When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as senior members of the royal family, they also became financially independent, meaning they had to find their own means of making money. Luckily, being one of the most talked about couples on the planet meant they were inundated with offers, including a deal with Netflix reportedly worth over $100million.

They hit the ground running with a self-titled documentary, which became the most watched Netflix show in the United Kingdom of 2022. But fast forward less than three years and the couple’s individual projects have failed to live up to the success of their joint show. Harry’s Polo documentary about the sport has been watched by just 500,000 viewers this year and, while the Duchess’ lifestyle series With Love, Meghan ranked in the Top 10 of Netflix shows in 47 countries when it was launched in March, it has failed to make the top 300 shows watched on the streaming platform in the first half of the year. With Love, Meghan ranked at number 383, accumulating 5.3million minutes. In comparison, the most-watched show of the year’s first half, Adolescence, racked up 145million minutes.

And with reports the deal may not be renewed, a source tells Closer Meghan is panicking about her and her husband’s future with the streaming service, despite their close friendship with the streamer’s CEO Ted Sarandos and his wife Nicole Avant. They say, ‘These figures have caught her totally off guard and she’s panicking, big time, saying there must be some mistake. Harry’s telling her to chill and look at the bigger picture, but there’s no denying they’re on decline, the novelty is wearing off fast in the States and she’s burning through cash trying to keep the dream alive.

‘She still hopes and prays there’s a long-term place for her at Netflix, helped of course by how strong her friendship is with the CEO and his wife. But at the same time, she’s wise enough to know that business is business, these numbers speak for themselves, and it’ll be an uphill battle from here.’

Adding insult to injury the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were recently once again mocked on animated sitcom Family Guy.

The episode saw characters Stewie and Brian travelling through time, with Brian asking, ‘Doesn’t history pretty much suck? The Crusades, Hitler…’ before Stewie chimed in, ‘Prince Harry marrying Meghan Markle?’ The show also poked fun at them in 2023, making a dig at their Netflix deal. In the episode, a butler handed a cheque to Harry for ‘millions… for no-one knows what,’ with Harry putting down a champagne flute to say, ‘put it with the rest of them.’

Our source adds, ‘Being humiliated on Family Guy once again is just another nail in the coffin, she’s furious about that too and not taking it well at all. She’s so stressed and starting to fear this really is the beginning of the end.

‘Meghan is feeling very shaken right now, she was not prepared for her show to get such low numbers, she did everything to make it a hit. She hired a top team, spent a fortune on production and really thought she was ticking all the right boxes since everyone told her it was going to be a massive success. To not even crack the top 300 is humiliating and it’s got to be sinking in that maybe the audience, even in America, is just not that into her. It’s a huge blow and coming at the worst time because she’s in the middle of trying to secure more projects and brand partnerships.’

Alongside With Love, Meghan – which will return for a second season later this year after being filmed alongside the first – the former Suits actress also launched the lifestyle brand As Ever, releasing items such as a limited-edition jam, shortbread cookie mix and, most recently, her Napa Valley rosé wine – and our source says she is also hoping to branch out into brand partnerships.

‘Meghan needs to be seen as influential and successful to attract financial backing and these numbers certainly do not tell that story. No wonder she’s in panic mode. It’s a very delicate situation because she can’t show any sort of worry or it might spook potential backers even more, so she has to forge ahead as though nothing is wrong.

‘She’s very fortunate to have had a second season [of her show] already ordered so she can avoid the worry about whether it will be picked up for another one, but there’s no hiding these numbers, she can’t stop all the chatter about what a flop it’s been. It’s very tough to hold her head up through this and continue to hit the ground running every morning to push her brand forward. The dream of her and Harry being the toast of Hollywood and these darlings of America has well and truly crashed and burned. Instead of being the top of every industry guest list and the toast of the town, they’re hardly invited and now she and Harry are getting mocked yet again on Family Guy. People around her are trying to spin it as a good thing, saying being enough of a talking point to make the show is a positive thing, a sign they’re in the zeitgeist. But everyone knows it’s a sore spot.

‘Being trashed as a scourge on history on par with Hitler is not the sort of joke, she wants to be the butt of, it’s horribly hurtful and she’s taking it very personally. It’s clear this is a very low point for her. Harry is trying to lift her spirits but it’s not really working. She’s been in a very dark mood and fixated on fears that things are falling apart.’