The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not have the power to influence Netflix's royal shows, according to a source. Photo / Getty Images
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not have the power to influence Netflix's royal shows, according to a source. Photo / Getty Images
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's multi-million dollar Netflix deal has not won them much power with the streaming giant.
According to a source who spoke to The Sun, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be able to ask Netflix to remove scenes from The Crown. This comes asthe drama about the British royal family moves into storylines about Princess Diana's death and Prince William and Harry's childhood.
The source, who The Sun refers to as a Netflix insider, explained the streaming company would not budge on giving the couple any power to change material that portrayed the royal family in a negative way.
"Netflix would not and certainly will not offer the Duke And Duchess Of Sussex any control of the company's brand editorial policies or strategy. And nor would they.
"Essentially that means The Crown's storyline, plots or subject matter cannot be altered by the Sussexes. All decisions regarding storylines run by the channel executives, board and the legal team.
"In reality, Harry cannot edit his controversial moments off Netflix just because he and his wife have a huge deal."
Details of the couple's negotiations with Netflix revealed to The Sun by the source, which landed them a reported $150 million deal, allege editorial impact was not the couple's biggest priority.
"The subject of The Crown was brought up, but the service has always stood firm that they leave the editorial of that show to filmmakers Leftbank and show creator Peter Morgan and unless a legal matter, there is no interference.
Josh O'Connor and Emma Corrin play Prince Charles and Princess Diana in season four of The Crown. Photo / Netflix
"The Duke And Duchess did not fight over this, which may be seen by some as odd given the next time period the show will cover."
The latest season of The Crown was the subject of controversy after it gave viewers a dramatic retelling of the early days of Prince Charles and Diana's marriage. It also featured scenes of Diana, played by Emma Corrin, struggling with bulimia. Netflix has content warnings at the start of these episodes.
At the time of the new season's release in November last year, there were calls for Netflix to add a disclaimer before all of the show's episodes to warn viewers it was fiction. Diana's brother Charles Spencer was among those who called for it.
"I worry people do think this is gospel and that's unfair," he told UK TV station ITV.
Netflix rejected the criticism, telling Mail on Sunday: "We have always presented The Crown as a drama, and we have every confidence our members understand it's a work of fiction that's broadly based on historical events."
The Crown's fifth and sixth seasons will be the show's last, meaning it will likely stop short of covering Prince Harry and Meghan's exit from the royal family.
