The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are being “strongly urged” to end hostilities with the Royal Family – or risk losing millions of potential fans in America.
The warning comes before this week’s launch of Prince Harry’s first major solo effort on Netflix; his five-part ‘passion project’ documentary series Heart of Invictus.
And it follows reports that Harry has “no intention” of meeting with his estranged father or brother next month, even though he will be in the UK on September 8 – the first anniversary of the Queen’s death – to attend the WellChild charity awards.
The blunt warning that he and Meghan will continue to lose public support in the US unless they make peace with his family was issued by her new image-makers at powerhouse Hollywood talent agency WME, according to an insider.
A senior movie production source with ties to the agency said: “The team that handles Meghan is acutely aware that she and Harry are alienating a lot of people with his constant attacks and never-ending feud with King Charles and Prince William.”
Meghan’s popularity has declined dramatically in opinion polls that now rank her as the least popular royal in America – her home country – with Princess Kate way ahead of everyone and Harry and William neck-and-neck.
Our source confirmed: “The strong feeling now is that Harry and Meghan either need to bury the hatchet with his family or at the very least refrain from further attacks. Older fans, especially, have a soft spot for Britain’s Royal Family and those attacks have become a major turn-off.
“With younger fans, the opposite might be true in some cases. Netflix must be worried that Heart of Invictus may not win a big audience simply because it won’t be controversial or feature any mud-slinging.
“In simple terms, WME’s experts believe that Harry and Meghan will be digging a hole they might not be able to haul themselves out of if they continue with their vitriol against his family.”
Harry, whose docu-series will stream on Netflix from Wednesday, will fly to Dusseldorf, Germany the following week after attending the WellChild Awards in the UK.
He will be joined by Meghan, who is expected to fly to Germany directly from Los Angeles to attend this year’s Invictus Games with her husband, who launched the annual event for wounded and injured servicemen and women in 2014 and has said he is “immensely proud” to be associated with.
Sources close to Harry and Meghan have confirmed their upcoming schedules leave “no room” for the possibility of him meeting with any of his family. But although there are no formal functions planned to mark the anniversary of Her Majesty’s passing, our source said: “It’s felt he’s missing a golden opportunity to at least reach out to his family.
“He and Meghan arrived here three years ago with bombshell interviews and revelations about royal life and everyone stopped to listen. But it’s time to make peace and move on.
“If they can’t do that, there’s every chance they will damage the careers they’re trying to build for themselves as Hollywood movers and shakers.”
