Meghan, Harry interview increases “The Crown” Netflix ratings by 85%

The Crown saw an 85% increase in ratings in the week after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's candid interview with Oprah Winfrey.

With 449 million minutes watched, Netflix's historical thriller came in sixth on Nielsen's Top 10 streaming shows for the week of March 8 to March 14.

“The Crown” was already one of Netflix's most successful originals, but the latest palace intrigue between Meghan Markle and Prince Harry piqued American interest in the show regarding the British royal family.

After watching the Duke, 36, and Duchess of Sussexes', 39, explosive remarks, including allegations of racism inside the Royal Family, royal fans raced to watch the historical drama.

It was the first time “The Crown” returned to Nielsen's Top 10 ranking since Season 4 premiered in November. “The Crown” jumped from sixth to second place among original series.

According to The Wrap, fans watched the program for a total of 449 million minutes in the week after the interview, up from 242 million minutes the week before.

The most of the week's watching was for the first season of “The Crown,” as well as a specific Season 4 episode called “Favourites.” In that episode, Queen Elizabeth meets with each of her four children to choose which one she prefers, and Prince Andrew emerges as the winner.

Another aspect contributing to “The Crown's” recent rise was its victory for best drama television series at the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards last month, which also saw Emma Corrin (who plays Princess Diana) and Josh O'Connor (who plays Prince Charles) win acting awards for drama television series. The award best excellence by an actress in a supporting role in a series, limited series, or motion picture produced for television went to Gillian Anderson (Margaret Thatcher). Olivia Coleman was nominated for a Golden Globe for her depiction of the Queen.

Friends of senior royals, including Prince Charles, have criticized the Netflix drama, with some accusing the new season of ‘trolling on a Hollywood budget.'

As Harry and Meghan Markle reached a £100 million contract with the streaming site last year, it caused a lot of eyebrows.

According to Nielsen, Oprah's exclusive interview with Meghan and Harry, which aired on CBS on March 7, attracted more than 21 million US viewers by March 12. According to Reelgood, a website that allows users to monitor streaming material, interest in “The Crown” spiked in the days leading up to the telecast.

This peaked on March 1, the day after “The Crown's” Globe wins and the day CBS posted excerpts of the Meghan-Harry interview, pushing Netflix viewing of the show to almost double the previous weeks' average daily viewership. The day of the CBS broadcast and two days later, after Buckingham Palace issued a response on behalf of the Queen, viewing numbers soared.