Meghan Markle and Harry ‘face ticking timebomb’ after cutting royal purse strings as £78m Netflix deal to end in months

MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry face a “ticking timebomb” as their “Hollywood dreams are falling apart”, a royal expert has claimed.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have just a year left before their Netflix deal ends and they become “losers in every sense”.

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Netflix

The couple opened up in a Netflix documentary last year[/caption]

Last year the couple’s six-part soul-baring series was the streaming giant’s most-viewed documentary.

But the duke and duchess are believed to have been paid only half of their reported £78million contract.

And they will get the rest only if they produce content of real interest before the end of 2025.

Earlier this week the pair were roasted at the Golden Globes by comedian Jo Koy for “being paid millions by Netflix for doing nothing”.

Now royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams has said the couple could lose everything if they don’t knuckle down and get producing before their contract ends.

He told The Sun: “You know that your influence is failing is when people start laughing at you, and you can’t produce something that you’ve actually done.

“The facts of the matter are that he pointed out pretty categorically that they done absolutely nothing for Netflix, really, and the one exception, of course, being Invictus, and that was very worth it but too long of a wait.

“If you simply trash your family, which is the only time it does seem to mean that you get megabucks, and do nothing else, then you must expect people not to take you seriously.”

Richard believes the royals now face a “ticking time bomb” in that they must start producing for Netflix and fast.

He said: “It’s important also to remember the Netflix contract goes on to 2025. Netflix is no longer producing producing the crown, and from that point of view it may well be, if the Sussex is, don’t produce what they want.

“If they lost that, they really would be losers in every sense.

“When the Hollywood reporter recently called the Sussexes Losers, I think it was speaking through what most people who are interested in them appear now to believe – that if they haven’t done anything they all losers.

“We still await whether or not they can adapt a romcom, or whether or not they’ll produce something serious, or whether or not Megan’s agency, which she joined in April, I mean, nothing has happened.

“So if this remains the case interest in them obviously will wain.

“This is light years away from when they were on Time’s list of the world’s 100 top individuals.

“It doesn’t seem that way at all at the moment. In fact, it’s going quite the reverse way.”

It comes after the pair launched a documentary on their relationship last year.

Released in two parts, the explosive docuseries lobbed bombs at The Firm – seeing it torn apart by royal experts.

But, despite the attention it drew, it didn’t even rank in the top 200 most-watched Netflix shows from January to June.

Months later Harry’s series Heart of Invictus about the Olympic-style games he started for wounded ex-service competitors flopped.

And Meghan’s animated series Pearl, about a girl inspired by historical female figures, was dropped.

Last year the couple faced a public split from Spotify.

Their Archewell company’s £18million deal with the platform was ended by mutual agreement after Meghan, 41, produced only 13 broadcasts in two-and-a half years.