Netflix not happy about Harry and Meghan’s failed photo op: royal expert
Netflix won’t be so chill about this alleged royal rejection.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s failure to land a photo op with Queen Elizabeth and other senior royals with baby Lilibet at last week’s Platinum Jubilee is a bitter disappointment for Netflix executives, according to self-proclaimed royal expert Angela Levin.
The noted Prince Harry and Camilla Parker Bowles biographer dropped the bombshell Tuesday during an appearance on the British talk show “GB News,” The Daily Mail reported.
“I heard Netflix wanted these pictures of them with the royals,” Levin said of the alleged photo bombing of a different sort. “Because they would have sold it. It would be very valuable, very valuable to them.”
The streaming platform green-lighted the runaway Sussexes’ much-hyped “at-home” docuseries in May — but the video cameras were reportedly banned from the Jubilee as part of the “Sandringham agreement” made when the couple quit their royal roles back in January 2020.
The outspoken Levin was weighing in on the new photo controversy that emerged when Prince Harry, 37, and Markle, 40, introduced baby Lilibet, 1, to the Queen for the first time last Wednesday, after jetting to the UK to partake in the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Reports from multiple other outlets claim that the California-based couple wanted their personal photographer to take happy snaps of the 96-year-old monarch and Lilibet — but were snubbed with one anonymous source claiming they were told: “No chance. It was a private family event,” the Sun originally reported. That same birdie also claimed the Queen’s minders were worried that Harry and Markle would leak the photos to US television networks.
However, a source with knowledge of the situation told The Post that claim is bunk, stating that “They just enjoyed a private and intimate visit with the Queen.” They added that the Sussexes didn’t even bother asking for photos as the 96-year-old monarch wasn’t feeling well — an explanation that Levin refuted.
Levin, for one, agreed with the former explanation. “Harry and Meghan wanted to see the Queen as soon as possible so she saw them on the first day,” she claimed. “She went in, and then they asked if they brought their own photographer and they asked if he could take a picture of the two Lilibets and she said ‘no, absolutely not possible.”
Queen Elizabeth’s communications secretary declined The Post’s request for comment about the conflicting reports surrounding “private” meetings.
Netflix reps have not responded to requests for confirmation of Levin’s claims.
Levin previously told the MailOnline that Harry was “incredibly cheeky” his he asked his grandmother to pose for a photo with his daughter given her ailing health, and the intense amount of duties she had during the jubilee. She praised the palace “for being so clever and cunning that they never had a chance to be photographed with any of the senior Royals.”
Levin explained that Prince Harry and Markle were sitting on the right-hand side while the rest of them — the Duchess Of Cornwall Camilla, Prince Charles, William and Kate Middleton — were seated on the other.
Indeed, Page Six reported that the power couple did not spend any private time with Prince William, Kate, George, Charlotte and Louis during their brief Jubilee visit. Meanwhile, William’s family reportedly denied an invitation by Harry and Meghan to attend Lilibet’s first birthday party.
Harry’s relationship with his brother Prince William has reportedly been strained ever since the Sussexes — who notoriously quit royal life back in January 2020 — trashed the royal family in an infamous interview with Oprah Winfrey 14 months ago.
Needless to say, Levin believed that the royal cold shoulder will have serious ramifications for the streaming career of the Sussexes, who signed on for a multi-million deal with the streamer in 2020 after moving to the US.
“They would have used it [the photos] for Netflix,” she lamented. “It would give them a kudos that they had her with her great grandmother, you know.”
Investigative journalist Tom Bower, who is working on a biography of the Duchess of Sussex, agreed with her sentiment. “‘The Sussexes’ contract with Netflix is in jeopardy,” the reporter told the Daily Mail. “The veto of photos will fuel the Sussexes’ resentment. Harry’s reprisal could be more revelations in his book billed to be published later this year.
He added, “This is a dangerous game for both sides.”
In general, Levin felt that Prince Harry and Meghan’s conduct during the Jubilee was a “very poor show … I think they felt that everyone [the royal family would drop everything,” she said, adding that following the snub they “probably just went off in a rage.”
“I thought they were like petulant teenagers really,” she continued. “If they didn’t get what they wanted, they would leave. They did leave early. They left before the pageant on Sunday. They also didn’t go to anything else.”
She added, “They wanted to stay together as a family. I mean that’s a nonsense thing. You’re with your family the whole time, you don’t sort of use that as an excuse if you’re so close.”
Levin’s on-air salvo comes after Harry and Meghan were rumored to be barred from appearing on the Buckingham Palace balcony alongside Elizabeth, Prince Charles and other senior members of the royal family.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the couple was booed as they appeared at a Jubilee event at St Paul’s Cathedral. The couple flew out of the UK on Sunday, before the Jubilee celebrations had even wrapped up. However, sources told The Post this wasn’t a royal snub — Harry and Markle had always intended to attend two events and leave.
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