Things don’t seem to be going Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s way at the minute.
Shortly after a seemingly tense day at the polo last week, the couple received news that one of their marquee projects, Pearl – an animated children’s show for Netflix – had been left on the streaming service’s scrapheap.
WATCH: Prince Charles speaks about the birth of Harry and Meghan’s daughter
Sources say Harry and Meghan were informed that part of their lucrative deal had collapsed “long before the rest of the world found out”.
As such, it raised questions over why the pair shoehorned a meeting with Harry’s grandmother, the Queen, and 15 minutes with Prince Charles into a trip to the Netherlands for the Invictus Games last month.
At the time, reports circulated in the UK that Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40, had pleaded their case again to become ‘part-time royals’. It was originally denied when they decamped to America in 2020 and announced they planned to become financially independent of the monarchy.
“If they knew this Netflix shake-up was coming, they would’ve been in panic mode before they went to England,” says a palace source. “Their content deal with Netflix is the bulk of their income and a major reason they can afford their $20 million mansion in Montecito – not to mention the eye-watering property taxes that go with it.”
Our insider says Prince Charles, 73, “remained reticent” to give in to the couple’s wish for a hybrid role, in which they’d earn money privately and use Crown income. He believes it would put the monarchy at risk of backlash over conflicts of interest.
“Charles is still stinging over Harry’s very public claim that he cut them off, which wasn’t true,” says a source.
To have them come back, cap in hand, was incredibly frustrating for Charles as future king and as a father.
“Now that the Netflix news has come out, he’s starting to suspect their motives are more driven by money than a true willingness to heal their family problems. I can’t see Charles handing over a single penny.”
Meghan still has a lucrative podcast deal with Spotify launching next month, while Harry’s documentary about the Invictus Games remains on Netflix’s slate – a fact that leaves Charles feeling nervous.
WATCH: Prince Harry Opens Up About Telling His Children About Princess Diana (Article continues after video)
“The Sussexes will be desperate to keep these projects afloat, or their American dream will be over,” explains a source.
“It is finally dawning on them that their real worth to viewers or listeners comes from spilling royal secrets – aka ‘their truths’ – and the concern is they’ll double-down on that to keep their lucrative deals in place. And if they do, any chance of Charles opening up his wallet will fade.”
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