The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have bought the film rights to a ‘steamy’ romantic novel for up to $5.8 million.
The royal couple are said to have acquired Meet Me At The Lake, which has a plotline that echoes the pair’s own lives.
It will be Harry and former actress Meghan’s first attempt at producing a fiction hit as part of their multi-million-pound Netflix deal, which is reportedly under threat.
The move has been described as a ‘Hollywood-or-bust’ decision following speculation that their star is waning.
The book by Carley Fortune, a former lifestyle journalist tells the story of a couple who rekindle a romance in their early 30s and ‘come together when they need each other most’.
It deals with mental health issues and grief over the death of a parent in a car accident.
Harry lost his mother Princess Diana in a crash, while Meghan revealed she suffered depression following the birth of son Archie.
Protagonist Fern Brookbanks comes from a ‘broken home’, as do Harry and Meghan, and the book has “steamy sex scenes” and “drug use”; the duke confessed to using weed and cocaine in his memoir Spare.
The novel is set in Toronto, Canada, where Ms Fortune lives – as did Meghan, 42, while filming the TV series Suits.
Ms Fortune also once wrote a very complimentary lifestyle piece about Meghan’s ‘signature messy bun’, describing her as a ‘refreshing… royal rule-breaker’.
An insider told The Sun on Sunday: “The themes of the book gripped the couple”.
The novel sold 37,000 copies in its first week and spent two weeks in the top ten New York Times Best Sellers List.
It is published by Penguin Random House US, which also published Spare. PR guru Mark Borkowski said: “If it’s a bestseller, you wouldn’t be handing it to Harry and Meghan. There are some amazing drama producers out there. Why would you give away a prized asset?”
So far, the couple’s £80 million Netflix deal – signed in 2020 – has produced a documentary dishing the dirt on the Royal Family.
Harry, 38, has been filming his Heart Of Invictus documentary, while Meghan’s Pearl, a cartoon about inspirational women, was cancelled.
In June, Spotify axed an £18 million deal with the couple after just one series of Meghan’s podcast prompted talent agent Jeremy Zimmer to say she ‘was not a great audio talent, or necessarily any kind of talent’.
Meanwhile, a boss at the music streaming giant called the pair ‘grifters’. Penguin and Netflix did not respond to a request for comment.