Britain's Prince Harry and US actress and fiancee of Britain's Prince Harry Meghan Markle arrive at the Eikon Centre in Lisburn, on March 23, 2018, to attend an event to mark the second year of youth-led peace-building initiative Amazing the Space.  / AFP PHOTO / Mark MARLOW
Cover (Image: Mark Marlow/AFP Photo)

A fictional film and a biography are in the works based on the Duke and Duchess' dramatic exit from the British royal family

As much as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been trying to avoid the spotlight, more drama appears to be in the horizon with a movie based on their exit from royal life in the making. Entitled Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace, the film is being produced by United States-based network Lifetime, which is jointly owned by Hearst Communications and the Walt Disney Company.

As the title suggests, Escaping the Palace will be a fictional account chronicling the events surrounding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s departure from the royal family, after the birth of their son Archie Harrison.

“The movie details the struggles of the new parents and unique challenges of being part of the royal family, which ultimately led Harry and Meghan to give up their royal ties to forge a new life on their own terms,” reads the official synopsis.

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Parisa Fitz-Henley and Murray Fraser in <i>Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance</i> (2018) (Image: IMDB; Lifetime)
Above Parisa Fitz-Henley and Murray Fraser in <i>Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance</i> (2018) (Image: IMDB; Lifetime)

The upcoming film will be the final instalment in Lifetime’s Harry & Meghan trilogy, which includes Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance (2018) and Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal (2019). A Royal Romance starred Murray Fraser as Harry and Parisa Fitz-Henley as Meghan, while Becoming Royal featured Charlie Field and Tiffany Smith.

No additional information regarding casting, production dates, and release dates have been released about the third film, however.

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Above <i>Finding Freedom</i>, an upcoming biography on Harry and Meghan's royal exit (Image: Amazon)

The announcement of the film comes closely after the fanfare surrounding Harry and Meghan’s upcoming biography, Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan, and the Making of a Modern Royal Family.

The book will be written by Omid Scobie, royal editor-at-large for Bazaar and royal contributor to ABC News, and Carolyn Durand, royal contributor for Elle and OprahMag. The two authors have more than two decades of experience between them, with Omid having “covered the lives and philanthropic work of the younger members of the British royal family for more than eight years” and “travelled extensively with Harry, Meghan, William and Kate on their engagements in the U.K. and around the world.” Carolyn is a former producer with ABC and has covered the royals for the last 15 years.

According to the book’s summary, “Finding Freedom goes beyond the headlines to reveal unknown details of Harry and Meghan’s life together, dispelling the many rumours and misconceptions that plague the couple on both sides of the pond.”

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Above The Duke and Duchess of Sussex performing one of their final engagements as senior royals (Image: @RoyalFamily/Twitter)

“With unique access and written with the participation of those closest to the couple, Finding Freedom is an honest, up-close, and disarming portrait of a confident, influential, and forward-thinking couple who are unafraid to break with tradition, determined to create a new path away from the spotlight, and dedicated to building a humanitarian legacy that will make a profound difference in the world.”

Mail on Sunday reported in April that it was told the couple had given an interview to the book’s authors before moving to North America. It also compared Finding Freedom to Princess Diana’s involvement in tell-all book Diana: Her True Story, during which she was believed to have encouraged friends to speak to biographer Andrew Morton.

However, a spokesperson for the Sussexes said that while the couple were “relaxed” about the authors’ access to people “close to them”, the book was not “official, authorised or endorsed.”

“There has been no organising from our side in terms of who they have spoken to... The authors have not had interviews with the duke and duchess. We have asked to see a copy ahead of publication.”

Mail on Sunday’s publisher, Associated Newspapers is currently involved in a legal battle with Meghan Markle over the publishing of her personal letter. The publishing house received a favourable judgement for the first ruling, in which large parts of the Duchess’ case were dismissed as “irrelevant” by judge Mr Justice Warby. A complete trial is expected to be held in late 2020 or early 2021.

Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of A Modern Royal Family is slated for a worldwide release on August 11 and is already available for pre-order.

 

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