The Crown and the Sussexes collide. No, The Crown isn’t delving into Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s relationship. An expert says the Netflix series, which debuted its fifth season in November 2022, may have provided some insight ahead of the couple’s Harry & Meghan docuseries with the streamer.
‘Vanilla’ won’t cut it for Netflix or Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, expert says
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as well as Netflix executives, know a lot is riding on Harry & Meghan, according to PR expert Edward Coram-James. As he told the U.K.’s Express, everyone involved is probably aware of just how much hinges on the success of Harry & Meghan.
“This is a big money, international TV show, created by Netflix as part of an answer to flagging subscriber figures,” he said. As such, it “will have one singular aim behind it: to drum up viewership numbers and gain more subscribers for Netflix and vanilla will not do this.”
Meanwhile, “Harry and Meghan will know all too well that, for the series to be considered a success, and for future contracts to come their way, they will be expected to go big.”
Expert says it’s ‘likely’ Netflix gave Prince Harry and Meghan Markle data on ‘The Crown’
In Coram-James’ opinion, Harry, Meghan, and the royal family have probably all been poring over numbers and figures. However, the California-based pair may have accessed Netflix data on The Crown.
It’s “plausible (and in some respects likely) that Netflix will have provided data from The Crown series,” he said. “Every episode will come with a plethora of data.”
Because, as he explained, they’ll want to know what to include in Harry & Meghan to get maximum viewership and social media engagement.
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“Data is used for the creation of subsequent episodes and TV shows,” Coram-James explained. “And Netflix will know which themes explored and allegations made delivered the best viewership generation and retention numbers.”
The California-based couple also likely took a look at data on previous allegations that gained the most traction,” he said. They may have even run new allegations by focus groups. The findings, he added, will probably show up again, from Harry’s Spare memoir (due out Jan. 10) to interviews about Harry & Meghan.
Prince Harry commented on ‘The Crown’ in 2021: ‘It gives you a rough idea’
Harry, now 38, shared his feelings on The Crown in a 2021 interview with James Corden.
“They don’t pretend to be news, it’s fictional. But it’s loosely based on the truth,” Harry explained. “Of course, it’s not strictly accurate. But loosely, it gives you a rough idea about what that lifestyle, what the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else, what can come from that.”
Harry continued, explaining why he’s “way more comfortable” with the Netflix original series than the media.
“I am way more comfortable with The Crown than I am seeing the stories written about my family, or my wife, or myself, because it’s the difference between — that is obviously fiction, take it how you will,” he said. “But this is being reported on as fact because you are supposedly news. I have a real issue with that.”
Harry & Meghan Volumes I and II are streaming on Netflix along with The Crown Seasons 1-5.
