The Royal Family Has “Zero Interest” In Meghan Markle’s Netflix Show, According to Sources

It is the show that Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is hoping will reinvent her, but so far With Love, Meghan has received mixed reviews.

In the UK, the critics have not held back, with the Daily Telegraph describing Meghan’s new lifestyle show as “an exercise in narcissism,” while the normally anti-royal and left-wing newspaper The Guardian described it as “pointless. Vanity Fair contributing editor Anna Peele summed it up as, “To watch With Love is to microdose quotidian revelations.” As for the royal family? Its senior members, including Prince William and Kate Middleton, have “zero interest” in watching the TV show, according to people with knowledge, with one source saying, “The king knows more than enough about beekeeping. Besides, he’s far too busy to sit down and watch it.”

In episode one (“Hello, Honey!”), Meghan is seen harvesting honey from her beehives. Both King Charles (Buckingham Palace is home to four beehives) and the Princess of Wales are keen beekeepers, but according to one friend of the royals, “There’s very little to actually learn from Meghan’s TV show. I suspect that [the royal family] will be quite dismissive of it. I can’t imagine Kate and William will sit down and watch it. Why would they?”

The eight-episode series dropped on Netflix on Tuesday and has since received a lukewarm response. Meghan welcomes guests including The Office alum Mindy Kaling, Tatcha founder Vicky Tsai, and chef Roy Choi to the kitchen of a mansion near the Sussexes’ Montecito villa.

Editor in chief of Majesty magazine Ingrid Seward tells Vanity Fair, “I watched it wanting it to be something special, but it really wasn’t. This was meant to be the make or break show for Meghan but it didn’t feel groundbreaking in any way. Netflix might get curiosity viewings but I think this will be the death knell for their multimillion-dollar TV deal.”

Seward added that the lack of humor on Meghan’s part, along with the absence of her celebrity friends, made the show disappointing.

“I liked it that she had guests, but they weren’t globally recognized. Serena Williams would have been great. And I thought it was humorless, it needed a big injection of fun and self-deprecation on Meghan’s part. There was nothing terribly funny like something splashed over that ridiculously white blouse.”

Meghan, who in the show’s finale declares that “this feels like a new chapter that I am so excited that I get to share,” has been busy promoting the series, supporting its release on her Instagram account and appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show.

Meghan has also said that she was thrilled to be able to explore her creative side after having to shut down her lifestyle blog, The Tig, when she married Prince Harry (who makes a brief appearance in the show’s final episode).

Hours after With Love, Meghan premiered on Tuesday, Meghan announced the first slate of products from As Ever, her lifestyle brand that was originally named American Riviera Orchard. The debut collection includes raspberry spread, herbal teas, limited edition wildflower honey with honeycomb, crepe mix, shortbread cookie mix, and flower sprinkles—which Meghan uses during several episodes.