MEGHAN & Harry may not get their full fee from Spotify after the couple made just ONE 35 minute podcast since signing with the giant in December 2020.
Media lawyer Ian Penman, who specialises in music streaming contracts, has suggested the Duke and Duchess’ podcasts are likely to have been less popular than Spotify expected.
He told Express.co.uk: “It would not be an unfair assumption that perhaps their popularity was not as great as maybe they or indeed Spotify initially felt.
“I think you could draw a conclusion that if [Spotify] haven’t exercised the option on the next episode of the podcast, then maybe they did not have the popularity that either Meghan and Harry expected or indeed Spotify anticipated.”
But he also claims the streaming ginat wouldn’t have paid the cpontract fee up front, adding: He said: “It’s famously the case in music deals, this goes back decades, that when people talk about a large deal, like Robbie Williams signing a deal for £15m or something, it does not mean he gets £15m on day one.
“So the problem you have here, I would imagine, is that when they talk about an £18m Spotify podcast deal, it probably means that they have signed their first product, in this case a podcast – they then have many, many options for further products. All those options are in Spotify’s favour. Make no mistake, they’re not in Meghan and Harry’s favour.”
Read our Meghan Markle live blog for the latest news and gossip
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How is the Queen doing?
In the autumn, there was heightened concern for the Queen’s health.
After a busy run of engagements at the age of 95, she was secretly admitted to hospital on October 20 for an overnight stay for preliminary investigations, despite assurances from Buckingham Palace that she was resting at Windsor.
She cancelled a run of major engagements, including a trip to Northern Ireland and attending the Cop26 summit, and also missed Remembrance Sunday because of a sprained back.
Ordered to take it easy by her royal doctors, the Queen was advised to only carry out desk-bound responsibilities for, at first, a few days, and then the next two weeks.
But many weeks later, the monarch was still only conducting light duties.
With the Queen just five years away from her 100th birthday and the pandemic continuing, it appears to be a monarchy in transition, where seeing the Queen conducting video audiences from the confines of Windsor Castle has become the norm.
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2021 was a tough year for the Royal Family
The death of the Duke of Edinburgh, the Sussexes’ bombshell Oprah interview and concern for the Queen’s health made 2021 a difficult year for the Windsors.
In March, royal patriarch Philip spent a month in hospital and underwent heart surgery before returning to Windsor, but he died peacefully at the castle at the age of 99 on April 9.
The Queen described it as a “period of great sadness” but said she was “deeply touched” by the tributes paid to her husband of 73 years and the support and kindness shown to her family.
At the duke’s funeral, amid Covid restrictions, the monarch poignantly sat alone in a face mask socially distanced from her loved ones, in mourning for Philip.
The Queen continued with her duties as head of state, and within weeks appeared in public for the State Opening of Parliament.
But she was grieving for the loss of her loyal consort against a backdrop of family drama.
While Philip was still in hospital, Harry and Meghan aired personal rifts on a public stage from California in their bombshell television interview with Oprah Winfrey.
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Prince Harry’s letter ‘tells you where his head is at’
According to a royal expert Prince Harry wrote an emotional letter to the family of a fallen military hero shortly before Christmas, which “tells you where his head is at”.
Nathan Hunt served in Afghanistan with Harry in 2008, but sadly took his own life in 2018 after suffering from severe mental health troubles, which his parents believe were linked to his military service.
Nathan’s parents turned to Harry in a bid to have their son’s name put on an armed forces memorial, and in a letter back to them The Duke said: “I deeply empathise with what your family is going through and so wish I could assist formally, had I been in the same role I once was.”
Speaking about this, royal expert Russell Myers said: “We have heard, certainly over the last few months and the last couple of years after Harry was stripped of his military titles, about how disappointed he was of that.”
Mr Myers said: “I think Harry really does get bad press some of the time,” but added “but when Harry is speaking from the heart, I think that that is to be applauded.
“And the fact that he reached out in this way by just saying ‘I deeply empathise with what your family is going through and I so wish that I could assist formally had I been in the role that I once was’.”
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Meghan & Harry’s massive year revealed
The royal couple have dropped bombshell after bombshell in the last 12 months, providing enough jaw-dropping moments to last a lifetime.
So from outrageous TV moments to becoming parents for the second time, here are 10 of the Sussexes massive milestones for 2021.
- Megxit becomes official
- Bombshell Oprah interview
- Messing around with Ellen
- Meghan the ‘bully’
- Harry lands first ‘job’
- Meg’s debut book
- Lilibet is born
- Big birthday celebrations
- Privacy case victory
- Harry comes home
Read the article in full here.
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Archie’s adorable name for Prince Harry
Following the release of the Sussexes family snap, which features on the front of their 2021 Christmas card, the name that Prince Harry goes by with his children Archie and Lilibet has been revealed.
The card let slip that rather than using the usual name of dad or daddy – Harry’s children actually call him Papa.
In the card, the couple wrote: “This year, 2021, we welcomed our daughter, Lilibet, to the world. Archie made us a ‘Mama’ and a ‘Papa’, and Lili made us a family.”
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Queen to ‘have words’ with William
An expert has reported that The Queen will be “having words” with Prince William over his use of helicopters.
According to the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden, the Queen will be talking to William about his use of helicopters when he and the rest of the Cambridges visit her at Windsor Castle over the Christmas period.
He adds that the monarch is concerned about using helicopters after a crash killed Air Commodore John Blount and three crew lost their lives with an inquest blaming metal fatigue in the gearbox for the crash. No royals were on board.
A source told the newspaper: “It put her off completely. That’s why she’s so worried about William and his family.”
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Sophie has ‘become the Queen’s rock’
As well as Sophie and Edward’s children, the Queen’s grandchildren include Prince Charles’ sons William and Harry; Princess Anne’s children Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall and Prince Andrew’s daughters Beatrice and Eugenie.
But Sophie and Edward’s kids are believed to be firm favourites with the Queen.
Royal author Phil Dampier previously told Fabulous: “Lady Louise is definitely a favourite of the Queen and I can see her having an important role in the Royal Family in the future.
“Her Majesty sees a lot of Edward and Sophie and their children at Windsor Castle as they live nearby at Bagshot Park.
“The Queen is very close to her mother Sophie and of course there has always been a bond between them because Sophie nearly died giving birth and Louise has had her eye condition to cope with.
“But she has grown into a lovely and intelligent young woman and the Queen adores her.”
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Inside Queen’s afternoons with Prince Edward & Sophie’s children
The Countess of Wessex, 56, and her husband Prince Edward, 57, live just 11 miles from Her Majesty’s residence at Windsor Castle, making it easy for them to have tea with the monarch “on a regular basis”.
The proud parents, whose children Lady Louise, 18, and James, Viscount Severn, 14, live with them in Bagshot Park, Surrey, are understood to have spent Christmas Day with the Queen on Saturday.
And according to Sophie Wessex, the family is particularly “fortunate” to live so close to the monarch.
She told Royals Monthly: “We’re a lot more fortunate because we live so close to the Queen, so when she spends a lot of time at Windsor on the weekends, our children are more fortunate because they can go over and have tea with her on a regular basis.”
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Top 10 Royal baby names (Continued…)
Research conducted by LuckyCreek shows that the name Meghan ranks as the least influential out of the Royal family names.
Here are the top 10 Royal family Girls names:
- Isla
- Charlotte
- Mia
- Sienna
- Beatrice
- Zara
- Elizabeth
- Autumn
- Lena
- Savannah
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Top 10 Royal baby names
Research conducted by online gaming review expert LuckyCreek analysed data from ONS and baby name website, Nameberry to establish which Royal family name is the most popular.
- Isla and James are the most popular royal-related baby names in the UK.
- Charlotte and Lucas are the second most popular baby names of the Royal family.
- Sienna, Zara, Jack and Archie all make the top ten lists also.
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Prince Harry’s letter ‘tells you where his head is at’
According to a royal expert Prince Harry wrote an emotional letter to the family of a fallen military hero shortly before Christmas, which “tells you where his head is at”.
Nathan Hunt served in Afghanistan with Harry in 2008, but sadly took his own life in 2018 after suffering from severe mental health troubles, which his parents believe were linked to his military service.
Nathan’s parents turned to Harry in a bid to have their son’s name put on an armed forces memorial, and in a letter back to them The Duke said: “I deeply empathise with what your family is going through and so wish I could assist formally, had I been in the same role I once was.”
Speaking about this, royal expert Russell Myers said: “We have heard, certainly over the last few months and the last couple of years after Harry was stripped of his military titles, about how disappointed he was of that.”
Mr Myers said: “I think Harry really does get bad press some of the time,” but added “but when Harry is speaking from the heart, I think that that is to be applauded.
“And the fact that he reached out in this way by just saying ‘I deeply empathise with what your family is going through and I so wish that I could assist formally had I been in the role that I once was’.”
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Royal stories you may have missed
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Princess Charlotte is the spitting image of her great-grandmother
THE resemblance between the Queen and her great-granddaughter Princess Charlotte is uncanny.
As Royal enthusiasts can’t help but notice the striking similarities between the pair as they compare pictures of them at the same ages.
Both royal ladies have the same facial features from nose, eyes, mouth to a similar dark hair colour.
One person wrote on Twitter:”I’ve always said I see so much of Her Majesty, The Queen, in little Princess Charlotte. She’s got the Queen’s eyes!”
Another wrote: “She really is a Windsor! Such a gorgeous girl!’, while a third added: “I’ve always thought Princess Charlotte was a mix of the Queen and Prince William.”
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‘Big things are coming’ for Meg & Harry
Spotify previously said “big things are coming” and urged listeners to “stay tuned”.
One source said recently: “Spotify were delighted when they signed the couple, but the lack of content has mystified them.
“Particularly as they seem to have no problem producing content for other platforms.”
Despite this, it is understood the couple were not paid their full £18million fee from Spotify up front.
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Tom Walker ‘owes owes Kate royalties’
Tom Walker reckons he owes The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, royalties after she gave his festive song a boost in the charts.
The pair joined for a surprise collaboration of his track For Those Who Can’t Be Here for ITV’s Royal Carols: Together At Christmas and the song has surged in the charts since.
In fact, it even went to No3 in the iTunes chart on the 26 December.
Tom said: “It was so well charts received, I probably owe her royalties now. She sent me a letter thanking me for the opportunity but it should be me thanking her. The song has jumped 57 places in the charts. It was a wonderful experience and she was so warm. She made the effort to thank all the musicians but it was us who felt so grateful to be part of something so special.
“We met for a rehearsal beforehand and I gave her a recording of the track Tom without the piano part so she could practise. It was obvious she had taken the time to perfect it. She was brilliant.
“You think the Royal Family almost don’t get nervous, they’re so used to the spotlight. But this was obviously a very different, new experience for her.”
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‘Financial remedies’ for Meghan Markle
A Sunday newspaper has agreed “financial remedies” with the Duchess of Sussex after a court ruled that it had breached her privacy by publishing extracts from a letter to her father.
The move ends a dispute between the duchess and The Mail on Sunday dating back nearly four years and means that the case will not be heard by the country’s most senior judges at the Supreme Court.
The Mail on Sunday published a note on page one directing readers to a short story on page three of Sunday’s newspaper, which reported that a financial settlement had been agreed with Meghan.
The newspaper referred to High Court rulings in January and May, in which a judge found that in addition to breaching the duchess’s privacy The Mail on Sunday had infringed her copyright by publishing the letter, which was written to Thomas Markle in 2018.
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Neighbours on the shock of the intruder
Over the weekend, neighbours spoke of their shock about the suspect’s arrest and described how a flurry of police arrived at their private housing estate on Christmas Day.
One neighbour said: “There was a big commotion with all the police around and it caused some concern, especially as it was Christmas Day.
“The family keep themselves to themselves, like the rest of the estate, but we know there’s a teenage lad who lives there with his mum and dad.
“The police didn’t leave the estate until late at night. Everyone was wondering what was going on.
“We saw the Windsor story in the news but never thought our road would be at the centre of it.”
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Kate & William’s ‘concern’ for safety
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have reportedly been left upset after Scotland Yard instigated a reorganisation of their security arrangements.
The Daily Mail reported: “Protection officers occupy very unique positions with MRFs [members of the Royal Family]. They are with them 24 hours a day and it understandably takes a long time to build up a good relationship of confidence and trust.
“Several very well-liked and respected officers have been moved on from their roles, not through any fault of their own. It’s simply because of this desire to shake things up a bit, sometimes for the sake of it, it seems. Everyone is unhappy about it, not least some of the principals [royals].”
It comes after the Queen faced a security scare when a man bearing what police termed “an offensive weapon” was arrested on the grounds of Windsor Castle on Christmas morning.
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Meg & Harry fans spark fury as they try to cancel critic
Fans of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have tried to cancel a critic of the couple, but it appears their efforts have backfired.
On December 28, fiarist and royal commentator Richard Eden wrote on Twitter: “I genuinely worry that Prince Harry and #Meghan’s criticism of unnamed ‘racist’ royals has increased the danger of attacks on the #Royal Family.
“Security needs to be stepped up as a result.”
However, his tweet appeared to anger fans of Meghan and Harry, with one Twitter user writing: “I think you’re right Richard, although it’s a danger they live with daily.”
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Whoopi Goldberg shuts down TV host’s Meghan Markle rant
The Sister Act star was discussing the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with American television personality Meghan McCain.
Meghan McCain said during a chat on The View: “Monarchies are stupid, the American experiment is the way to go.
“And if we have two American women, Meghan Markle and Oprah Winfrey, who have single-handedly finished what George Washington and our revolutionary counterparts did, I’m all for it.”
Whoopi seemed to have enough of Meghan’s rant on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex responded with a simple: “Okay” after a few seconds of silence.
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Meg & Harry’s relationship with Queen
It is claimed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s relationship with the Queen was “stronger that ever” in August of this year.
Omid Scobie, co-author of unauthorised biography Finding Freedom, has claimed that the couple’s decision to name their daughter Lilibet a sign of how close they are to the monarch.
The royal author also said name Lilibet shows how tight the relationship was between the Queen and Meghan and Prince Harry.
Speaking on Good Morning America, Omid Scobie said: “When it comes to that relationship with the Queen, it is as strong as ever.
“They have nothing but love for her. Of course, we saw them name their daughter after the Queen’s very nickname. So that really gives us an insight into that close relationship.”
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Archie, the spitting image Prince Harry
The world got their first glimpse of baby Lilibet last week as Meghan Harry released their official 2021 Christmas card.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stuck with their tradition of unveiling the card on December 23rd but it came slightly earlier in the day than it has in recent years.
This year Meghan and Harry’s second child Lilibet Diana was featured in an adorable scene.
Lilibet was seen giggling as Meghan holds her aloft while Archie and Harry sat alongside them smiling.
Archie looked the spitting image of his dad Harry as he was seen wearing a smart white shirt with a full head of red hair.
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Recap: Harry & Meghan’s bombshell interview
In what some have dubbed the TV event of 2021, Meghan and Harry gave an exclusive, tell-all interview to Oprah Winfrey.
The couple sparked royal uproar after accusing an unnamed senior member of the Firm of racism and suggesting other family members were jealous of Meghan.
They also told Kate was the one who had made Meghan cry during a row over bridesmaid dresses, and Harry felt “trapped within the system” like his brother and dad.
Their other bombshell claims included being cut off financially after Megxit and how the Duchess of Sussex had contemplated suicide while pregnant.
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Harry & Meg offer MAJOR olive branch to Queen
With the publication of Harry’s upcoming memoir, it looks like the Duke and Duchess of Sussex appear ready to offer an olive branch to the Royal Family.
Geo.Tv has reported that: “There are some [experts] who still cling to the hope that Harry won’t disgrace his grandmother [in his upcoming book].
“Some of the fans speculate that the father-of-two will pay respect to the 95-year-old in his upcoming memoir to keep the doors of his return to the Royal Family open.”
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Kate’s ‘great comfort’ in playing the piano
It is reported that Kate Middleton took “great comfort” in playing the piano over lockdown, according to a report.
She accompanied singer Tom Walker at the Royal Christmas carol concert as he sung a rendition of “For Those Who Can’t Be Here” on Christmas Eve.
A royal source told People that Kate has taken “great comfort” in playing music throughout the pandemic.
The source told the publication: “Music was very important to the Duchess during the lockdowns.
“She also recognizes the powerful way in which music brings people together — especially during difficult times.
“For these reasons, she was keen to be part of Tom’s performance in this way.”