Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Are Fighting for Survival

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Spotify deal has collapsed and they are now facing rumors about the health of their Netflix partnership—but there are signs of a PR fight back.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were to become podcasters in December 2020 and the move—together with a mega Netflix deal—appeared to indicate a bright financial future.

However, it was August 2022 before they delivered any content for the platform and the two sides are now parting ways.

Adding insult to injury, Bill Simmons, head of podcast innovation and monetization at Spotify, labelled the pair "f****** grifters" on his own podcast.

He told The Bill Simmons Podcast: "I wish I had been involved in the Meghan and Harry leave Spotify negotiation. 'The F****** Grifters,' that's the podcast we should have launched with them.

"I gotta get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry, trying to help him with a podcast idea. It's one of my best stories." He added: "Drunk Simmons. Save that idea. F*** the grifters."

Now U.K. tabloid The Sun on Sunday has published a report that the couple's Netflix deal may not be renewed, adding more fuel to the fire, though the company hasn't confirmed this.

At the same time though, there are signs the Sussex team have been rallying, with suggestions Meghan may be on the cusp of a major new deal with fashion house Dior.

And evidence can be found in perhaps the most unlikely place imaginable after a positive article in The Mail on Sunday—a newspaper the couple have sued four times between them and which Meghan's lawyers once said had an "obvious agenda" to "portray her in a false and damaging light."

The story, headlined: "Is Meghan about to become the mega-bucks Duchess of Dior?" carried a quote from a source at WME, Meghan's new celebrity agents, who were announced in April.

That alone is interesting as Harry and Meghan had banned their PR team from communicating with the Mail's titles, along with a handful of other U.K. tabloids, back in 2020.

And it is doubly interesting because the article was written by Caroline Graham, who was behind the newspaper's coverage of a private letter Meghan sent her father Thomas Markle.

Meghan sued over Graham's articles and when she won she described the brand as a "daily fail that divide us," before Harry then said in their Netflix documentary he believed the court case caused his wife to lose a pregnancy in July 2020.

Needless to say, Graham's recent article will be a boost to Meghan in PR terms as it suggests she is all Hollywood is talking about and other offers have been pouring in.

Meghan signing with Dior wouldn't be a huge surprise as the fashion house made much of the fact Harry wore a custom designed Dior suit to King Charles III's coronation in May, sparking rumors of an impending partnership.

Its Tweet read: "Tailoring fit for royalty. Dior is honored to have dressed Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, for the coronation of King Charles III in a custom design by Kim Jones."

Any deal would take the pressure off Meghan, enabling her to not only get a pay check, but land a successful deal with no pressure to commercialize past royal feuds.

And perhaps more importantly, it will return her to a place where she smells of success.

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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