“Harry and Meghan”: even without major revelations, the royal family cannot relax

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s new Netflix docuseries was heralded by streaming as a “global event”, so now that we have the first three episodes – did it live up to the hype?

Warning: spoilers ahead, so check back now and check back later if you’re still planning on watching. But for those who are ready, let’s get into it.

Directed by Liz Garbus the first episode opened with a video diary filmed by Prince Harry on his mobile phone in March 2020.

“Nobody knows the whole truth, we know the whole truth, the institution knows the whole truth and the media knows the whole truth,” he tells the camera shortly after the couple’s final royal engagement. That statement summed up this first batch of episodes.

The pair have often spoken about feeling underrepresented and misunderstood. Now, they are offering their unfiltered prospects directly.

It’s a fascinating look at the couple and fans will love learning about the early days of their courtship – complete with private photos capturing deeply personal milestones in their relationship.

These episodes also detail Meghan’s first exposure to the structures and demands of royal life, as well as the prince’s childhood and the pervasive nature of British tabloid media.

Harry specifically compared Meghan’s experience to that of her mother, Diana, and her family’s response to her anxieties.

“As far as a lot of her family is concerned, whatever she was going through, they went through it too. So it was almost like a rite of passage,” said the Duke.

“My wife had to go through this, so why should your girlfriend be treated any differently? Why should you receive special treatment? Why should she be protected? he said, paraphrasing her arguments. Harry also remembers explaining that “the difference here is the racial element”.

In the end, the series still doesn’t offer any big reveals or bombshells.

Instead, the couple strategically mapped out their relationship and its challenges, going back to the problems they had with the institution and digging deeper.

In explaining the mechanics of the monarchy and their configuration of various palaces within the institution, they also reinforced statements from their infamous Oprah interview that they had no support and were isolated, with friends and others close to providing commentary to reinforce the couple’s recollections. .

So far, the couple have gone back to the beginning to create their own record of their departure as senior royals and document what they feel they went through. This suggests part two might address how they responded and why.

Few moments targeted specific members of “The Firm” specifically – for the most part, they were mentioned in passing.

As a result, there wasn’t much for Buckingham Palace to respond to, but we got the feeling the royal family was confused by the release.

In the opening listing for the first episode, the docuseries noted that members of the “Royal Family declined to comment on the content” of the series.

Buckingham Palace also initially told the press it would not comment on the programme. But as of Thursday afternoon, several royal families appeared to be responding to the documentaries differently.

The palace informed reporters that no one from the clan had been approached, while the other said it had received some communication from a production company but was unable to verify who was at the end of the email.

Watching the first few episodes, you get the feeling that you might be setting the stage for fireworks next week.

Especially when you remember that one of the trailers had a huge allegation that the palace was planting stories against the Sussexes in the press.

That wasn’t addressed in this first Netflix volume, so whatever bombshell the palace fears could still be on the way.