Netflix has reportedly postponed the release of the docuseries it is making with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle until 2023 due to royal sensitivities over the new season of The Crown as well as the recent death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The docuseries — which is expected to chronicle the lives of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, including scenes at their Montecito, California home — had been expected to debut in December to take advantage of the release of season five of The Crown on November 9.
But Deadline reported Netflix recently became nervous after former British Prime Minister John Major publicly voiced his displeasure about a forthcoming episode of The Crown that depicts Prince Charles (Dominic West) complaining to Major (Jonny Lee Miller) about having to wait to succeed the throne.
EXCLUSIVE: Rattled after attacks on Season 5 of ‘The Crown,’ Netflix has decided to postpone its documentary series featuring Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, until next year https://t.co/8kPPTvH0Hx
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) October 17, 2022
The episode reportedly shows the then-Prince of Wales privately agreeing with a 1991 poll in Britain’s Sunday Times saying Queen Elizabeth II should abdicate and then later conferring with Major.
The former prime minister told the Mail on Sunday that the episode was “a barrel-load of malicious nonsense.”
“Sir John has not co-operated in any way with The Crown. Nor has he ever been approached by them to fact-check any script material in this or any other series,” a statement from his office reportedly said.
“As you will know, discussions between the monarch and prime minister are entirely private and — for Sir John — will always remain so. But not one of the scenes you depict are accurate in any way whatsoever. They are fiction, pure and simple.”
Major’s rebuke appears to have made Netflix nervous.
"This looks like Harry is her hairdresser and he’s looking into the mirror explaining what he did to her layers." https://t.co/we2xZt1Vqn
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) September 18, 2021
“They’re rattled at Netflix and they blinked first and decided to postpone the documentary,” a source told Deadline.
Royal sensitivities are also still running high following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September at the age of 96.
The postponement comes after some British tabloids recently reported the Sussex’s deal with Netflix is on the rocks as executives have grown increasingly impatient with the couple’s lack of output. The former royals have created a Hollywood production company, Archewell Productions, but they have so far failed to see any of their TV projects to completion.
As Breitbart News reported, Meghan Markle has been busy recently with her new podcast. In the most recent episode, the duchess complained about the way Asians are portrayed by Hollywood.
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com
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