Royal | News - Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
Prince Harry’s old polo pal has delivered a brutal two-word assessment of his and Meghan Markle’s new show on Netflix.
The reaction to the Sussexes’ latest project Polo hasn’t been quite what they had hoped – with the deep-dive into the “elite” world of the sport torn apart by critics.
Tommy Severn, who played alongside both Harry and William in their youth and is captain of Polo England, has joined the chorus of Netflix watchers, branding the series “very weird”, according to MailOnline.
The pair were reportedly once so close that Harry spent part of his gap year at Severn’s family ranch in Argentina and the prince’s horses were kept at a stud owned by the polo captain’s grandfather in Gloucestershire.
In what appears to be a damning shift in allegience, Severn claimed Harry had “cut ties” with his home country.
The sporting pro said: “If he came back now, he’d look like an idiot.”
Polo, which was produced by Harry and Meghan’s company Archewell, offered a five-part window into the world of the equestrian sport.
But it has failed to make an impression on its audience, with commentators slamming it as “tedious” and “a disaster”.
It also failed to win popular approval, not cracking the top 10 most watched of any of the streamer’s regional markets after its release on December 10.
The poor reception could spell trouble for the Duke and Duchess’s multi-million-pound deal with the platform, with entertainment experts warning that the future of the partnership could hinge on the success of Meghan’s upcoming cookery series.
A source told the Mail’s Alison Boshoff: “It’s make or break. People say Netflix are exhausted.
Another insider added: “Her show will have to be an enormous hit to turn around their deal and their reputations in this town.”
The cooking show, which doesn’t have a release date and isn’t included in Netflix’s January schedule, will be the latest in a series of attempts to connect with new audiences after Meghan and Harry stepped away from royal duties in 2020.
The £80 million Netflix deal is set to end in 2025 and has so far included four docuseries projects, Harry & Meghan, following their own love story, Heart of Invictus, about the Invictus Games, Live to Lead, a deep-dive into inspiring world leaders, and Polo.