Prince Harry and Meghan close 2024 at the big turning point

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Netflix deal is expected to end in 2025 while the Duchess’ new lifestyle brand launches – making the next 12 months crucial to their US success.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s 2024 may have been the quietest year in their relationship after a seven-year rollercoaster ride dominated by wars with the media, royal bombshells, marriage, children and moving to the US

By comparison, the main highlights of the last 12 months were two “faux” royal tours in Nigeria and Colombia.

However, 2025 could prove to be a crunch year as their Netflix deal is expected to end with at least one new project raising questions about what their future looks like after leaving the streaming platform.

Meanwhile, Meghan’s lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard is expected to debut after a soft launch in March, when she sent samples of jams to her A-list friends, prompting a flurry of Instagram posts from stars such as Chrissy Teigen and John Legend.

All this means that fans who have seen their star fall somewhat since the publication of Harry’s book Spare parts in January 2023 will have a good idea by the end of 2025 if they have found a way to get it floating again.

Harry and Meghan’s 2024

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have now gone nearly two years without major hostile interviews aimed at the Prince’s family, the latest clustered around the promotion of his 2023 book Spare parts.

Instead, the biggest moments of their year were overseas visits, first to Nigeria in May and then to Colombia in August.

The tours were organized as a traditional royal tour, but without the involvement of the British Foreign Office and or the status of a state visit.

Most fans would probably have struggled to tell the difference when the red carpet was rolled out for them after being invited to Nigeria by Defense Chief Christopher Musa, the country’s highest ranking military official.

And they hosted Vice President Francia Márquez in Colombia, dancing salsa and kissing in front of the cameras during a tour where they seemed genuinely happy.

The other big highlight of the year for the couple was the soft launch of Meghan’s lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard.

The Duchess passed around samples of the jam to a host of A-listers and received a glowing tribute from Teigen, whose Instagram post read: “We’re jamming! This might have been one of the best bites we’ve had all year – all what we used is some rustic bread, salted butter, triple cream brie, thick cut bacon and some @americanrivieraorchard jam!

“Took about 8 minutes in total and made us happy all weekend.”

And in December, Harry’s latest Netflix show, Polodebuted to scathing reviews, earning a 27 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Harry and Meghan’s 2025

A quiet but positive 2024 may well have been exactly what the Sussexes needed after 2023 saw a major backlash over their broadside against King Charles III’s monarchy and the collapse of their Spotify deal.

However, 2025 is likely to see the end of another era as their Netflix deal is expected to end, with Meghan still to release a new lifestyle show.

There was also earlier talk of Harry and Meghan adapting the popular romance Meet me at the lake by Carley Fortune, although there has been no casting news or release date since the initial reports.

A big question for the couple is what they will do when Netflix expires and whether they will try to get a new deal.

The pair have hung out with Brian Robbins, Paramount Pictures CEO and Nickelodeon president, and his wife Tracy Robbins, including at the premiere of the reggae biopic Bob Marley: One Lovein Jamaica, in January.

Fans can therefore keep an eye on Sussex 2025 for signs that they may jump to Paramount, which would also allow them to turn the end of their Netflix deal as their decision to leave, rather than the streamer’s decision to terminate a perennial part.

Whether they go to Paramount or not, it will inevitably mean they have to negotiate a new deal, and that will mean new content.

And TV execs would no doubt have an idea of ​​what that content would be, meaning they’d need pitches strong enough to give them the kind of paycheck they need to finance their substantial annual bill for private security.

That process could be a big test of whether the royal bombshells that defined three years of their lives from 2021 to 2023 really are a thing of the past — or whether the need for a new sizable paycheck might force the couple to offer something a little more compelling than their other non-royal Netflix projects.

Harry and Meghanin December 2022, flew to the top of the Netflix charts, making it hugely commercially successful, but they were criticized for repeating their Oprah Winfrey interview and royal broadsides.

Their other Netflix shows, Live to lead, The Heart of Invictus and Polosteered clear of controversy but did not cause a major splash, suggesting that they have so far failed to demonstrate commercial value of the highest order outside of the royal soap opera.

Another big change for them will be the full launch of the American Riviera Orchard, expected in 2025.

Considerable time has already passed since the soft launch, but Meghan will also be under pressure to get the project right at a time when the couple’s overall brand is seen as faltering.

The exact form of the company is not yet clear, and it may go significantly further than selling home-made jam.

Fans will be eager to see where Meghan takes it and if there is a connection to the lifestyle show expected to hit Netflix.

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweekbased in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories further Newsweek‘s Royal’s Facebook page.

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