It is said Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Netflix series won’t air until 2023 (Picture: Getty)
Netflix has postponed its Prince Harry and Meghan Markle documentary until next year following backlash to The Crown season 5, reports claim.
The series is said to have been unofficially slated for December 2022, however, the streaming giant has delayed the project after fierce criticism regarding its period drama based on the royal family.
It comes after former Prime Minister Sir John Major blasted The Crown as a ‘damaging and malicious’ work of fiction in a new statement.
‘They’re rattled at Netflix, and they blinked first and decided to postpone the documentary,’ a source told Deadline.
Former Prime Minister Sir John, who was in office from 1990 to 1997, will be portrayed in The Crown’s upcoming fifth series by actor Jonny Lee Miller.
A spokesperson for Sir John said over the weekend that he had not cooperated – in any way – with The Crown.
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The delay comes after Sir John Major criticised The Crown season 5, which is due for release in November (Picture: Getty)
‘Nor has he ever been approached by them to fact-check any script material in this or any other series,’ a statement read.
‘Discussions between the monarch and prime minister are entirely private and – for Sir John – will always remain so.’
The spokesperson added: ‘There was never any discussion between Sir John and the then Prince of Wales about any possible abdication of the late Queen Elizabeth II – nor was such an improbable and improper subject ever raised by the then Prince of Wales (or Sir John).’
Harry and Meghan were followed for more than a year by camera crews for the docuseries (Picture: Wire Image)
In response, a spokesperson for The Crown told Metro.co.uk: ‘The Crown has always been presented as a drama based on historical events. Series 5 is a fictional dramatisation, imagining what could have happened behind closed doors during a significant decade for the royal family – one that has already been scrutinised and well-documented by journalists, biographers and historians.’
Harry and Meghan are expected to talk extensively about other members of the royal family in their docuseries, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, King Charles, and Queen Camilla.
It was previously reported that they requested so many edits that there were fears it could be ‘shelved indefinitely’.
Netflix initially stood firm and told the couple it would be airing the series this winter while demand was at its highest.
‘A lot in the show contradicted what Harry had written, so that was an issue,’ a senior Netflix source previously told Page Six.
‘Then Harry and Meghan made significant requests [to filmmakers] to walk back content they themselves have provided, for their own project,’ the insider added.
Royal biographer Tom Bower compared the couple’s numerous back-and-fourths on the docuseries and memoirs to being ‘stuck with the devil.’
‘I don’t see how the Sussexes can give up both the Netflix and book deal,’ the author told GB News.
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Harry and Meghan were followed for more than a year by camera crews for the project.
They were filmed during visits to New York and the Netherlands for the Invictus Games as part of the production.
Metro.co.uk has contacted Netflix for comment.
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It was unofficially slated for December.