Prince Harry and Meghan
Markle are expected to take a Netflix camera crew with them for a
private meeting with the Ukraine team as they head to the Invictus Games in the
Netherlands this weekend, it can be revealed.
Netflix will follow the Duke
and Duchess of Sussex throughout the trip as part of the couple’s
$100million deal with the media giant, which are making a documentary about the
Paralympic-style games for military veterans.
The film crew will be given
exclusive access to the couple in The Hague and are expected to film the behind-closed-doors meeting between Harry and Meghan and the Invictus team from the
war-torn country.
Meanwhile, security teams were
seen today around The Hague with sniffer dogs and police officers as a ring of
steel was put in place before the royal couple jet in from California for
the opening ceremony on Saturday.
Harry and Meghan – who have
been given so-called VVIP (very, very important person) status by the Dutch
authorities – will also be filmed being feted by competitors and their families
throughout their trip.
Critics though have accused
a couple of cashing in on the games by allowing the Netflix cameras into
private meetings. And royal experts believe the VVIP status given the couple
will allow Netflix to portray the couple – heavily criticized for failing to
attend the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial – in a particularly favourable light.
It comes after sources close
to the couple revealed that Harry and Meghan will be given the ‘VVIP’ status in
the Netherlands, affording them top-level local protection – which will be seen
as an attempt to justify their non-attendance at Prince Philip’s memorial
service at Westminster Abbey last month over security concerns.
‘The Netflix film crew will
most certainly favourably capture Harry and Meghan,’ said Talk Radio royal commentator
Charles Rae.
‘It will look as if they are
still members of the royal family when they are private citizens. That will be
the whole aim to show people they are still considered very important people.
It will no doubt make great play of the ‘VVIP’ status they have been given by
the Dutch authorities.’
The film crew are expected to
travel in the same armed police-protected motorcade that will take Harry and
Meghan to the Zuiderpark stadium where the opening ceremony takes place on
Saturday.
They will also film the
emotional moment Harry and Meghan meet members of the Ukrainian squad whose
presence is tinged with heartache over the loss of four of their former
colleagues who died defending their country.
The trip marks a return to the
spotlight for Meghan whose previous high-profile appearances have been the
Oprah Winfrey interview and a much-panned appearance on the Ellen DeGenres
show.
The Netflix doc series being
filmed over the course of a week while the games are staged is called ‘Heart of
Darkness.’
