Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Harry & Meghan announced as Netflix’s second most successful documentary series

The first episodes were released on December 8, in the lead-up to the publication of the duke’s controversial memoir Spare.

Benjamin Cooper
Friday 20 January 2023 01:40 GMT
Netflix has announced the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s explosive recent series is its second-highest ranked documentary ever (Jonathan Brady/PA)
Netflix has announced the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s explosive recent series is its second-highest ranked documentary ever (Jonathan Brady/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Netflix has announced the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s explosive recent series is its second-highest ranked documentary ever.

Harry & Meghan began its release on December 8, in the lead-up to the publication of the duke’s controversial memoir Spare, and saw damaging claims levelled at the royal family throughout six episodes.

Netflix reported its fourth quarter earnings on Thursday and disclosed a gain of 7.7 million subscribers during the October-December period, a stretch that included the debut of an ad-supported option for seven dollars (£5.65) per month.

As defined by cumulative view hours in the first 28 days, it also reported on Wednesday as its third-most popular series ever, Glass Onion its fourth-most popular film and Harry & Meghan its second-most successful documentary series.

Both Buckingham and Kensington Palace have remained silent over Harry’s allegations in the series that the Prince of Wales left his brother terrified after screaming and shouting at him during the Sandringham summit.

Harry also claimed in the series that Kensington Palace “lied to protect my brother” when it issued a statement denying a story William had bullied him out of the royal family.

And he accused Charles of lying at the tense Megxit crisis meeting with the Queen in January 2020.

It comes as Harry’s controversial memoir became the fastest-selling non-fiction book in the UK since records began in 1998.

According to Nielsen BookData, which collects and provides information on distribution and sales measurement of books, Harry’s headline-grabbing autobiography Spare sold 467,183 copies in its first week.

The memoir, which hit the shelves on January 10, includes claims that the Prince of Wales physically attacked him and teased him about his panic attacks, and that the King put his own interests above Harry’s and was jealous of the Duchess of Sussex and the Princess of Wales.

As the duke continued a run of high-profile promotional interviews, he said he “would like nothing more” than for his children to have relationships with the royal family.

His remarks about his son and daughter came despite the criticism he has levelled at his brother, father and stepmother Camilla.

He also described his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, as his “guardian angel” and said she is with him “all the time”.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in