Meghan Markle ‘started working towards Netflix deal two years before leaving Royal life’

Meghan Markle ‘started working on $200m Netflix series with David Furnish two years before Megxit’ according to new claims.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and US streaming giant Netflix were reportedly in discussion with each other in 2018, while Meghan and Prince Harry were living in Kensington Palace.

According to The Sun, the Duchess of Sussex and Elton John’s husband began working on the new animated series, that has the working title “Pearl”, several years ago according to Page Six.

However it wasn’t till January 2020 that the Sussexes announced their bombshell decision to quit the UK and start a new life abroad, away from the royal family.

Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex reportedly was in talks with Netflix before she quit Royal life. Picture: AFP

They were to no longer use the titles “royal highness” or receive public funds for their work under a deal that let them step aside as working royals, Buckingham Palace announced at the time to a stunned public.

Furnish hinted in an Instagram post that he and Meghan had been working together on the project for some time: “I am delighted that we are finally able to announce this exciting animated series.

“The team collaborating on the series are first class, and Netflix are the perfect partner.”

In September 2020 it was revealed that the Sussexes had signed a lucrative multi-million-pound production deal with Netflix.

Prince Harry and Meghan agreed to a multi-year deal to produce nature series, documentaries and children’s programming.

Such projects were sought, Prince Harry had claimed in their explosive Oprah Winfrey interview in March, as his family had cut him off financially at the start of 2020 after announcing their Megxit plans.

Harry and Meghan previously said they had pursued Netflix to compensate for being cut off from the Royal family financially. Picture: Getty Images

But he was able to afford security for his family because of the money his late mother, Princess Diana – who died in 1997 – left behind.

Speaking to Oprah about the streaming deal, the 36-year-old said: “We didn’t have a plan.

“That was suggested by somebody else by the point of where my family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford security for us.”

He added: “I’ve got what my mum left me, and without that, we would not have been able to do this [move to the US].”

However, Harry explained that during the coronavirus pandemic, a pal suggested: “‘What about streamers?’”, to which Meghan added: “We genuinely hadn’t thought about it before.”

The Duke of Sussex told Oprah: “We hadn’t thought about it.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle told Oprah that working with streaming services was a way of becoming financially secure in the US. Picture: AFP

“So, there were all sorts of different options. And look, from my perspective, all I needed was enough money to be able to pay for security to keep my family safe.”

Page Six reports that “the Netflix series was originally just one of a number of one-off advocacy projects that Markle started work on while a working member of the royal family.

“[These] included her charity cookbook to raise funds for the victims of the London Grenfell fire and the issue of British Vogue that she edited.”

The website claimed it had “been told” by an unnamed source that Furnish and Meghan had been “working on her Netflix project long before she quit England, back in 2018”.

A spokesman for the Sussexes was unavailable for comment, it added.

CHARLES’ MASK WEARING HABITS REVEALED

Prince Charles won’t don a face mask unless UK government guidance requires him to, a Palace source has reportedly claimed.

It comes as the Prince of Wales and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, will pay a three-day visit to southwest England, where they will attend a fundraising event at Exeter Cathedral.

Their tour will commence on Monday, July 19, which coincides with the UK’s “Freedom Day”.

Current rules in the UK stipulate a facial covering must be worn in many indoor settings, and should be donned when it is not possible to maintain social distancing. But this requirement will be dropped on July 19 when the British Government is set to significantly ease Covid-19 restrictions.

Prince Charles will only wear a face mask if UK government guidance requires him to, a Palace source has claimed. Picture: AFP

“This will be the first time in 18 months that we are seeing a return to normality. We’ll be looking forwards, not backwards,” a Palace source told the Mail on Sunday.

“This is the first time the Prince has been to a location inside and won’t be wearing a mask because it’s a large area where people will be social distancing and it will be the first day of the new rules.”

“When the rules state that a mask should be worn, then the Prince will wear one but not otherwise.”

Prince Charles is patron of a fundraising appeal at the cathedral, and the trip has been made public for the first time in months.

His engagements have been kept secret during the pandemic to prevent crowds gathering.

It’s believed Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwal (left), is also looking forward to ditching a face mask. Picture: Getty Images

It’s believed the Duchess of Cornwall is also looking forward to “Freedom Day”.

On a recent visit to the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, he 74-year-old recently told a student she “can’t wait to get rid of this”, referring to her face mask.

From Monday, the UK government will lift most restrictions on public gatherings in England and allow businesses such as nightclubs to reopen.

Mandates covering face masks and work from home will be lifted as Prime Minister Boris Johnson promotes a new approach of personal responsibility, although he has also urged people not to “throw caution to the winds”.

– with AFP

Originally published as Meghan Markle ‘started working towards Netflix deal two years before leaving Royal life’