Fact Check: Has Netflix Canceled Prince Harry's 'Heart of Invictus' Series?

Since stepping down as working members of the British royal family in 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have established themselves as content creators for two of the largest streaming services in the world, Netflix and Spotify.

Through the media arm of their Archewell organization (Archewell Productions and Archewell Audio), together the couple have released two multi-episode documentaries and an award winning podcast series.

In 2021, the couple announced that they were working on a show for Netflix that would be executive produced by Prince Harry, and that would follow veterans competing in his self-founded Invictus Games event.

Despite a Netflix announcement that the show, titled Heart of Invictus, would be the first of Harry and Meghan's projects for the platform, it has not yet hit screens, with rumors now circulating online that the streaming giant has canceled the production altogether.

The Claim

Twitter user, MeghansMole, posted to the social media platform on June 3, 2023, that Netflix had scrapped the release of Heart of Invictus, placing blame for the cancellation on Meghan Markle.

The user wrote: "Netflix has cancelled "Heart of Invictus" You can thank Meghan Markle, her outrageous demands & turning it into the "Meghan Fashion show", instead of it being focused on the veterans. The amount of money that was expensed on Meghan could have been used for the veterans 🥴🫣."

The tweet has been viewed over 1.5 million times on the platform and received over 9,000 likes, 1,000 retweets and 800 comments.

In a subsequent tweet, the user attributed a source for the information to: "Someone close to my cousin works at Netflix 🤭."

A number of other social media accounts have made similar claims over the following days, including user, Mystifeye, who wrote in a post viewed over 20,000 times on June 5:

"So Netflix cancelled Heart of Invictus. Wasn't that Harry's big contribution to their Netflix deal? I guess Netflix is done with the Harkles altogether. Not shocking that mockuseries they did was a snooze fest! Seriously the music alone was obnoxious! Guess they better get on the stick with those Rom-Coms😂🤣😆🤣😂 #HarryAndMeghanAreFinished"

Royal commentator, Angela Levin, also raised questions about the series, writing: "Has Netflix cancelled Harry's Invictus Games documentary? Hhhmmm."

The Facts

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle signed a multi-million dollar content creation contract with Netflix in 2020 after officially stepping down from their roles as working members of the British royal family and moving to the United States.

In April 2021, the couple, together with Netflix, announced their first joint project titled Heart of Invictus, fronted by Harry. The show would follow competitors at the 2022 Invictus Games, Harry's sports competition founded in 2014 to showcase the mental and physical abilities of injured or sick ex-servicemen and women.

The 2022 Invictus Games were originally scheduled to take place in the Netherlands in 2020. However, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, they were delayed.

At the time of the series announcement, Prince Harry released a statement, saying: "Since the very first Invictus Games back in 2014, we knew that each competitor would contribute in their own exceptional way to a mosaic of resilience, determination, and resolve. This series will give communities around the world a window into the moving and uplifting stories of these competitors on their path to the Netherlands next year.

"As Archewell Productions' first series with Netflix, in partnership with The Invictus Games Foundation, I couldn't be more excited for the journey ahead or prouder of the Invictus community for continuously inspiring global healing, human potential and continued service."

Co-CEO and chief content officer for Netflix at the time, Ted Sarandos, also commented:

"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Archewell Productions team are building an ambitious slate that reflects the values and causes they hold dear. From the moment I met them, it's been clear that the Invictus Games hold a very special place in their hearts, and I couldn't be happier that their first series for Netflix will showcase that for the world in a way never seen before."

Sarandos' comment implied the series was intended to be Harry and Meghan's first output for the streaming site. However, though the duke and duchess were seen filming content at the Invictus Games in April 2022, another project was released ahead of it.

Harry & Meghan, a six-part docuseries charting the couple's married life behind-palace-walls and detailing their dramatic exit from the monarchy, was released on Netflix in December 2022. The show broke streaming records for the platform and was widely reviewed.

Harry & Meghan was followed by another of the royal couple's projects, Live to Lead, later that same month.

No explanation for the change was given by Netflix, however, the company announced in January 2023 that Heart of Invictus would finally debut in the summer.

In a Twitter thread of their 2023 content line-up, Netflix U.K. wrote: "HEART OF INVICTUS (Summer 2023) This new series from Archewell Productions follows a group of extraordinary competitors from around the globe—all service members who have suffered life-changing injuries or illnesses—on their road to competing at the Invictus Games."

No further information about the show has been officially released, however, when contacted by Newsweek on June 14, representatives for Netflix said that the information in the January announcement was still "correct" and "accurate."

Therefore viewers can expect the show to hit screens in the coming months, although Netflix has not yet announced an exact date.

The Ruling

False.

Netflix has not canceled the release of Prince Harry's Heart of Invictus series.

Representatives for Netflix told Newsweek that the show is still scheduled for release in "summer 2023."

FACT CHECK BY NEWSWEEK

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.