Meghan Markle pitched Netflix series 'Pearl' before royal exit

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry said in their interview with Oprah Winfrey that they never considered doing a project with Netflix after they moved to the U.S. from the U.K. But it has been revealed that she pitched her animated series with David Furnish to the streamer in 2018, when she was still a working royal.

The Duchess of Sussex and Furnish announced their work on the animated series "Pearl" last week. They will serve as co-executive producers on the project which is still in development. The series will tell the "heroic adventures" of the titular character, a 12-year-old girl who takes inspiration from a variety of historical female figures.

While the announcement was only made recently, according to The Telegraph, the project was years in the pipeline. The Duchess of Sussex "had been in conversation" with the streaming giant for several years. She has reportedly also been working on the series with the filmmaker, who is the husband of Elton John, and a close friend of Prince Harry.

Furnish, in his response to the announcement, also hinted that he had been hard at work with the 39-year-old former "Suits" star on the project. He expressed his delight that they are "finally able to announce" it to the public.

Meanwhile, the couple's team reportedly also "insisted that any discussions with Netflix dating back to 2018 were exclusively about the 'Pearl' project." The animated series is said to be one of many "one-off advocacy projects" the duchess handled while she was a senior royal.

The revelation seems to contradict what the Duke and Duchess of Sussex previously shared in their interview with Winfrey in March. They said they never considered partnering with the streaming giant after they stepped back as senior royals. However, they decided to give it a go after Prince Charles stopped supporting his son financially.

Prince Harry said their multi-million deals with Netflix and Spotify were "never the intention." He said they "hadn't thought about it." Meghan Markle chimed in and said they "genuinely hadn't thought about that before" until the duke's friend suggested it. They said it was "never part of the plan."