MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry’s Netflix shows “won’t work” as they need to stop slamming the royal family, according to an expert.
Speaking on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show, Phil Dampier spoke about the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes’ upcoming documentaries on polo and cooking.
The royal author claimed: “Making documentaries has never really gone well for the royals, particularly Prince Edward, when he started making lots of documentaries about his own family. That ended in disaster.
“So Harry not to sort of fall into the same trap, he needs to rein back, and hopefully we’re not going to get any more slagging off the royal family in his documentaries, and he moves into other things.”
In September, Netflix announced that the Polo docuseries about the world of professional polo will premiere in December.
The streaming service described the show as “a new documentary series that follows elite global players and offers an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the fast-paced world of the sport.”
Phil pointed out that it’s “fair enough” that Prince Harry is trying new things but claims the reaction to the polo documentary hasn’t been all glowing.
He said: “The Polo one, I don’t think it’s gone down that well.”
The royal author added: “Everybody’s apparently Netflix aren’t very happy because there’s hardly anything of the prince in it.”
Meanwhile Meghan is set to star in her cooking show, on the back of her launching her lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard, which has reportedly finished filming but doesn’t yet have a release date.
It’s her second project with Netflix after her 2022 reality docuseries, Harry & Meghan, which gave fans a behind-the-scenes look at their life.
Phil added: “I think we’re going to see her in the kitchen knocking up some of her favourite pasta dishes or something, and pouring out some of her favourite red wine, and this, that and the other.
“Let’s see how she does with that.”
This comes as Queen Camilla has released an ITV documentary on domestic abuse called Her Majesty The Queen: Behind Closed Doors.
Meanwhile, the two-part Prince William: We Can End Homelessness documentary has also recently aired.
Phil continued: “Whether that [Meghan’s cooking show] will work or not, I have my doubts.”
The Sun’s Royal Editor Matt Wilkinson pointed out: “Showing off this wonderful lifestyle you have in California, cooking and going to polo events, compared to two hard-working royals meeting survivors of domestic violence and meeting people who have who have been living on the street and that’s who want to make a difference, I think the contrast is stark.”
Phil agreed: “The contrast is they’re coming across as they’re trying to make money out of it and instead of doing good deeds, but that’s where we are, isn’t it unfortunately.”
The Harry & Meghan documentary aired on Netflix in December 2022 to mixed reviews.
While some fans enjoyed a behind-the-scenes look at their lives, many took issue with their criticism of the royal family.
In the show Prince Harry claimed it was “terrifying” to have his brother, Prince William, “scream and shout” at him during a meeting about them stepping back as royals.
Meanwhile, Meghan had tears in her eyes as she described how “hard” she worked to “fit in” to royal life.
The docuseries was Netflix’s most-watched show in the UK in 2022 but currently has a 43 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
HARRY and Meghan have begun investing their Netflix millions in a property portfolio.
They have bought a new home in Portugal, around the corner from Harry’s cousin Princess Eugenie and her husband.
But the Sussexes, who have been spending an increasing amount of time apart, do not plan to live in their new pad, The Sun understands.
It is not known if the property will be rented out, used for Airbnb-style holiday lets or used purely to park money.
But it is seen as the first step of putting earnings from their TV and book deals into a global property empire.
“They’re being smart with their money,” a source said.
They pocketed £75million from streaming giant Netflix where they laid into fellow royals in a six-part series.
Meanwhile Harry, who got a £15million advance for his autobiography Spare, also inherited £8million from the late Queen Mother after turning 40 in September.
Palace insiders have been concerned about what will happen when the Sussexes run out of cash.
They have huge overheads, forking out a fortune on security in the US and for when Harry visits the UK.
And they are still paying a mortgage on the £11million Montecito mansion they bought after quitting as working royals in 2020.
Insiders say the Portugal home will be part of a financial portfolio which will include more real estate.
