An unimpressive assessment of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s attempts to position themselves as incredibly affluent global influencers and philanthropists since leaving the royal life almost five years ago is expected to be provided by a new documentary produced by German filmmakers.
Ulrike Grunewald, the director of The Lost Prince, told The Daily Mail over the weekend that Harry and Meghan set a very high standard. In Germany, the documentary will premiere on Tuesday. They aspire to be benefactors who effect real change on a global scale. They haven’t lived up to this picture at all thus far.
Grunewald intended to investigate whether the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were successful in achieving independence by relocating to the United States from the United Kingdom for the 45-minute video. The couple also pledged to become globally recognized thought leaders and financially independent business owners during their departure.
In response to inquiries concerning the couple’s life after Megxit, Grunewald stated that she conducted reporting in Montecito, their new hometown, investigated the activities of their Archewell Foundation and Harry’s participation in the Invictus Games, and reviewed recent reports indicating that they had split up, at least professionally.
According to Grunewald, I wanted to know if Harry and Meghan’s plans for living a self-sufficient existence were succeeding. The outcomes after four years are somewhat inconsistent.
Due to their inability to form a cohesive picture, they now primarily appear individually, according to Grunewald. They have arrived on Earth.
One may argue that by escaping the restrictions of royal life, Harry has discovered a newfound sense of personal freedom.
To be fair, Grunewald stated that Harry desired the best for his own family. And it’s true that he has now learnt how to stand on his own two feet and obtained invaluable experience in California. In the close quarters of the royal family, he could never have done it.
However, Grunewald stated that Harry must now make his own decisions about what he has to give the world. Grunewald acknowledged that he still retains the prestige of being the late Princess Diana’s and King Charles III’s son. However, this charm may fade in the harsh environment of the film business, she noted.
Grunewald is perhaps alluding to the couple’s difficulties in becoming media tycoons in Hollywood. Harry and his American TV star wife inked multimillion-dollar contracts with Netflix and Spotify in late 2020, stating that they intended to produce powerful material that enlightens, inspires, and motivates action.
However, the couple famously broke up with Spotify in 2023 after Meghan only produced one 12-episode podcast and they were labeled thieves by Bill Simmons, a prominent podcaster and Spotify executive.
Regarding Netflix, they appeared in their highly successful 2022 documentary series, Harry and Meghan, which focused on their contentious exit from the royal life. However, they also started to lose some public favor in the US and the UK since it was thought that they had gone too far in openly attacking Harry’s royal relatives in interviews and the documentary series. Harry’s 2023 book, Spare, became a worldwide best-seller thanks to fans of royal gossip, but it also became apparent that some individuals began to feel uneasy about Harry’s decision to divulge family secrets.
According to Grunewald, people have long memories, and few disclosures can harm their reputation more than the personal information that Harry and Meghan have made public in recent years.
Meanwhile, according to The Times UK, their collaboration with Netflix has slightly soured. Meghan’s Netflix cooking show, which was reportedly completed during the summer, is still missing, and Harry’s documentary on his work with the Invictus Games did not make it into the top ten on Netflix.
The couple co-executive produced the documentary series Polo, which will be available on Netflix next week. The show, which is about a top sport that most people certainly don’t care about, doesn’t feature Harry or Meghan, though. The documentary is marketed in the trailer as a reality TV show akin to Bravo about sweaty, filthy boys riding, with little meaningful content that inspires action and gives hope.
According to the Daily Beast, Harry’s former British friends were in hysterics over the cheesy new show, and a Hollywood executive warned that the pair was running out of time to demonstrate that they could create engaging television that wasn’t about themselves.
Meghan’s other business ventures, including as the debut of her Netflix culinary show, which may coincide with the launch of her new lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard, are not mentioned in the Daily Mail preview of the upcoming German documentary. However, Meghan’s firm has been the focus of multiple headlines regarding bureaucratic issues with the US trademark office and concerns about her business acumen in preparing her line of strawberry jam and other products for sale.
The Lost Prince suggests that Harry and Meghan might be having difficulties in other facets of their lives since Brexit.
Grunewald told the Daily Mail that the couple doesn’t seem to have assimilated into Montecito’s affluent social circles, to start.
Although there is a lot of activity in the cultural world, Harry and Meghan hardly ever participate in it, and everything frequently happens in private circles, according to Grunewald. They appear to have become somewhat solitary.
Harry and Meghan have attended a number of high-profile events in and around Montecito and Santa Barbara during the last four years, either together or alone. For instance, they went to Kevin Costner’s yearly, celebrity-filled benefit for local first responders at his ranch outside of Santa Barbara in 2023.
More recently, they attended the September opening of a brand-new bookstore close to their Montecito residence, which is run by renowned literary agent Jennifer Rudolph Walsh and cosmetics tycoon Victoria Jackson, who is rumored to be Meghan’s close friend. Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres, who live in Montecito, joined the celebration as well, though DeGeneres recently moved to the United Kingdom from California.
However, it appears from Grunewald’s video that Harry and Meghan don’t visit Montecito very often. “The couple hasn’t set out to put down particularly deep roots in the area,” Richard Mineards, a neighbor, told Grunewald. They are occasionally spotted on walks or in the neighborhood market, always accompanied by security personnel.
According to Mineards, you don’t see her very often and you don’t see him very often, however occasionally you might see her at the farmers market or walking a dog.
Even though the director claimed that Harry is merely a figurehead, Grunewald contends that the Archewell Foundation, a nonprofit that was introduced with considerable fanfare in 2020, is not well-run, while the Invictus Games seem to be a shining example in the couple’s portfolio.
Harry started the international athletic competition for injured service members and veterans. In an interview for The Lost Prince, Jack Royston, Newsweek’s royal reporter, is quoted as saying, “I think Invictus is real and authentic work.” Harry is totally committed to it.
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