Netflix released its trailer for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s tacky-sounding series about polo last week, with the royals’ favourite pastime breathlessly described as ‘a sexy sport – dirty, sweaty boys riding’.
A world away, the Duchess of Edinburgh had an announcement of her own – that she had become the royal patron of Plan International UK, a global children’s charity of which the late Prince Philip was formerly patron. Separately, Sophie later met survivors of the Yazidi genocide in Iraq at their photography exhibition, The Women Who Beat ISIS, in London.
There is no denying that Harry and Meghan have done admirable work for charity – particularly through their Archewell Foundation.
But the contrast between Sophie’s heartfelt work and the Sussexes’ latest unregal, money-making project highlights the markedly different paths their lives have taken.
However, Palace sources have made clear to me that Sophie and her husband Prince Edward could point the way for Prince Harry and Meghan to return to royal duties.
Courtiers are increasingly convinced that Harry wants to resume his old way of life, when he felt he was using his privileged position to make a difference for worthwhile causes.
‘Harry’s heart is not in the TV stuff – anyone can see that,’ one source told me.
Indeed, the Prince himself made clear in his and Meghan’s infamous interview with Oprah Winfrey back in 2021 that they had signed multi-million-dollar deals with media giants Netflix and Spotify only because they had been cut off financially by the Royal Family.
The trailer for Harry and Meghan’s new docuseries Polo, has just dropped on Netflix. The couple are pictured at a match in Windsor in 2018
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh could hold the key for the Sussexes to return to the royal fold and the funding that goes with it, says Richard Eden
It’s notable that Harry does not seem to feature much in the polo series himself, even though he is a keen player. In the trailer, only his name appears, in a production credit alongside that of his wife.
After King Charles’s cancer treatment was announced in February, Harry let it be known via friends that he was willing to take on a temporary royal role in support of his father. His offer was never taken up, but the California-based Prince is understood to be keen to spend more time in his homeland.
Meghan’s lifestyle business, American Riviera Orchard, is yet to sell a single product almost nine months after it was launched online amid great fanfare. The couple’s deal with audio giant Spotify was ended unceremoniously and their contract with Netflix comes up for renewal next year, so their thoughts may well be turning to how to return to royal roles – and the funding that goes with it.
And that’s where Edward and Sophie come in.
Although most people have long forgotten, Queen’s Elizabeth’s youngest son and his wife were caught up in controversies of their own after they tried to combine business with royal duties.
Edward was forced to close his TV production company, Ardent, in 2002 after it was caught filming Prince William at St Andrews University – breaching agreements with the media to leave the future king alone while he was a student.
The former Sophie Rhys-Jones, meanwhile, was encouraged by an undercover News of the World reporter posing as a wealthy Arab businessman to make embarrassing comments about the royals and the then prime minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie.
Many thought Sophie and Edward would never recover from the ‘fake sheikh’ scandal in 2001.
Yet the couple decided to abandon their paid work and concentrate on royal duties. In return, the late Queen Elizabeth stuck by them and they have gone on to become much-loved and respected stalwarts of ‘The Firm’ over the past 20 years.
True, they will never be paid millions by foreign firms, but they live a privileged and rewarding life.
‘If the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are prepared to give up their private work and return to royal life, they would be welcomed back,’ one courtier tells me. ‘Certainly, as long as King Charles is monarch.’
Therein lies a warning to the Sussexes: Prince William is unlikely to be as forgiving as his father.
And, given Harry and Meghan’s disgraceful attacks on the Princess of Wales, in particular, I can fully understand why.
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