibly special as parents, as mothers, to be able to see something our girls will be able to enjoy and watch as well.”
The film follows “four tenacious girls (who) strive to be a top-selling ‘Cookie Queen’, navigating an $800m business in which childhood and ambition collide”.
In an unusual turn of events, the movie got “one of the longest standing ovations” at Sundance, Deadline reported, at “around two minutes-plus… That’s a big deal”.
The Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry serve as executive producers on the new film about the Girl Scouts. (Getty Images for Sundance Film F)
While Americans may have interest in watching the plight of the four little girls, including one who sells a very impressive 12,000 boxes, potential audiences elsewhere are unlikely to show much interest.
That’s even with Prince Harry and Meghan’s names attached to the credits.
The film premiered at Sundance and is now expected to travel the festival circuit, with distribution and streaming plans anticipated later this year.
Much of the success of the Sussexes has come from their connection with the royal family – Harry’s tell-all book Spare and their highly-inflammatory Harry & Meghan docu-series.
The couple’s projects that have had nothing to do with the royals were largely ignored.
Last week Netflix released its official numbers for season two of the duchess’ cooking show With Love, Meghan and its Christmas special, revealing dismal ratings. Season two failed to reach Netflix’s top 1,000 shows and was the 1,224th most-watched program on the streamer between July and December 2025.
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Their previous projects with Netflix have been hit and miss, bringing in mixed reactions.
Prince Harry and Meghan’s most successful project so far was their first.
The six-part docu-series Harry & Meghan, became the streamer’s biggest documentary debut ever when it premiered in December 2022, generating 23.4 million views in its first four days.
But the series was widely criticised and viewing quickly dropped off in later episodes.
Prince Harry and Meghan in their Netflix documentary, Harry & Meghan. (Netflix)
Their involvement in other documentaries were largely forgettable: Live to Lead, Heart of Invictus, Polo and Masaka Kids.
While Harry and Meghan look as though they’re trying to shake off their royal connections (those titles, however, are going nowhere) audiences appear to be bored by their offerings.
Prince Harry is focused on reconciling with his family and doesn’t want to rock the boat any further with the Invictus Games returning to the UK next year.
He and Meghan are due back in England in the coming months for a one-year countdown event.
Prince Harry was in court last week and is now following the rest of the trial from the US. (Getty)
If Harry’s security review goes his way, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet could be joining their parents in the UK for the first time since mid-2022.
In the US, Prince Harry and Meghan’s media ambitions continue in the background. They are working on the film adaptation of the popular book, The Wedding Date, as co-producers through Archewell Productions and Netflix.
In August, the couple renewed their contract with Netflix with a “multiyear, first-look deal”. It means the streamer is given the first option on any ideas the Sussexes come up with rather than funding the couple’s entire production output.
Critics may have praised Cookie Queens at its premiere, but only time will tell whether the film will see success outside of the confines of Sundance and bring a much-needed commercial win for the Sussexes.
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