Meghan Markle ‘Shaken’ by Victoria Beckham’s Netflix Documentary ‘Completely Overshadowing’ Her—It ‘Stings’
Ever since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as working royals, the two have been very focused on their Netflix deal, which has resulted in multiple shows, including a documentary about the couple and Markle’s lifestyle show, With Love, Meghan. But even though the reception to the documentary was record-setting, the numbers for Markle’s show have been more modest. And now, there are reports that Markle is looking at another recent documentary and comparing numbers.
RadarOnline.com is reporting that Markle’s reaction to Victoria Beckham’s new Netflix documentary that tracks her journey from pop star to fashion powerhouse has been to wonder why With Love, Meghan, didn’t do as well.
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“Meghan’s shaken by this,” an insider told the outlet. “Victoria has achieved exactly what she aspired to – moving seamlessly from celebrity to credible business figure. Meghan’s been trying to establish herself as a cultural powerhouse, but Victoria’s documentary has completely overshadowed her. It stings, no question about it.”
The reports fail to take into consideration that the real 1:1 comparison would be between Victoria Beckham’s documentary and the one Meghan Markle and Prince Harry released. The streamer reported that the documentary had 81.6 million hours watched on its first four days of availability and 97.7 million in the first week, with Victoria Beckam’s documentary reporting around 5.6 million hours in the first week, merely a fraction of what the Harry and Meghan documentary did.
Netflix did not report viewership data for the latest season of With Love, Meghan, as the show failed to crack the Top 10, but the first season was watched 2.6 million hours in its first week.
Perhaps the reason for the reports is that Markle and Beckham were reportedly good friends at one point. The Beckhams did, after all, attend their wedding, and Markle was frequently seen in Victoria Beckham’s designs during her time as a working royal, including for her engagement photos.
However, their friendship hasn’t been the same since Prince Harry reportedly accused Beckham of leaking stories to the press, something she has denied. That means that these days, at every turn, the press is comparing the two women.
All of this comes as Markle and Prince Harry are reportedly trying to reconcile with the British royal family. Prince Harry and his father, King Charles, recently met for the first time in over a year, and there are reports that a meeting between William and Harry might take place before Christmas. Not just that, there has even been speculation that Markle and Kate Middleton are also set to meet soon, as the royal family moves towards a reconciliation.
Markle recently addressed the launch of her As Ever brand and her Netflix deal during Fortune‘s Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington on October 14. “My husband and I were in an overall deal with Netflix then, not dissimilar to Higher Ground and the Obamas’ deal, once that had come to its term, the extension of it — which was such an incredible sign of the strength of our partnership — was now being in a first-look deal,” Markle told attendees.
“Which is also exciting because it gives us flexibility to go to our partners first, then at the same time, shop content that might not be the right fit for Netflix but has a home somewhere else,” she added.
