Harry and Meghan: This could be why their multi-million dollar deals are at a standstill

After Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the royal family, they’ve been signing deals, opening charities, and business ventures one after the other. But now it seems as though they have more projects that they can realistically handle.

Multi-million dollar deals

In September 2020, the couple made a major power move when they announced that they had signed a multi-year deal with Netflix for two big projects—a docu-series called Heart of Invictus and Pearl, an animated series about the adventures of a 12-year-old girl. According to the New York Times, the deal is worth around $100 million.

Very little has been shared about the development of the two projects, however the docu-series that is about the Invictus Games in The Hague will take place in 2022.

In December of the same year, they announced that Archewell studios partnered up with Spotify in an $18 million deal to create an inspirational and motivational podcast for millions of listeners around the world. They released a first 33-minute podcast that featured Sir Elton John and James Corden, but since then the project has been put on hold as well.

Read more:

⋙ Meghan and Harry’s son Archie heard for the first time on podcast

⋙ Meghan Markle creates new Netflix show called Pearl

⋙ Prince Harry urged to boycott £100 million deal with Netflix

Collaboration with Spotify

Daily Mail reported that Spotify expected to have a first complete series of the podcast in 2021, however that didn’t come into fruition for undisclosed reasons.

But now, after a full year of silence from both Spotify and Archewell Audio, we’ve finally gotten news that the project is actually beginning to take shape. In fact, the audio streaming company is currently hiring producers to get the podcast going. An advert from the company read:

We're currently assembling a show team that will build and launch a new original show with Archewell featuring the voices of high-profile women.

The ideal candidate has experience working with high-profile talent, and an interest in the intersection of social activism and popular culture.

⋙ Read more: Prince Harry and Meghan: How the Sussexes failed to respect multimillion podcast deal

The real reason behind the delay in the podcast has not been officially stated, but there is speculation that it is because Prince Harry and Meghan Markle failed to provide Spotify with sufficient content. A source told The Sun:

Spotify has been waiting a long time for some content from Harry and Meghan and now it appears they have finally taken matters into their own hands.

Hiring a raft of in-house talent on Spotify’s side will ensure they finally squeeze something out of them as they bid to honour their contract.

Richard Eden, Daily Mail editor, tweeted that this could also be the reason why it has taken the couple so long to work on Pearl. He wrote:

It's not just #Spotify that's still waiting for any content from Prince Harry and #Meghan. #royal