This post has been updated since it was originally published to include recent facts
Things are tense in the royal family right now, as they await the bombshells Prince Harry may or may not drop in his explosive memoir, Spare, which will be released on January 10th, 2023. But before then, they will reportedly have Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Netflix docuseries to deal with, as the release date has officially been announced. And spoiler alert: it’s *not* when the Sussexes wanted it to come out!
When Is Prince Harry And Meghan Markle’s Netflix Docuseries Coming Out?
According to reports, the highly-anticipated docuseries is officially landing on Netflix on Thursday, December 8th, which happens to be in the same week the Prince and Princess of Wales are on tour in the US. The docuseries’ name still hasn’t been made public, but The Sun reported that some sources suggested that it was originally called Chapters, “but the couple are believed to have changed their mind.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s long-awaited Netflix documentary finally has an exact release date, according to sources in the US, and it airs in the same week that Prince William and Princess Kate are on tour in the UShttps://t.co/OHczGNrAfo
— OK! Magazine (@OK_Magazine) November 24, 2022
Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Wanted Netflix Docuseries To Be Delayed Until After Christmas
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, on the other hand, did *not* want it to drop next month – presumably they want to deal with the fallout of the memoir first – and were “at odds” with Netflix, as they wanted it to be delayed until 2023. But as things currently stand, they don’t appear to have gotten their way! “Harry simply does not want it coming out before Christmas,” a source told The Sun, adding that his team had been “frantically asking Netflix to postpone the production.”
Prince Harry ‘at odds’ with Netflix as Sussexes want ‘extensive’ cuts made to docuseries #princeharry #meghanmarkle #royalfamily #royalnews https://t.co/i0mJnWkVwv
— Daily Express (@Daily_Express) November 13, 2022
Conflicting Stories Over Release Date Plus Backlash Over ‘The Crown’ Timing
The release date of the docuseries, which will be released as part of the couple’s multi-year $100M deal with the streaming giant, has been widely debated for many months now, with many conflicting reports circulating. The latest reports suggest that the Sussexes wanted to make cuts to their show following the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II to remove any negative comments about King Charles III, Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles, Prince William, and Kate Middleton, and even re-shoot some parts, but the production team reportedly didn’t want that to happen, as it would delay its release, so it’s currently unclear whether any changes were actually made. We therefore understand why the Sussexes and the royal family are nervous!
(If we are to believe the latest reports, Prince Harry wasn’t able to make *any* changes to his memoir, but a note at the front reportedly confirms that everything was written before his grandmother’s death. Will the Netflix docuseries do the same, we wonder?)
Other reports suggested that Netflix was keen to release the docuseries after season five of The Crown, which itself is making headlines for all of the wrong reasons. One scene which is reportedly not going down well involves King Charles, played by Dominic West, when he was still the Prince of Wales, attempting a coup against his mother, played by Imelda Staunton, in a meeting with former British Prime Minister John Major.
The scene forced Major to tell the Mail on Sunday that the entire scene was a "barrel load of malicious nonsense" and such a meeting never took place. Other controversial scenes in the fifth season reportedly involve Princess Diana, played by Elizabeth Debicki, as the show covers the moments leading up to her death in Paris.
What Have Prince Harry And Meghan Said About Their Netflix Docuseries?
The Sussexes haven’t revealed much about what we can expect from the docuseries, but here is what we *do* know. Prince Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, were followed around by cameras for several months, and most of the show had already been filmed before the Queen's death. They haven’t addressed the ongoing drama about the release date, but they have both told fans what to expect when it does eventually get released.
"Our focus will be on creating content that informs but also gives hope," the Sussexes said in a statement. "As new parents, making inspirational family programming is also important to us. Netflix's unprecedented reach will help us share impactful content that unlocks action."
READ MORE: Prince Harry And Meghan Markle’s Netflix Show Will Air Despite Their 'Panic' After The Queen’s Death
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The Duchess of Sussex also touched on the docuseries in a recent interview with Variety, and spoke highly of Oscar-nominated director Liz Garbus, even if she wasn’t their first choice of director. "It's nice to be able to trust someone with our story – a seasoned director whose work I've long admired – even if it means it may not be the way we would have told it," Meghan said. "But that's not why we're telling it. We're trusting our story to someone else, and that means it will go through their lens."
