It’s enough to spoil the duchess’s latest batch of strawberry jam.
New figures released by Netflix and obtained by DailyMail.com show that not only has viewer interest in Meghan and Harry fallen off a cliff, the couple has been well and truly eclipsed by the popularity of their former friends, David and Victoria Beckham.
Engagement figures for 2023, released last week, reveal that the Beckhams’ eponymous documentary hit the top spot for global viewing with a whopping 43.9million views between July and December last year.
In that same period Harry & Meghan’s Limited Series Volumes I and II, limped in with just 1.9million views and 12.6million total views across the year.
When it first aired in December 2022 the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s docuseries was an instant hit, giving Netflix its biggest debut with 81.6million hours viewed in the first four days. But, after an initial frenzy, figures began a steady slide as millions of viewers lost interest and the series lost traction well before the sixth episode aired.
The show has now slumped to 211 on the streaming platform’s global chart while ‘Beckham’ is No. 1 with 3.5 times the viewing figures and 208.5million hours viewed in the first two months alone.
The disparity is perhaps due in part to the fact that fans who had tuned into Harry and Meghan’s docuseries hoping for insight and intimacy were instead left tired by their relentlessly, ‘woe is me’ tone. Viewers complained about the couple’s self-absorption and the fact that for all their enviable privilege they seemed to do nothing but bemoan their lot.
In stark contrast ‘Beckham’ was a show that left viewers uplifted by the Beckham’s family life, relationship and work ethic. Fans raved at the couple’s ‘resilience,’ and marveled at Beckham’s self-effacing grit and ambition.
This was a couple viewers could get behind, where Harry and Meghan were a couple viewers could leave behind.
In recent months there has been increased speculation that Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, could lose the $100million deal that they inked with Netflix back in 2020.
Aside from their flagging docuseries the couple’s much-vaunted Netflix deal has so far only produced two shows which, the latest figures show, have struggled to generate any interest at all.
‘Heart of Invictus,’ released in August 2023 and covering Prince Harry’s games for wounded warriors wheezed across the line with just 300,000 views in 2023.
Live to Lead,’ released in December 2022, about inspiring world leaders and featuring interviews with Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Gloria Steinem garnered just 800,000 views.
And when it comes to bang for their buck the Sussex’s with their $100million deal are a long way from keeping up with the Beckhams whose 43.9million views cost Netflix a comparatively modest $20million.
Coincidentally that is the size of the Spotify deal that Harry and Meghan lost when it fell apart in 2023 with just 12 episodes of Meghan’s ‘Archetypes’ podcast to show for it.
Speaking at the time Spotify’s Head of Podcast Innovation and Monetization, Bill Simmons, famously described the couple as ‘grifters,’ saying, ‘I wish I had been involved in the ‘Meghan and Harry leave Spotify’ negotiation. ‘ The F***ing Grifters.’ That’s the podcast we should have launched with them.’
Now, sources are speculating that their Netflix deal may be about to go the same way with Meghan’s cooking and lifestyle show and Harry’s documentary about polo being described as ‘padding,’ by some, while others ask what they have left to share now that their relationship with the rest of the royal family is all but over.
Harry and Meghan’s one-time close friendship with Victoria and David Beckham has similarly soured. The former Spice Girl turned clothes designer and her husband were guests at the Sussex’s wedding back in May 2018.
Later, according to biographer Tom Bower, David, 49, and Victoria, 50, offered the couple refuge in their Los Angeles home when they were looking for a place in the States.
But according to Bower a telephone call from Harry to the former Manchester United star left Beckham ‘furious’ and effectively ended the once warm friendship.
According to Bower the royals were concerned that close friends were leaking stories about them to the press and Meghan particularly suspected Victoria. Harry called and repeated this accusation to Beckham and the rest, and the friendship, is history.
Now, to rub salt into the wounds of the Beckhams’ soaring popularity in the face of the Sussex’s decline, Beckham has probably spent more time with King Charles III than Harry has this year, as the former England captain has been announced as the newest ambassador to the King’s Foundation.
The King and the former footballer are now reportedly ‘bee-keeping buddies’ who have exchanged pots of honey from their respective hives in Highgrove and Oxfordshire as well as bee-keeping tips.
