Royal expert casts doubt over Meghan Markle's role in Netflix series The Gentleman

Royal expert casts doubt over Meghan Markle's role in Netflix series The Gentleman It was understood Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, was to return to acting in Guy Ritchie’s Netflix drama The Gentlemen, which is about a British duke who unexpectedly inherits his father’s country estate The Duchess of Sussex's proposed role in The Gentleman is off, it has been claimed tonight. Royal author Tina Brown today said she has been told the decision was made due to what she described as a public backlash against Meghan Markle following reports she was in talks to appear in the Netflix show. Ms Brown, who previously wrote an unauthorised biography about the former Suits actress, wrote on X: "I have heard that Meghan Markle’s role in Guy Ritchie’s Netflix series The Gentlemen is OFF. Public backlash was too fierce. This does not bode well for Meghan’s acting comeback in the UK." Meghan was said to be in talks to appear as what was described as a temptress character in the third series of the comedy drama, which is about an aristocratic family who turn to crime and also features Ray Winstone as a drug lord. The speculation followed the bombshell announcement that Meghan and husband Prince Harry, 41, are returning to live in the UK with their children Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five. They have already reportedly found a family home and schools for their children in the UK and Harry is said to be keen for his dad, King Charles, on Saturday pictured driving on the A93 near Braemar, to develop a relationship with his grandchildren. It had been reported Meghan was excited by the prospect of the proposed Netflix role, which would be written specifically for her. She allegedly entered talks for The Gentlemen after meeting film director Ritchie – Madonna’s ex-husband – through mutual acquaintances. Meghan, who appeared on MasterChef Australia last month, made her name as Rachel Zane in popular US legal drama Suits before leaving in 2017 after she began dating Harry. She has also appeared in other shows, such as CSI:Miami and last year filmed a cameo as herself for comedy film Close Personal Friends with Lily Collins and Brie Larson. The claim will come as a blow to The Sussexes, who made their autobiographical documentary Harry & Meghan with Netflix in 2024. The streaming giant also aired their documentary Polo. It is understood Meghan, who is said to have toured schools in the Cotswolds during a recent visit to the UK, will continue to run her lifestyle brand As Ever from the UK and hopes to expand it globally. Ms Brown, who previously edited Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, before writing books about the royals, including The Diana Chronicles in 2007. She was married to legendary Fleet Street journalist Harold Evans, who was voted the greatest editor of all time before he died aged 92, in September 2020. Writing in The Times on Saturday, before her claim that Meghan's role was off, Ms Brown had commented about the couple's move, including Meghan's apparent new job. She wrote: "It was always the best option for Meghan to return to acting, something she was genuinely good at until she threw it in to marry Harry. In 2023, when replays of her old hit cable show Suits were inexplicably all the rage on Netflix, it would have been a legitimate pop culture sensation and a major payday if she had let her agents pitch her for a reboot. "But no. Duchesses don’t do ensembles. Meghan believed she could pull off some kind of manic multihyphenate mishmash of entertainment enterprises in between accompanying her husband on ersatz royal tours to promote random global uplift." Ms Brown added: "As Martha Stewart noted: “If you’re an actress, it’s hard to then transition to a princess and then from a princess into a homemaking guru on a television show. It doesn’t sort of follow.”