Here’s What We Learned From Harry And Meghan’s Netflix Documentary

Topline

Prince Harry said he was concerned for the safety of his family due to the level of hate stirred up against them as he reflected on the suffering and harassment his mother Diana faced after her divorce from then-Prince Charles, in the first episodes of Netflix’s new six-part documentary about the Duke and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

The first half of the highly anticipated six-part show was released Thursday morning.

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Key Facts

Harry—who has previously been critical of the British press—said in the first episode of Harry & Meghan: Volume I that he felt it was his duty to uncover “the exploitation and bribery that happens within our media.”

The later part of the episode switches focus to Harry’s childhood as he reflects on memories of his mother Diana and talks about how he feels she was left exposed and faced “new levels” of harassment after separating from his father, and how through his mother he learned about the “pain and suffering of the women marrying into this institution.”

Harry also addressed Diana’s controversial 1995 BBC Panorama interview in which she described her unhappiness in the royal family, saying that while his mother was “deceived” into giving the interview, “she spoke the truth of her experience”—a notably different response than Prince William, who called on the program to “never be aired again” last year after an investigation found that BBC reporter Martin Bashir lied to the princess to get her to take part in the interview.

In the second episode, Harry said Meghan got no sympathy from members of the Royal Family when she was subjected to racist remarks from the British press, as they simply viewed it as hazing that all of them went through and “almost…a rite of passage.”

Meghan’s mother Doria makes an appearance in the episode—her first public interview—and admits that the previous five years had been “challenging.”

The third episode opens with Meghan calling her 2017 engagement interview with Harry an “orchestrated reality show” where everything had been rehearsed, adding “we weren’t allowed to tell our story.”

Later in the episode, the couple took more shots at the British press, with Harry calling them out for using “invented protocols” to try and police Meghan’s attire, appearance and actions in public.

The episode also deals with the breakdown of Meghan’s relationship with her father just days before her wedding, which Harry says he “shouldered” the blame for, adding: “If Meg wasn't with me, then her dad would still be her dad."

Tangent

A segment in episode three focuses on the 2005 controversy surrounding a leaked photo of Harry at a party where he was wearing a Nazi armband. Harry called the incident one of the biggest mistakes of his life, adding: “I felt so ashamed afterwards. All I wanted to do was make it right.” After the incident, Harry says he met with the chief rabbi in London and a Holocaust survivor in Berlin, a meeting which Harry says had a “profound impact” on him. He said: “I could've just ignored it and probably made the same mistakes over and over again in my life. But I learned from that.”

Surprising Fact

Harry and Meghan first met on Instagram. Harry says he saw a video of Meghan posing in a video with a mutual friend using the Snapchat puppy filter. The mutual friend later emailed Meghan to let her know “Prince Haz” was interested in her. Emails shown in the documentary show Meghan replied, "Who is prince haz????" Harry was also 30 minutes late to their first date at Soho House in London, the couple said.

Crucial Quote

Speaking about marriages and the Royal Family, Harry said: “There can be a temptation or an urge to marry someone who fits the mold, as opposed to somebody who you perhaps are destined to be with.”

Contra

The opening screen of the documentary series states that members of the royal family declined to comment on the content within this series, but sources at Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace told British media outlets they were not approached for comment. Netflix sources say Charles’ and William’s communication teams were contacted in advance and were given an opportunity to reply to the series’ claims.

What To Watch For

Thursday’s release includes the first three of the six-episode documentary, directed by Emmy winner Liz Garbus. The second set of three episodes will be released on December 15. Earlier this year, Netflix faced some backlash in the U.K.—including from political leaders and celebrities—ahead of the release of the fifth season of The Crown. The show is one of the streamer’s most popular dramas and is based on the life of the U.K.’s longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The show’s fifth season was criticized for portraying Charles, who had just taken the throne, in poor light. The season, which was delayed due to the Queen’s death, focussed on Charles’ tumultuous relationship with his former wife, Diana, their eventual divorce and her death in a fatal car accident. Criticism from the likes of Judi Dench and John Major prompted Netflix to add a disclaimer that the show was a “fictional dramatization…inspired by real events.”

Key Background

The couple stepped down as senior working royals in 2020 and moved to California with their son, Archie. Harry and Meghan have spoken about their experiences in interviews before, but the Netflix documentary offers an unprecedented look into the closely guarded personal lives of the British royal family. The documentary series’ release comes just days after Harry’s brother and sister-in-law, Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, made their first official visit to the U.S. since 2014.

News Peg

Last year, Harry and Meghan pulled back the curtain on the British Royal family in an explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey. In the interview, Meghan revealed that she had struggled with suicidal thoughts and mentioned that there were discussions at Buckingham Palace about the skin tone of her first baby after she became pregnant. Prince Harry admitted that racism “was a large part of” the reason why he and his wife Meghan left the U.K.

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