Prince Harry's Netflix show did not make the Netflix top 10 globally, in America or in Britain, missing out to Suits—the show that launched Meghan Markle's career.
Heart of Invictus showed Harry offering his support to competitors in his Invictus Games tournament for wounded soldiers, in The Hague, Netherlands, in 2022.
The docuseries dropped on August 30, a day before the anniversary of Princess Diana's death and triggered a wave of news stories, with much of the U.K. media focusing on remarks he made about not having support in dealing with grief and trauma when he returned to the palace after fighting in war.
However, despite the publicity, the documentary has neither made the global top 10 nor the lists for Britain, America, the Netherlands, where much of it was set, nor Germany where Harry will take the 2023 Invictus Games next week.
And it did not breach the top 10 in other countries which count the British monarch as head of state either, like Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica.
By contrast, Meghan's breakthrough show, Suits, in which she played paralegal Rachel Zane, has had a recent renaissance and remains at number 10 in the U.S. charts.
The couple's first Netflix project, Harry & Meghan, was a roaring commercial success, sailing to the top of the charts after launching a broadside against the monarchy.
Their second, Live to Lead, also did not make top 10 lists, however, that was a project they joined part way through and they appeared far less invested in its outcome.
Heart of Invictus' lukewarm performance is more of a problem for Harry because the games themselves are so important to him and as a sign that his more inspirational, worthy causes may not be able to compete for audience in the competitive media market place the Sussexes entered into.
Harry is preparing to head to Europe this week, starting with a September 7 appearance at the Well Child Awards, a charity he is patron of that helps seriously ill children be cared for at home rather than in hospital.
Then he heads to Dusseldorf, in Germany, for the start of the 2023 Invictus Games, which runs from September 9 to 16.
It comes after the couple were seen letting their hair down to party at a Beyoncé concert on September 1 and Meghan was then photographed in a VIP area with singer Kelly Rowland and actress Kerry Washington.
The moment of light relief showed Harry and Meghan being affectionate and hugging in public after months of unfounded divorce rumors and helped dispel the cloud that hung over them during the first half of 2023.
The release of Harry's memoir Spare triggered a collapse in their net approval rating and their Spotify deal then fell apart, with Bill Simmons, an executive at the streamer, describing them in a podcast as "f****** grifters."
However, their trip to see Beyoncé got people talking positively about the couple again in a way that Heart of Invictus did not manage to do.
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.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jack Royston is Newsweek's Chief Royal Correspondent based in London, U.K. He reports on the British royal family—including King Charles ... Read more
