Netflix Accused of 'Cashing in' on 'Harry & Meghan' After Share Price Soars

Netflix is "cashing in on" Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, a royal author told Newsweek, after the company's share price soared during a period of frenzied reporting on the couple's documentary.

Harry & Meghan was released in a blizzard of news stories, with some U.K. networks bringing in experts to give a snap analysis in the hour after it dropped at 8 a.m. GMT (3 a.m. ET) on December 8.

The wave of headlines began a week earlier, however, on December 1 when the first of a series of trailers was released.

During this period, Netflix's share price appeared to soar on the Nasdaq Stock Market, though it is not possible to say definitively what caused the price to increase.

Max Foster, an anchor at CNN who reports on the royals, wrote: "Netflix winning off back of Harry and Meghan doc."

Netflix's share price was at $305.56 on December 6, two days out from the show's release, and closed at $320.01 by the end of the week on December 9.

The company's shares hit a high at $323.18 and low of $314.24 in early trading on Monday, December 12.

Ingrid Seward, author of Prince Philip Revealed, told Newsweek: "Of course, Netflix are cashing in on this. That was the whole plan, wasn't it? They have hundreds of millions of subscribers in North America, and they needed to boost their viewing figures."

Seward said she believed Harry & Meghan was timed to follow on from season five of The Crown, which dropped on Netflix in November 2022.

"So, on the back of The Crown, it was planned a while ago that this would come out," Seward said. "Whether or not people like it is almost irrelevant because people are tuning into it. I would say the majority are people who don't like Harry and Meghan but tune in anyway to watch what they're going to say.

"It will be interesting to see whether those people tune in again. If I wasn't in the business, I wouldn't tune in again."

Monday saw a new trailer released in which Harry said: "They were happy to lie to protect my brother but were never willing to tell the truth to protect us."

It is not clear from the trailer alone what the prince was referring to, though Kensington Palace officials were accused of lying over Prince William's bout of COVID-19 in 2020.

The Prince of Wales caught the virus in April 2020 before the discovery of a vaccine but did not publicly disclose his diagnosis.

The fact he had coronavirus did not become public knowledge until he mentioned it during a royal event in November 2020.

Robert Jobson, author of William at 40, at the time wrote on Twitter: "Prince William's decision to LIE about contracting COVID-19 earlier - for whatever reason - is appalling. KP were are asked several times by the media whether Prince William had contracted the virus and were told categorically "no". This has created a serious issue of trust."

Jobson added: "The fact is the palace lied about it. KP were are asked several times by several media outlets whether Prince William had contracted the virus and were told categorically 'no'. The decision was taken to LIE, thus creating a problem of trust going forward. Poor judgement."

An earlier trailer included an as-yet-unseen clip of Prince Harry suggesting there were leaks and planted stories to protect the hierarchy within the family.

The first trailer, released on December 8, also cut from Meghan Markle crying to an image of Kate Middleton and Prince William.

Peter Hunt, former BBC royal correspondent, wrote on Twitter that part two could be explosive: "Harry has pulled out the pin. The royals will have to watch how they respond given the evidence Harry may have at his disposal."