Meghan Markle‘s eight-part Netflix series, With Love, Meghan has been met with controversy since way before it landed on the streaming platform earlier this month. And one of the criticisms is that it did not deliver on what it promised, i.e., to give viewers a glimpse of the real Meghan.
The show was not filmed in Prince Harry and Meghan’s home in Montecito, California, which would have given fans an intimate glimpse into her life. Additionally, her children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet did not make an appearance on the show, despite the former Suits actress referencing their names on a few occasions. So why weren’t the children on the show? Apparently this was all down to Prince Harry being “very protective” and putting his “foot down,” to quote New Idea, and completely forbidding it!
Prince Harry Reportedly Did Not Want Prince Archie And Princess Lilibet On Meghan Marke's Netflix Show
We already know that the 40-year-old Invictus Games founder is very protective of his family's privacy and safety, and will go to great lengths to keep them safe. And he apparently thought that putting them in the public eye, as he and brother Prince William were from their births, would affect them negatively.
"Harry is very proud of Meghan over this new show. He's excited for her to show who she really is to the world. But he definitely would not have wanted his kids involved," an insider reportedly spilled to New Idea, adding: "Even letting them appear on social media is a surprising concession from him."
"Harry knows that the personal aspects of Meghan's new show will renew interest in her family's private life, and therefore the children," the insider continued, perhaps hinting at some of the negative parts of growing up in the public eye that Prince Harry has referenced over the years.
"Harry is worried that with the spotlight back on them, their neighborhood will be crawling with curious fans," the source added. "While Meghan is out and about promoting her show, Harry's staying at home hunkered down with the kids until the scrutiny dies away."
"If she'd had it her way, the kids would have been featured on the show," the source said, while going on to suggest that although Meghan would have been disappointed, certainly understands her husband's reasoning.
"She would have loved to share this special time in her life with her son and daughter, but realises there's plenty of time for that," the source said.
"She and Harry have agreed they'll revisit Archie and Lili's private versus public lives once they're old enough to have their own say in the decision," they added. "Until then, expect Harry to keep them firmly under the radar."
Prince Harry Would Ideally Never Expose His Children To The Cameras Again
Royal expert Duncan Larcombe previously told OK! that if Prince Harry had his way, the public would never see another picture or video of his son or daughter ever again.
"If Harry could wave a magic wand, I think he'd want a world where his children would never be recognized or seen as public property in any way, because he hated that himself. He's wrestled with it his whole life," Larcombe said at the time, before mentioning how the As Ever founder is not on the same page.
"But Meghan is building a brand, and that is somewhat at odds with a life out of the limelight, so this is where alarm bells might start to ring down the line for Harry," he continued.
"She's sharing their children tentatively, but it's a very big deal because it's a tap they won't get to turn off," he went on, adding: "When their children are young adults hanging out in Hollywood, they'll be gazing into cameras left, right and center, because the royal thing won't go away. The royals are famous before they're born, they're famous all their lives, and they're famous after their deaths. Their celebrity never fades."
