Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are no longer depending on Prince Charles for cash, Newsweek reports. The pair signed a multi-year deal—worth between $50 million and $150 million, according to reports—with Netflix to produce films, documentaries and scripted series. They have also reportedly repaid the $3 million cost of renovating Frogmore College in the UK, a huge bone of contention in the U.K., as taxpayers complained at shouldering the burden.
In a statement, their rep told People: “A contribution has been made to the Sovereign Grant by the Duke of Sussex. This contribution as originally offered by Prince Harry has fully covered the necessary renovation costs of Frogmore Cottage, a property of Her Majesty The Queen, and will remain the U.K. residence of the Duke and his family.”
When the pair announced they were stepping down from royal duties in January, they said their goal was to become financially independent. But at the time, 95% of their funding for their private office came from the Prince of Wales’ estate.
Their deal with Netflix may involve work in front of the camera for both Harry and Meghan, but she will not return to acting. Both have recently appeared in documentaries; Meghan narrated a film on elephants for Disney, and Harry appeared in a Netflix documentary.
DERELECTION?
Meanwhile, a new biography of Prince Philip claims the 99-year-old does not approve of his grandson’s decision to step down.
Seward writes that Queen's Elizabeth's husband of 72 years “has found it hard to understand exactly what it was that made his grandson’s life so unbearable. As far as Philip was concerned, Harry and Meghan had everything going for them: a beautiful home, a healthy son, and a unique opportunity to make a global impact with their charity work.”
“He has struggled greatly, for example, with what he sees as his grandson Harry’s dereliction of duty,” veteran royal biographer Ingrid Seward writes in Prince Philip Revealed, “giving up his homeland and everything he cared about for a life of self-centered celebrity in North America.”
The book drops October 20th.