Meghan Markle Began Working On Netflix Project Before Megxit Despite Harry's Claims: Report

Meghan Markle started working on her Netflix project while she was still a full-time working royal, a report has claimed.

Months after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their decision to quit royal duties and moved to California last year, reports surfaced that the couple had signed a multi-year deal with Netflix estimated to be worth more than $100 million to produce documentaries, series, feature films, scripted shows and children’s programming.

While Prince Harry earlier claimed that their multimillion-dollar deals with the streaming giant and Spotify were “never part of the plan,” Page Six reported, citing unnamed sources, that Markle began working on her Netflix project with David Furnish when she was still a senior working member of the royal family.

According to the report, the former "Suits" actress and Furnish were in active discussions with Netflix as early as 2018.

The Netflix project, an animated series whose working title is "Pearl," was originally just one of a number of one-off advocacy projects that Markle started work on as a working royal, according to Page Six. The duchess also previously released a charity cookbook to raise funds for the victims of the London Grenfell fire and guest-edited British Vogue's 2019 September issue.

A rep for Prince Harry and Markle was unavailable for comment when Page Six reached out to them.

During their March interview with Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry insisted that they never thought of teaming up with companies such as Netflix and Spotify until they decided to leave royal life. The duke said he had to grab the opportunity for his family because they had been cut off financially.

"That was suggested by somebody else by the point of where my family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford security for us," Prince Harry said.

Markle added that they "genuinely hadn’t thought about" signing deals with streamers before a friend suggested it.

"We hadn’t thought about it," Prince Harry explained. "So, there were all sorts of different options. And look, from my perspective, all I needed was enough money to be able to pay for security to keep my family safe.'"

The Duke of Sussex also said that they were able to make the transition mainly with the help of the money he inherited from his late mother, Princess Diana.

"I have what my mum left me and without that, we wouldn’t have been able to do this," Prince Harry said. "It’s like she saw it coming and she’s been with us through this whole process. The Netflixes and Spotifys of it all was never part of the plan."

In a statement Wednesday, Markle and Prince Harry's Archewell Productions announced that the animated series was in the works. Markle will serve as the series' executive producer alongside Furnish.

"Pearl" centers on a 12-year-old girl's "heroic adventure as she learns to step into her power and finds inspiration from influential women throughout history," according to a press release from Netflix.

Furnish, who is the husband of Elton John, also released a statement expressing his excitement over his and Markle's project.

"I am delighted that we are finally able to announce this exciting animated series … The team collaborating on the series are first class, and @netflix are the perfect partner," he wrote on Instagram.

They have yet to announce a release date for "Pearl."