Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle recently renewed their lease on Frogmore Cottage, and Netflix executives hope they will film at their first family home during Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee visit to the UK.
The renewal came as a surprise, but it suggested that the couple may be planning more frequent visits to the UK, according to the Daily Mail.
Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank vacated the property ahead of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations because the Sussexes will be staying there. Harry and Meghan lived in the home in Windsor’s Home Park estate for six months.
The couple then surrendered their royal duties and moved to California in 2020, according to Mirror. Archie, three, and Lilibet, 11 months, are also expected to stay at Frogmore Cottage for the next month’s celebrations. According to the Mirror, it is not clear whether Buckingham Palace aides will try to prevent Netflix cameras from filming the Sussexes there.
According to a consultant for the US streaming giant with whom the Sussexes reportedly hit a $100 million deal, pressure is mounting on the couple to provide exclusive royal footage. According to one source, the Sussexes were “naïve” to believe that their program ideas would be “simply signed off.”
“Pearl,” a planned animated series with Meghan as an executive producer, has been canceled by Netflix. There could be an issue with the filming at Frogmore Cottage. It would require permission from the current residents, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, who have a 15-month-old son named August Philip, as per the Sun.
Harry and Meghan, who are not working royals, have been barred from the Buckingham Palace balcony for the Trooping the Colour ceremony on June 2. According to a Netflix US consultant, the Jubilee is the “biggest gathering of UK royals in years,” which means Harry and Meghan will be surrounded by everyone. Netflix chiefs “want exclusive footage and their dream is to have insights into that royal world never seen before.”
The source said that what goes on at Frogmore Cottage is “effectively private interactions between family,” and that Frogmore is a “grey area in terms of whether it comes under full-time jurisdiction of the courtiers.” According to the source, if everyone agrees to “filming scenes there, that would be exclusive, unique material never seen before.”
