Prince Harry issues legal letter over reports Netflix deal ended Invictus Games fundraiser

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SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 20:  Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex watch children control remote control cars during the JLR Drive Day at Cockatoo Island on October 20, 2018 in Sydney, Australia.  (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation)
Harry and Meghan at the 2018 Invictus Games in Australia. (Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation)

Prince Harry has sent a legal letter to The Sunday Times over its report that his deal with Netflix scuppered a fundraiser for Invictus Games planned with Amazon Prime.

The newpaper reported that the games, which were set up by Prince Harry, planned to host a fundraising concert in Los Angeles in spring 2021, which would have been streamed on Prime.

The event has been cancelled, with The Sunday Times claiming a lawyer for the Sussexes said it represented a “conflict” multi-year deal with Netflix, a rival of Prime.

Watch: Yahoo UK Royal Reporter, Rebecca Taylor explains what we know about Harry and Meghan’s Netflix deal

But the Duke of Sussex has made it clear that the two were not linked and issued a legal complaint to the paper.

A spokesman for Invictus Games said: “The event was shelved because the primary revenue generator was ticket sales from a live concert in Los Angeles in the spring of 2021. Given current circumstances with COVID, the event needed to be reconceptualised.

“This was an independent decision made prior to a partnership with Netflix. The duke remains committed as ever to the Invictus Games.”

Read more: Can Harry and Meghan really make it as superstar film-makers?

Prince Harry (R) greets athletes during the presentation of the Invictus Games The Hague 2020, in The Hague, Netherlands, on May 9, 2019. - The fifth Invictus Games The Hague 2020, an international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick servicepersonnel, will be held in the Zuiderpark in 2020. (Photo by patrick van katwijk / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT        (Photo credit should read PATRICK VAN KATWIJK/AFP via Getty Images)
Prince Harry, pictured here with athletes training in 2019, remains a supporter of the event, the organisers said. (AFP)

Harry and Meghan have signed a huge deal with Netflix to produce documentaries, scripted series and children’s programming and already have at least two projects underway.

The couple will be setting up their own production company, as yet unnamed.

The letter is the latest in a show from the couple that they will be much tougher in their responses since leaving their senior royal duties in March.

In July, Harry wrote a letter to Republic, a campaign group which wants to see the end of the monarchy, over its criticism of the way the couple’s Sussex Royal foundation was funded by the Royal Foundation.

Republic had written to the Charity Commission to ask them to investigate whether charity law was breached when the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge awarded grants to Sussex Royal and Travalyst.

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 09:  Prince Harry talks on stage at an Invictus Games Reception at the American Ambassador's Residence, Winfield House on September 9, 2014 in London, England. The International sports event for 'wounded warriors', presented by Jaguar Land Rover, is just days away with limited last-minute tickets available at www.invictusgames.org  (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Harry set up the Invictus Games and the first event was held in 2014. (Getty Images)

Harry’s legal team called the claim “deeply offensive” and Kensington Palace said the grants were “fully in line” with UK law.

The duke, 35, is also part of a legal battle against the owners of The Sun, The Mirror and the defunct News of the World, for alleged phone hacking.

And the Duchess of Sussex, 39, is involved in a series of cases, including one against Splash News and Pictures Agency for photos of her and the couple’s son Archie as they were walking in Canada.

Watch: Could Meghan Markle become the President of the United States of America?

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