Despite everything, last year was an epic one for global pop culture. From Britney Spears finally ending her conservatorship to South Korean TV shows being recognised as a major tour de force, 2021 had no shortages of jaw-dropping entertainment headlines.

However, the personalities who made last year truly extra spicy were members of the British royal family ... in particular, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, whose explosive Oprah Winfrey interview broke the internet, garnering an estimated 50 million viewers, according to CBS.

So what can we look forward to from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2022?

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

As reported by Variety last year, Harry and Meghan's joint Archewell Productions is developing a new animation show for Netflix titled Pearl. The show is described as a "family series that centres on the adventures of a 12-year-old girl, who is inspired by a variety of influential women from history". While there's no official release date yet, it's likely that the new animation will hit the streaming giant later this year.

"I'm thrilled that Archewell Productions, partnered with the powerhouse platform of Netflix, and these incredible producers, will together bring you this new animated series, which celebrates extraordinary women throughout history," Markle said in a statement.

Prince Harry has also been productive since the couple's move to the United States. In September 2020, the duke and duchess signed multi-year deals with Netflix that also included his ambitious project: a docu series on the Invictus Games.

The global adaptive sports competition itself was founded by Prince Harry, and the new documentary will follow a team of athletes training for the competition that will be held next in Hague, Netherlands. According to the official website, the event was postponed from 2020 to 2021, then to 2022, and will now be held in between April 16 and 22 this year.

Last year, Harry and Meghan also welcomed their second child: an adorable baby girl named Lilibet "Lili" Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. As her first birthday is approaching on June 4 " which also coincides with the queen's Platinum Jubilee weekend, from June 2 to 5 " will we see the return of the former royal couple to Buckingham Palace?

While there are no official words yet, the Duke of Sussex filed a judicial review last year to the UK government seeking the right to pay for his family's police protection, out of his own pocket, during any future trips to the UK. He first offered to pay personally for police protection in January 2020, and then filed the judicial review in September 2021, according to E! Online.

As quoted from his legal representative's statements: "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex personally fund a private security team for their family, yet that security cannot replicate the necessary police protection needed whilst in the UK. In the absence of such protection, Prince Harry and his family are unable to return to his home."

Last year, Prince Harry returned alone to his native country to attend the funeral of his late grandfather Prince Philip, and then again to help unveil a statue of his late mother Princess Diana alongside his brother Prince William.

If the Oprah Winfrey bombshell interview was not enough, Prince Harry has a tell-all memoir coming out this year that reportedly makes some royal family members nervous. He announced in 2021 that the memoir would come out in late 2022 via Penguin Random House. "I'm writing this not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become," he said in a statement.

However, we recently learned that he may delay his memoir for two reasons, according to royal experts. The first being that another royal, Prince Edward, is also publishing a tantalising memoir that will be released after the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Some believe this may affect the success of Prince Harry's own book, as Edward is known to be loyal to the queen and is expected to present his royal life in a comparatively more feel-good light.

Next, as reported by The Sun, Harry might also delay his autobiography after Prince Charles extended an "olive branch", mentioning his youngest son on a positive note in his Newsweek essay on climate change published in early January. "The fact that Charles has done this in Newsweek, which has a large circulation in America, I think it's clearly a form of an olive branch in the hope that there will be a form of reconciliation," royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told the publication.

The power couple first moved to their US$15 million mansion in Montecito, California, in the summer of 2020, but recent reports by the Daily Mail suggest that they might be selling their luxurious estate for a bigger one.

Their current 2.8-hectare (seven-acre) property boasts its own swimming pool, spa with massage room, wine cellar, cinema and tennis court as well as nine bedrooms and 16 bathrooms.

The media outlet also speculates that the royal couple wants to move "as they do not like its location", based on comments from a source, and are looking for a new place to raise their two children.

Newsweek also recently reported that house prices in the Montecito area have soared by 43 per cent, which makes their current home even more valuable. Of course, a chance to live in the former royals' home will only increase the value.

Since they are no longer bound by their royal duties, it's quite likely that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will show more interest in Hollywood alongside their Netflix deal. And how better to make their Hollywood debut than at the 2022 Oscars?

According to Cosmopolitan, the royal couple has been invited to attend this year's Academy Awards and its after parties. However, they might skip out to avoid awkwardness over talking about Kristen Stewart's highly-acclaimed film Spencer. According to The Sun, a source told OK! that Prince Harry is thinking of skipping the Oscars, saying, "He's pretty appalled by the film."

Spencer revolves around Princess Diana's last Christmas at Sandringham with the royal family before she and Prince Charles split.

Want more stories like this? Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia. For more SCMP stories, please download our mobile app, follow us on Twitter, and like us on Facebook.

Hollywood

Most Recent

How Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will take 2022 by storm - from a possible Buckingham Palace visit for Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee to a Hollywood red carpet debut at the Oscars