A commentator says a forthcoming Netflix original has the potential to improve Prince Harry’s popularity stateside after his reputation took a hit with Spare. Why one commentator believes a “very unique project” about the Invictus Games could “boost” the Duke of Sussex’s favor among Americans. Plus, details on the show’s premiere.
Prince Harry’s approval rating fell in the U.S. and U.K. after ‘Spare’ hit shelves
Although Harry’s highly-anticipated memoir has become an instant bestseller with its record-breaking release on Jan. 10, there have also been drawbacks for the 38-year-old.
Harry received criticism both in the U.S. and abroad for getting too personal in Spare. Additionally, the American public wasn’t as sympathetic as they were after his and Meghan Markle’s 2021 Oprah interview.
Polling conducted six days after Spare’s release showed a significant drop in Harry’s popularity with his net approval rating at -7.
‘Heart of Invictus’ docuseries may help Prince Harry improve his reputation in the U.S., commentator says
Jack Royston, Newsweek’s Chief Royal Correspondent, discussed Netflix as a way to boost Harry’s reputation during the Jan. 23 episode of The Royal Report podcast.
“I’ve been speaking to PR experts about where they think Harry and Meghan now stand. One told me, for example, that [Heart of] Invictus might actually be Harry’s way out of the reputational slump he’s experienced in America,” Royston, the podcast’s host, said.
“It is obviously a very unique project. There are very few people on the planet who can say that they’ve done anything equivalent to what Harry’s doing there,” he continued. “Veterans are a community in America who quite rightly do need high-profile figures standing up for them. And anyone who does that is going to get a significant reputational boost out of doing so.”
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Commentator explains why ‘Heart of Invictus’ makes ‘total sense’ for Prince Harry
Netflix’s Heart of Invictus, part of Harry and Meghan Markle’s deal with the streamer, “makes total sense,” for the father of two, Royston said.
“With Harry, the whole thing makes total sense. It’s drawn from his own life experience, having been a soldier on the front line in Afghanistan himself,” he said, referring to Harry’s decade of service in the British Army before retiring in 2015.
“So, that could be one way that Harry seeks to rebuild the brand,” he added. “It may be he made the money out of the royally focused shows and that he can restore the brand with some more kind of worthy but perhaps less attention-grabbing content.”
‘Heart of Invictus’ is coming to Netflix in the summer of 2023
Harry will have to wait a while to potentially get a reputational boost from Heart of Invictus. The docuseries doesn’t premiere on Netflix until the summer of 2023.
Billed as a multi-episode series by the streamer, Heart of Invictus follows “a group of extraordinary competitors from around the globe, all service members who have suffered life-changing injuries or illnesses, on their road to the Invictus Games The Hague 2020.”
The docuseries will also share insight into how organizers prepare for the games.
