The Duchess of Sussex breathlessly declared on her new Instagram page that she was ‘so excited’ to share a trailer for her long-awaited Netflix cookery show: With Love, Meghan.
The clips showed the former actress cooking in the kitchen of a Montecito mansion, picking produce from her garden, placing a sticker on a homemade candle, chatting with famous friends and embracing her husband Prince Harry – all to the tune of The Lovin’ Spoonful’s 1965 hit Do You Believe In Magic.
Its release, however, led to a torrent of criticism. Even usually friendly publications such as The Guardian described the trailer as a ‘symphony of beige’, a ‘quiet luxury Pinterest board come to life’. Highlighting the trailer’s traditional – possibly anti-feminist – portrayal of domestic life, it asked: ‘Who is With Love, Meghan for? Perhaps those drawn to “trad wife” aesthetics.’
Now, I bring news of the reaction from the Palace – and it might surprise you.
Courtiers tell me that members of the Royal Family actually hope the American duchess’s eight-part series will be a hit when it is released next Wednesday.
‘Everyone wants it to be a success,’ a Palace source tells me. ‘And that’s because, if it is, she and Harry won’t need to exploit their royal connections again.’
Referring to Harry’s tawdry memoir, the source adds: ‘The last thing anyone wants is another Spare, this time from Meghan.’
The courtier’s comment echoes a magnanimous remark from Harry’s father in his first address to the nation as monarch in 2022. King Charles said he wished to ‘express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas’.
The clips from With Love, Meghan showed the former actress cooking in the kitchen of a Montecito mansion
No doubt, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be hoping With Love, Meghan is a success as well – possibly proving crucial to their finances.
Their $100million deal with Netflix comes to an end this year and may be renewed only if the new show is popular with viewers around the world.
You might recall that the couple lost their $20million contract to produce podcasts for Spotify in 2023, with one executive at the audio giant memorably describing them as ‘f***ing grifters’. Netflix is understood to be left providing the bulk of their income.
Given the expense of their lifestyle, these earnings are undoubtedly needed. Harry and Meghan need to pay for the mortgage and upkeep on their £12million Tuscan-style mansion with its 13 – and a half – bathrooms, spa, swimming pool, cellar and cinema. But even more costly is their round-the-clock security, which is thought to set them back as much as £3million per year.
In the couple’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 – in which Meghan claimed senior royals had raised concerns about her baby’s skin tone – Harry made clear that the deals with Netflix and Spotify were ‘never part of the plan’ until his family cut him off financially.
That deal with Netflix was secured with the promise of a tell-all programme about their life with the Windsors, which they duly delivered with the 2022 ‘docu-series’ Harry & Meghan.
That six-part programme worsened relations with the royals by accusing them of ‘leaking’ and ‘planting’ stories in the media. Meghan even appeared to mock the late Queen Elizabeth by demonstrating the extravagant curtsy she had performed for her.
It was, however, Harry’s book in 2023 that did the most damage. Critics accused him of betraying his family members, recounting private conversations and making inflammatory claims about their views and behaviour.
There have long been rumours that Meghan could follow up her husband’s book with a memoir of her own.
Given the damage that she caused with her allegations in the Oprah interview, the prospect of a book is enough to send shivers down spines at the Palace.
This is why, surprisingly, insiders hope her new show will cook up some success for the couple.
If it turns out to be a flop, there could be a very bitter aftertaste…
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