Harry and Meghan - as it happened: Duke of Sussex reveals he has internally ‘blocked out’ early memories of Diana
Reactions to Duke and Duchess of Sussexes’ Netflix docuseries pour in as couple speak out on first dates, marriage, press intrusion and Meghan’s experiences of racism
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Your support makes all the difference.The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have received mixed reactions over their new Netflix documentary series, Harry and Meghan, which dropped on Thursday (8 December).
Parts of the much-hyped programme, which has been split into “Volume I” and “Volume II”, were described as “moving”, but the first three episodes did not deliver any new explosive allegations against the royal family - who will no doubt be relieved by the lack of revelations.
The Independent’s Arts Editor Jessie Thompson wrote in her review of the series: “There are no major revelations here, nothing so incendiary that it will cancel King Charles’s coronation next year; in fact, certain quotes are becoming a bit pat.”
Meanwhile, the Sussexes’ staunchest critics wasted no time in excoriating the couple for some of the claims made in the show. Piers Morgan accused Harry and Meghan of trying to “brand Britain as a racist country”, while the BBC’s veteran royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell dismissed Meghan’s claims that the media wanted to “destroy” her as “absurd”.
Meanwhile, neither Palace officials nor members of the royal family were approached for comment over the content of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s new Netflix docuseries, it has been alleged.
It was suggested that representatives for Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace, as well as the royals themselves, were not offered the opportunity to reply to the accusations lodged by the couple during the first three episodes of their highly anticipated series.
The second part of Harry and Meghan’s docuseries will begin streaming on 15 December.
Elsewhere in volume one of the series, Prince Harry spoke of the frequent reports that Meghan had broken royal protocol.
According to the duke, the claims were often false, as he alleged “there were a lot of invented protocols”.
However, Meghan did acknowledge that it was difficult learning what was expected of her as a member of the royal family.
“There’s no class [where] some person goes, ‘Sit like this, cross your legs like this, use this fork, don’t do this, curtsy then, wear this kind of hat,’” she said. “It doesn’t happen. So I needed to learn a lot.”
Prince Harry says claims Meghan Markle ‘broke royal protocol’ were often false
Meghan described learning royal rules as ‘a baptism of fire’
The docuseries also sees the couple delve into more serious topics, such Meghan’s experiences with racism.
According to the duchess, when her and Prince Harry’s relationship first became public knowledge, her mother warned her that the criticism she would receive would all be about her race.
Meghan said that, up until that point, “most people didn’t treat me ‘like a Black woman’”.
“It’s very different to be a minority but not be treated as a minority off the bat. Obviously now, people are very aware of my race because they made it such an issue when I went to the UK. Before that, most people didn’t treat me ‘like a Black woman’. So that talk didn’t have to happen for me [as a child],” she said.
Meghan Markle says her race was only ever ‘made an issue’ when she came to UK
Meghan and Harry reflect on the ‘straight outta Compton’ tabloid headline in their new documentary
While reflecting on her first Christmas with the royal family, Meghan also recalled forming a relationship with Prince Harry’s grandfather, Prince Philip.
“At dinner, I was sat next to H’s grandfather and I just thought it was so wonderful. I was like: ‘Oh, we chatted and it was so great and I talked about this and talked about this,’” she remembered.
Despite the royal protocol learning curve, Meghan said her first Christmas with the royal family was “amazing”.
The celebration at the Sandringham Estate took place a month after the couple announced their engagement, with Meghan recalling how she’d called her mom to tell her: “It’s just like a big family like I always wanted.”
Meghan Markle recalls ‘amazing’ first Christmas with royal family
Duchess of Sussex spoke warmly of spending Christmas with the royals, revealing she sat next to Prince Philip at lunch and found experience ‘wonderful’
Meghan faced criticism over the scene in the Netflix series in which she recalled her first time curtsying to the late monarch, after she compared the royal protocol to attending Medieval Times restaurant.
The duchess then reenacted the exaggerated curtsy she performed for the Queen, with some viewers describing the scene as “disrespectful”.
Viewers criticise ‘disrespectful’ curtsy scene in Harry and Meghan Netflix series
‘I’m an American and I just cringed so hard,’ one viewer writes
The Duchess of Sussex also recalled her surprise upon learning that she would be expected to curtsy to the Queen.
According to Meghan, Prince Harry asked if she knew how to curtsy while they were on their way to meet his grandmother for the first time. She said she assumed the question was a “joke”.
Meghan also speaks candidly about her experiences meeting senior members of the royal family, including the late Queen and Prince Harry’s brother and sister-in-law, Prince William and Kate Middleton.
According to the Duchess of Sussex, who recalled how she’d been wearing ripped jeans the first time she met the Prince and Princess of Wales, she was “surprised” at the “formality” of the couple, even behind closed doors.
Meghan Markle reveals what surprised her about the royal family
Harry also said that explaining to Meghan that she had to ‘curtsy to my grandmother’ was ‘weird’
However, before sharing their relationship with the world, the couple recalled how they’d had one last night of fun with Prince Harry’s cousin, Princess Eugenie, and her then-boyfriend, Jack Brooksbank, at a costume party.
“He said: ‘Well, if it’s gonna come out tomorrow, let’s go have fun tonight,’” Meghan recalled.
Harry and Meghan had final ‘fun grenade’ with Princess Eugenie before romance exposed
‘If it’s gonna come out tomorrow, let’s go have fun tonight,’ Harry said
During the early days of the couple’s relationship, Meghan also revealed the important rule that she and Harry followed: that they had to see each other at least once every two weeks.
According to Harry, during this time, it was easier for Meghan to visit him. “It made much more sense for her to come to me so that then she can come and stay with me on Kensington Palace grounds,” he recalled, adding that the couple would take walks together around Frogmore.
The couple ultimately announced their engagement in November 2017.
You can read more about Meghan’s thoughts on their engagement interview, which she described as a “orchestrated reality show,” below.
Meghan Markle calls engagement announcement an ‘orchestrated reality show’
‘We weren’t allowed to tell our story because they didn’t want [it],’ Meghan said
In another scene, the couple fondly looks back on their first dates, and the week they spent together in Botswana in 2016.
The pair embarked on the trip after having only met twice before, with Prince Harry revealing that he was “astonished” Meghan said yes.
“This woman, that I’ve really met twice, she’s coming to Botswana and we’re gonna be living in a tent for five days,” he recalled, before noting how important that time together was. “We had to get to know each other before the rest of the world, before the media sort of, you know, joined it,” he added.
In 2019, the couple shared a never-before-seen photo of a trip they took to Botswana together, in which they could be seen working together to place a satellite collar on a bull elephant.
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