LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION - MEGHAN LOOKS SET FOR A HOLLYWOOD COMEBACK

NOW A MOVIE PROJECT IS ON THE CARDS AS THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF SUSSEX SNAP UP THE RIGHTS TO A BEST-SELLER

- LISA BLAKE

She has kept a relatively low profile this year while her husband has been involved with promotional activity for his memoir and upcoming Netflix documentaries. But now it looks as if the Duchess of Sussex could draw on her experiences of acting and the film industry to return to the bright lights of Hollywood in a move described as clever by a royal expert.

Last week it was reported that Meghan, 41, and Prince Harry, 38, plan to produce a Netflix movie based on The New York Times best-selling novel Meet Me At The Lake by Canadian author Carley Fortune. They are said to have bought the film rights for £3 million and their company Archewell Productions, created to produce programmes that “inform, elevate and inspire”, is set to adapt it for the big screen.

The novel is set in Toronto, where Meghan lived for seven years, and covers themes that echo Harry and Meghan’s own lives. Just like the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, the main characters meet in their thirties. One has dealt with postpartum depression, a subject Meghan spoke about during their 2020 interview with US chat-show host Oprah Winfrey. There is also mention of the death of a parent in a car crash, which mirrors the experience of Harry and Prince William, who lost their mother, Diana, the former Princess of Wales, in an accident in 1997.

Meghan is familiar with Hollywood and how it works. Between 2011 and 2018, she played paralegal turned associate Rachel Zane in USA Network legal drama Suits. In 2020, she made her Disney voice-over debut, narrating the story of an elephant’s journey across the Kalahari Desert from the Okavango Delta to the Zambezi River.