Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Netflix doc 'postponed' after The Crown backlash

If you'd earmarked Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's documentary as your designated Christmas holiday viewing, then think again. The much-anticipated docuseries – which was slated for release on 2 December 2022 – has been pushed back.

It's all to do with the upcoming season of The Crown which, despite having not been released yet, has prompted backlash from critics. To recap, former Prime Minister Sir John Major branded The Crown a "damaging and malicious" work of fiction in a new statement. Others said that a storyline involving Prince Philip's rumoured affair with Penny Knatchbull was "distasteful" and "cruel rubbish".

"They’re rattled at Netflix, and they blinked first and decided to postpone the documentary," a source told Deadline of Harry and Meghan's documentary, which was filmed at their Montecito estate and produced by Netflix and Archewell Productions.

The untitled documentary series was due to air just one month after The Crown's return, with Deadline claiming that Netflix had "wanted to do a royal double-whammy". However, following Queen Elizabeth II's death last month, Netflix had to reconsider its content.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were followed for more than a year by camera crews for the project, and were filmed during visits to New York and the Netherlands among others. In the series, the couple is expected to talk extensively about other members of the Royal Family, including King Charles III, Queen Consort Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales.

News of the Sussexes' documentary being postponed comes amid uncertainty over the release date of Prince Harry's memoir, which is also believed to contain previously unknown details about his life behind closed doors.

"I’m writing this not as the Prince I was born but as the man I have become," Harry said last year when it was announced he was working on a memoir. "I’ve worn many hats over the years, both literally and figuratively, and my hope is that in telling my story – the highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learned – I can help show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think."

Like his and Meghan's docuseries, Harry's book was due for release towards the end of the year, but sources say he is "revising" the contents in light of Her Majesty's passing.

Cosmopolitan UK has reached out to Netflix for comment.

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