MEGHAN Markle has been labelled as “vicious” amid her latest venture – as her “Christmas special” clashes with Princess Kate’s beloved holiday concert.
Season 2 of Meghan‘s controversial cookery show will drop later this month – after she and Harry signed their latest deal with the streamer.
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The couple announced yesterday they had signed a new “multi-year, first look deal” with the American streaming giant to produce “film and television projects” – despite doubts being cast on their future.
The deal is a “downgraded” version of the couple’s original $100million contract – with the US streaming giant only approving projects it likes.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex previously released a number of shows on the platform, including a 2022 documentary on their lives and Meghan’s lifestyle show With Love, Meghan this year.
But one show already earmarked to feature as part of the new deal is Meghan’s own ‘holiday special’ this December.
This will clash with the Princess of Wales’ annual Christmas carol concert.
Kate Middleton‘s annual Together At Christmas concert at Westminster Abbey is usually a heartfelt and profound end to the year.
Royal Expert Hugo Vickers said the Christmas crossover is another example of Meghan trying to “cap” her sister-in-law’s work.
This is especially harsh given how Kate’s TV special celebrates charity work and is done for the benefit of “the rest of the world” – rather than “vicious” Meghan’s need to keep “money coming in”.
He told The Sun: “It’s always said that whenever Catherine the Princess of Wales starts something that Meghan Markle does something else to cap it, or in some ways clash with it.
“Maybe that is the case. Obviously, there are lots of Christmas shows around Christmas.
“Having said that, of course, the initiative of the Princess of Wales at Westminster Abbey is incredibly moving and incredibly special, and is done for the benefit of the rest of the world, for all the people who’ve been suffering, all the people who’ve helped with charities, all that sort of thing, so it’s all for the public good.
“And I’m not quite convinced that Meghan Markle is going to be dissecting some more petals and scattering them over salads, or whatever she’s going to be doing in California, is in quite the same league.
“I can see how a Christmas special on the cards.
“It’s a bit like Downton Abbey, which ran and ran and ran and always had a Christmas special, which people tuned into.”
Hugo added: “Obviously Netflix is a very hard-nosed business operation, and they won’t have taken them on just out of charity, or they obviously think it’s worthwhile. And of course, she does have an enormous number of followers.
“The one great thing that Harry and Meghan have in their favour is that anything they do, however trivial, seems to attract a lot of publicity, which must surely be good for Netflix.
“They’ve got to rely on things like this, because they lead such an expensive lifestyle. And they just need money coming in, because the money must be pouring out.”
It comes after Newsweek’s royal editor Jack Royston claimed the “rivalry” between Kate and Meghan is still going strong.
Speaking on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show, Jack shared: “There was 100 per cent definitely a massive rivalry between the Sussexes and the Waleses dating back to when they were sharing a private office at Kensington Palace.
“And this sort of thing, you would absolutely cut and dry say, was a 100 per cent massive rivalry.”
Both Meghan and Kate proudly shared photos of their kids artwork on social media in the same week – Kate posting on the Monday, and Meghan on the Thursday.
One person commented: “She’s so predictable..as ever, a copycat!”
And in an explosive tell-all chat with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan later claimed it was Kate that made her cry just days before her wedding.
Previously, it was claimed Meghan left Kate in tears over her demands for Princess Charlotte’s dress.
In the announcement of the Netflix deal extension, Meghan said in a statement: “We’re proud to extend our partnership with Netflix and expand our work together to include the As Ever brand.
“My husband and I feel inspired by our partners who work closely with us and our Archewell Productions team to create thoughtful content across genres that resonates globally, and celebrates our shared vision.”
Hugo said the announcement seemed “very Meghan-centric”, leading on her ventures and only referring to Harry as her “husband”.
What appears to be his personal passion project was mentioned later on, a short film called “Masaka Kids, A Rhythm Within”.
‘Meghan & Harry need to come up with a hit soon’
By Matt Wilkinson
JUST when you thought it was safe to turn the telly on again… Harry and Meghan are back. And their multi-year renewal with Netflix means they are not going away anytime soon.
There have been tense negotiations in recent weeks but Netflix is so deeply involved with Meghan’s As Ever brand it was always likely that the streaming giants would want them back.
Make no mistake, Harry and Meghan would have been desperate for the deal to be renewed. They will likely be opening a bottle or two of As Ever Rose in Montecito.
Because they have invested heavily in Archewell Productions and getting on board with Netflix is central not only to their post-Royal endeavours but more importantly crucial to their bank accounts.
If they lost their Netflix money then how could they afford their life in the US?
While the length of the deal or how much the couple are getting paid is vague we do know that Meghan will appear in a ‘holiday special’ in December that will likely clash with the Princess of Wales’s annual Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey.
And finally, two years after I revealed in The Sun the couple had bought the rights to the book Meet Me At The Lake, production is in active development.
Sources close to the couple are coy about whether Harry or Meghan will appear on screen for the production of Masaka Kids, A Rhythm Within which will air later this year.
But perhaps the best piece of news from the announcement is no repeat of the six-part documentary which dumped on the Royal Family.
However, ‘Harry & Meghan’ was a ratings dream and none of their projects since have been anywhere as successful. They need to come up with a hit soon.
And this ‘first look’ deal means Netflix has the first option on new projects from the couple without any guaranteed commitment.
But remember the Sussexes are not the only Royals to be in bed with Netflix.
The King will feature in a documentary on The King’s Foundation with Idris Elba.
It will look at Uganda’s Masaka region and the HIV/AIDS crisis there.
This has echoes of Harry’s mum Diana’s work, who changed the world’s view about HIV and Aids.
Hugo commented: “His skill, of course, is totally different. He was trained to do things for the Army, the Commonwealth, Invictus Games, all those sort of things, which he’s actually very good at, and that’s where his skills should be used.
“She is more of a red carpet Hollywood person, and so I’m not surprised at all that he is only a kind of walk-on part, but she needs him there every now and again.
“As you will have seen if you watch the cookery programs, he has to come in at the end, you know, with a with a grin to show that he’s onside about it.
“And again, in the awful Oprah Winfrey interview, he was wheeled in at the end so that we knew that he knew about it.
“So, husband? Yep, that’s what it is. He is the husband of Meghan Markle now.”
Asked if he thinks Harry will make an appearance in Meghan’s Season 2, he said: “He probably will. He usually does. He does what he’s told.”
Hugo wishes Harry would do more charitable work and raise awareness of good causes, which would be more in line with the work of the Royal Family.
“I’m all for him doing things for Uganda and for other countries like that. I wish he’d do more of it, because he’s very good at it, he’s very good at it, and he does attract attention to it, to these different enterprises.
“Our royal family all are always doing things for the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, and they aren’t seeking to do things for themselves, whereas Harry and Meghan are doing things for themselves.
“If he can focus attention on issues in Uganda… That’s what he’s good at, and that’s what he should do much more of, and I think we would greatly respect him if he did.”
Speaking about the contrast between Meghan’s cookery show and Harry’s more serious short film, Hugo said: “They are two very different people.
“There’s a huge contrast between focusing on issues that need to be thought about in Uganda, and being all sort of lovey in the kitchen.
“We would take her happy kitchen life much more seriously if we hadn’t seen the other Meghan in the Oprah interview.
“We’ve seen how vicious she can be, which is the real Meghan Markle?
“The one with the black eyeliner, spitting venom and fury against the royal family, or the one chopping up the petals and scattering them on the salads.”
He also slammed the show as out-of-touch – wondering if Meghan will heed the backlash to her first season.
Across eight 33-minute episodes the mum-of-two made cringe jokes about her bacon, shared recipes with pals, learnt from celeb chefs and even became emotional over bees.
But less than an hour after the release, harsh viewers already left scathing criticism.
One penned on X: “I’m not even 30 seconds into the first episode and I already know that With Love, Meghan is the FAKESTEST stuff ever.”
Another added: “Six minutes of with love Meghan… ok only for richest people..so.. bye bye.”
“All of Meghan Markle’s “recipes” can be found on Pinterest,” claimed someone else.
Hugo added: “I don’t know about you, but you don’t normally wear a white dress in the kitchen, and you usually have an apron of any sort.
“It all looked a bit fake. It wasn’t even her kitchen anyway. It all looks so easy, and it, yeah, it’s out of touch, it’s just not relevant.
“And there are other people who are professional chefs who are very much better at it.”
The Sun approached Archewell for comment.
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