It recently came out that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had acquired the rights to a bestselling romance novel via their production company, paying a cool $3 million for the privilege.
While this may seem at first glance like a stark departure from their previous projects—from documentaries and memoirs into fiction territory—one royal expert feels that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex' ambition to produce Meet Me at the Lake actually really isn't all that different from the projects that centered their romance and royal life.
"I can understand that Harry and Meghan have to come up with content to fulfil their Netflix contract, and I think everyone will be pleased that they are moving away from bashing the Royal family," Jennie Bond told OK!.
"But this does seem rather a curious choice of book, with some obvious parallels with their own lives.
"Somehow, it seems they just can’t get away from looking inwards, and inviting comparisons with what they have gone through."
Indeed, several publications have previously pointed out that Meet Me at the Lake contains many themes reminiscent of the Sussexes' own lives, such as mental health difficulties, the loss of a parent in a car accident, and a Canadian setting, among other things.
But the parallels with the Sussexes' real lives aren't the only thing bothering Bond about this unexpected move on the couple's part.
"I also wonder what qualifications they think they have to become film producers. It’s rather insulting to presume they have the skills that have taken others years to acquire," she said, clearly not willing to mince her words on this occasion.
"But I wish them luck, and perhaps it will be a brilliant film. They obviously are under pressure to make sure the Netflix deal doesn’t go the same way as the Spotify one."
The Sussexes' deal with Spotify ended rather abruptly recently, and they are reportedly looking to make the most of their deal with Netflix following that setback. I will join Bond in wishing them luck!
