When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle inked multimillion dollar book and docuseries deals, they had no idea that both would be due for release just months after Her late Majesty’s death, which ultimately occurred on September 8.
There was never a question that the late Queen would be portrayed in a positive light in the content—both have long expressed their admiration for her—but, with Harry’s tell-all book and the couple’s revealing docuseries slated for end of the year releases, the pair had no idea that, by the time those release dates hit, King Charles would be on the throne.
Now it is Charles—who Harry has publicly confirmed there are tensions with—who is the leader of the royal family. We have long heard that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been making edits to the book and the docuseries, but it’s now coming to light what exactly they’re revising: the Charles content.
According to Us Weekly, the Sussexes agreed to soften the content about the new monarch, changing direction when it comes to how the new king will be portrayed in their upcoming projects. “They’ve both agreed to reach a neutral ground by softening the parts on Charles and adding intimate details about [Queen Elizabeth’s] legacy,” an insider tells the outlet.
The hope, the source says, is to keep their revelations “interesting without crossing a line.”
In addition to editing the parts about Charles, details surrounding Camilla, Queen Consort, Prince William, and Kate Middleton will also be adjusted, the source says. “He’s so grateful to Meghan for her input and they make all of these big decisions together, so of course there’s that balancing act of weighing up pros and cons to consider,” the source says of Harry. “And it goes the other way, too—he’s equally involved in her big picture, they’re very much at one that way and maintain they always will be.” A second source adds “Meghan moved to America to have a voice and feels it’s important for Harry to speak up about matters close to his heart, including his family.”
For his part, royal expert Gareth Russell says “I think the king has made it very clear that he wants to heal the rift. Family dynamics, of course, are always complicated, but…the king, even when he was Prince of Wales, I think has made it very clear that he would like a better relationship with the Duke of Sussex. So let’s hope that the olive branch is something that works.”
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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.
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