Prince Harry (left) and his wife Meghan Markle (right) stunned the monarchy by announcing they were quitting royal duties and moving to the United States in early 2020
AFP

KEY POINTS

  • Prince Harry and Meghan Markle first worked with Garrett Bradley for their Netflix docuseries, a report says
  • Bradley reportedly wanted the Sussexes to film at home, which they were not comfortable doing
  • The Sussexes reportedly also clashed with their docuseries' current director, Liz Garbus

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle clashed with the original director of their Netflix docuseries, resulting in her departure from the project, a report has claimed.

Before Liz Garbus took on the project, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex initially hired a different Oscar-nominated director to helm their highly anticipated docuseries. The royal couple first turned to Garrett Bradley, but they had a falling out with her over the vision of the project, multiple unnamed sources told Page Six.

Bradley directed the critically acclaimed Netflix series "Naomi Osaka" about the young tennis sensation. She told Variety last year that it was the Netflix bosses who reached out to her for the Osaka series, but it's unclear if the streaming platform also introduced her to the Sussexes, Page Six noted.

Bradley and the royal couple could not agree on the tone of the docuseries, according to the insiders.

"Garrett wanted Harry and Meghan to film at home and they were not comfortable doing that," one industry source told Page Six. "There were a few sticky moments between them, and Garrett left the project. Harry and Meghan's own production company captured as much footage as they could before Liz Garbus was hired."

Another insider claimed to the outlet that this was the reason why Prince Harry and Markle were spotted with two different film crews on their two trips to New York City last year. On their second trip, they were reportedly accompanied by Garbus' team.

The Sussexes reportedly didn't have a smooth sailing working relationship with Netflix bosses and Garbus even after changing directors. They allegedly clashed over the content of the series because Prince Harry and Markle wanted it to be heavily edited, sources told Page Six.

Markle seemingly hinted at their misunderstandings in her interview with Variety, which was released last month. The duchess was featured on its cover as one of the honorees of the 2022 class of Variety's Power of Women for her philanthropic and creative work, including her podcast "Archetypes."

"It's nice to be able to trust someone with our story — a seasoned director whose work I've long admired — even if it means it may not be the way we would have told it," Markle said. "But that's not why we're telling it. We're trusting our story to someone else, and that means it will go through their lens."

Prince Harry and Markle reportedly wanted to stall the project and push it back to next year. However, Netflix reportedly refused and still plans to drop their show early next month.

"As far as I am aware, the docuseries is still going ahead later this year," an unnamed "highly-placed" industry insider told Page Six.

Netflix hasn't confirmed an official release date for the project yet.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 05: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex clapping during the Opening Ceremony of the One Young World Summit 2022 at The Bridgewater Hall on September 05, 2022 in Manchester, England. The annual One Young World Summit brings together more than two thousand of the brightest young leaders from every country and sector, working to accelerate social impact both in-person and digitally. Meghan is a counsellor for the organisation, alongside Justin Trudeau, Sir Richard Branson, and Jamie Oliver, among others. Chris Jackson/Getty Images/IBTimes