Spotify bosses ‘shocked by Prince Harry’s Oprah comments’

Spotify executives were likely “shocked” by Prince Harry’s admission that he signed many deals in a hurry to make money as their podcast deal comes to an end.

Speaking to Palace Confidential, Richard Eden, editor of the Daily Mail’s diary, recalled Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, when the Duke discussed his financial concerns after his family security was withdrawn.

Prince Harry said in March 2021 that the multi-million pound deals he signed with streaming giants Spotify and Netflix were “never part of the plan” and insisted: “That was suggested by someone else when my family literally cut me off financially , and I had to pay security for us.’

A week after Spotify announced it was parting ways with the Sussexes after just one run of Meghan’s podcast series, Archetypes, Eden claimed Harry’s confession shook Spotify bosses.

‘It takes an awful lot of work [to produce a podcast]. It’s serious work, it’s planning,’ he said. “You can’t just show up and, ‘Oh, what shall we do today’?”

He added, “It shows from… you know… I had to listen to these podcasts so honestly for the program, I’m not surprised it’s coming to an end.”

The Royal Editor of the Daily Mail, Rebecca English, agreed with her fellow panellist, saying that both Spotify and the Sussexes had put on a ‘brave face’ at the end of the deal, but that it was ‘undoubtedly a blow’ for the couple.

She said, “What gets to the heart of the matter is what they can sell.”

English added that while the Sussexes probably wanted to make “worthy” programs for the causes they care about, streaming giants are more interested in what it’s like to be a member of the royal family.

“I think everyone, even their biggest supporters, will admit that people don’t get multi-, multi-million pound deals without a track record in the industry based on the fact that they’re going to produce some incredibly valuable programs over a number of years.” she continued.

As the Sussexes’ next move looks uncertain, Engels said that despite rumors that Prince Harry’s Netflix project on the Invictus Games had been put on hold, it is still scheduled to go ahead this summer.

Eden said, “To be honest, that could be very interesting.”

Elsewhere in the episode, English teased “a big launch” from William, 41, about a homelessness initiative in the coming weeks.

Speaking of how the Prince of Wales ‘stepped up his game’ for the cause, the pair spoke of how William was introduced to the plight of the homeless from a young age when his late mother, Princess Diana, first took him to The Passage estate goal.

“He started going to homeless shelters like The Passage with his late mother when he was 11 years old and it’s something he’s always worked very passionately on both in front of and behind the scenes,” she said.

However, both English and Eden agreed that a Sunday Times article in which William discussed the matter, published last Sunday, was unusual timing given that Trooping the Color had taken place just a day earlier and Charles’ first birthday as monarch threatened to eclipse. .

“We had Trooping the Color last weekend,” Richard explained.

“It was the King’s first birthday parade, it was a big, big occasion for King Charles and Camilla.

“And then that was pushed off the front pages by this interview that had been given before and was timed to come out on Sunday, the day after Trooping the Color.”

He found the timing “strange,” adding “caused much raised eyebrows … among the King’s supporters.”

Rebecca agreed, adding that the story was relevant enough to run on another day.

“As someone who has been a journalist for 20 to 30 years, I thought it was a bit strange from a news management point of view, because that interview could have come out any day this week,” she told the programme.

“And if you wanted to do it specifically with a Sunday paper because you think they might spend more space on the complicated issues involved, they could have done it this Sunday, so I didn’t quite get that, I have to have a say. ‘

Richard also commented on the absence of Charles’ name from William’s interview.

“Prince William made it sound in the Sunday Times interview as if it were entirely his new initiative,” he said.

‘Remember he’s now in charge of the Duchy of Cornwall, which is a huge piece of land… and he was talking about a venture to build more social housing.

“Well, King Charles has been doing that for years…he has really increased the amount of social housing in these areas and it is something he has a strong sense of and he didn’t get any mention, while William was keen to give credit to his mother…’

The royal family recently revealed its lifelong ambition to end homelessness in the UK, saying it will build social housing on his private estate, the Duchy of Cornwall, which he inherited from his father.

William spoke in his first interview since becoming the Prince of Wales, using it to explain his determination to “make a difference…that doesn’t set people who are homeless up for another fall.”

Stretching from Cornwall to Kent, the 130,000 acre Duchy of Cornwall includes estates in Newquay and Dorchester that consist of a mix of private and some affordable housing.

At the request of the Sunday Times whether there are any plans for affordable housing on Duchy lands, William said: ‘Absolutely. Public housing. You’ll see that when it’s done. I’m not a policy expert, but I push it where I can.’

Described by the paper as a ‘curveball’ that aides weren’t expecting, William indicated he will ‘start small’ with the housing and if the plan performs well will look at increasing the amount available.

William said, “It’s all right to make grand gestures, but it’s no use if… there’s no future in it.”

Poundbury, a Dorset estate that is part of the Royal Family’s more than £1bn property portfolio, is 35 per cent affordable housing and private homes.

Under the framework of national land use planning policies, major developments, including housing, should require 10 percent affordable housing availability.

The prince expressed his frustration with the government, municipalities and charities that are merely ‘managing’ the homelessness crisis rather than ‘preventing’ it.

Now he’s teasing what he calls a “really big project” coming from the Royal Foundation, which he co-heads with the Princess of Wales.

He said he hopes the project, which is being kept secret until later this month, will have a “tangible effect” in improving living conditions.

William was 11 years old when his mother, the late Princess Diana, took him and Prince Harry to a homeless shelter and is now a patron of the Passage, the charity that ran it.

Following in his mother’s footsteps, he became a patron of another charity, Centrepoint, in 2005, and recently spoke at a 33-flat affordable youth housing project funded by the group.

The charity’s survey last year found that the number of 16- to 24-year-olds who were homeless or at risk of becoming homeless was 122,000.

This figure, obtained through freedom of information requests to all councils, has risen since Centrepoint’s first request five years ago when it was 110,000, and will rise again this year.

The prince also revealed that he plans to take his children to a homeless shelter and that he is trying to ensure that his children are exposed to the realities faced by tens of thousands across the country.

He said that during the school trip around London, he often asks Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte what they see and why they think people are sleeping in the cold.