How Harry and Meghan Bounced From Hostile Palace Briefings to Showbiz Leaks

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are once again the subject of briefings by anonymous sources in the U.K. media—but this time from the world of showbiz, not the palace.

TV industry sources have been telling U.K. tabloids their Netflix pitches were boring, that the couple were naive and that the streaming giant was annoyed at Harry giving an interview to NBC.

It comes after Meghan's family animation Pearl was axed while still in production as part of a round of cutbacks by Netflix, which has been losing subscribers.

Newsweek cannot verify the content of the accounts given to newspapers including The Sun and The Mail on Sunday but the testimony is striking as it speaks to a problem the couple experienced during palace life, which they no doubt hoped to leave behind.

Palace Briefings About Meghan and Harry

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were the subject of hostile off-the-record briefings from royal insiders and anonymous palace sources during their time as working royals.

This included the now-infamous account first published in November 2018, in The Daily Telegraph, that Meghan made Kate Middleton cry, which the Duchess of Sussex told Oprah Winfrey was false.

While Meghan may dispute the claim Kate cried she acknowledged the argument took place and that it was, as reported, at a bridesmaid's dress fitting, suggesting the unnamed source was indeed privy to facts not widely known outside the palace.

There was also an allegation of a bust-up over a tiara with Queen Elizabeth II's dresser, Angela Kelly, that same month.

And in December 2018, an anonymous source told The Sunday Times that Meghan's staff found her difficult to work for.

Meghan denies mistreating her staff. However, it subsequently emerged that two months before the story came out the Kensington Palace communications secretary Jason Knauf had sent an internal email accusing the duchess of bullying two PAs out of the royal household.

The newspaper's anonymous quotes were, in short, not themselves a fabrication but an account of a genuine dispute over which the two sides involved did not agree.

The duchess said the era marked a turning point in negative coverage of her in the British media, which ultimately by January 2019 left her feeling suicidal.

Harry and Meghan have made their own efforts to tackle the epidemic of anonymous briefings to newspapers by heavily cutting back their own team's guidance to journalists.

As The Daily Telegraph reported in January, the Sussex camp is no longer giving anonymous source quotes to news organization, choosing to go on the record or not comment at all.

They had in the past authorized their own team to speak, discretely, to journalists, as was confirmed during Meghan's lawsuit with The Mail on Sunday in November 2021.

What Showbiz Sources Said About Meghan and Harry

In just the last week alone there have been a rash of stories in the British tabloids about the couple's TV career which were not bylined to royal correspondents.

The Sun's most recent article quotes an unnamed consultant who worked for Netflix among other platforms: "Executives feel that in some aspects Harry and Meghan appeared to be naive about how their deal would work.

"Certainly there was a belief that they thought that Pearl would simply be presented and released. The word was that they were saddened the show was not picked up.

"But of course people forget that each project faces vetting and the business has the right to veto projects, delete scenes and oversee editorial direction in their work.

"Some forget that Netflix is a business, so the commissioning executives and legal team have to act in the best interests of the brand."

The sources added: "The deal may be millions on paper, but they are absolutely not allowed to make whatever they want."

While the content is perhaps less personal than some of the most high-profile palace briefings it is nonetheless not particularly flattering either.

Separately, another source told The Sun, a newspaper the Sussexes have banned their staff from engaging with, how Meghan may take Pearl to another network.

The show was produced with David Furnish, husband to Elton John and friend to Princess Diana.

The insider said: "They are not giving up on this project because Netflix said no. David is a respected producer with an enviable contacts book.

"Obviously like all these type of projects, the commissioning network has their input and desires for what they want to see. So usually there is a lot of negotiations and discussions in the commissioning process.

"Nobody can expect to turn up, say this is what it is and then get money. It doesn't work like that. It never has."

The source added: "Only time will tell whether Meghan and a broadcaster can come to an agreement."

And an insider also told The Mail on Sunday Netflix was not happy about Prince Harry giving an interview to another network, NBC, in between filming his docuseries Heart of Invictus for the streaming giant.

The duke spoke to Hoda Kotb about a private meeting with Queen Elizabeth II during Meghan's first trip back to Britain since quitting royal duties in March 2020.

The newspaper's source said: "Netflix would have loved the first comments about the visit to the Queen for the documentary. There was a real sense of annoyance that they were made to another broadcaster."

The U.K. tabloid is the same one Meghan sued for privacy over a letter she sent her father and that Harry has sued twice, including in an ongoing libel case about his police protection.

Harry and Meghan are unlikely to be anywhere near as upset about these particular briefings as they were about more personal ones from within the Monarchy.

However, it may still be the palace is not the only institution with a tendency to leak and that their lives and professional ambitions may be discussed anonymously for years to come.