The first three episodes of a Netflix series that purports to reveal the “whole truth” of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s separation from the royal family will be released on Thursday, and the British monarchy is bracing itself for further bombshells to be thrown over the palace gates.
Harry remarks at the conclusion of the most recent trailer, “No one knows the whole truth.” The whole truth is known to us.
The couple’s newest attempt to explain to the public why they left the royal life and relocated to Southern California over three years ago is the series “Harry & Meghan,” which has been promoted with two radically edited trailers that allude to racism and a “war against Meghan.” It is anticipated to go further than previous criticisms of the British media and the royal family made in a number of interviews over the previous 18 months.
The royal family’s efforts to modernise and become more representative of a multicultural society were previously considered as being boosted by Harry’s 2018 marriage to the biracial American actress and former Meghan Markle. The fairy tale, which started with a celebrity-studded wedding at Windsor Castle, quickly turned sour amid claims that Meghan was conceited and mistreated her workers.
The series debuts at a pivotal time for the monarchy as King Charles III strives to demonstrate that the institution still has a place in society following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, whose personal popularity during her 70-year reign tempered criticism of the crown. By meeting with many of the ethnic and religious groups that make up contemporary Britain in the early years of his reign, Charles is arguing that the House of Windsor can help unify a country that is becoming more and more varied.
Due to alleged racial attacks by British tabloid media, Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, withdrew from their royal responsibilities and relocated to California. When his mother, Princess Diana, died in a car accident in 1997 while being followed by photographers, Harry’s criticism of the media was tinged with resentment. Profitable deals with Spotify and Netflix have allowed the couple to finance their new life in America.
Following Harry and Meghan’s encounter with American talk show host Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, race became a crucial topic for the monarchy. Meghan claimed that a royal relative made a remark about how dark the kid might be before their first child was born.
After the interview, Harry’s older brother Prince William, the heir to the throne, defended the royal family by assuring reporters, “We’re very much not a racist family.”
But until this week, when a Black advocate for victims of domestic abuse claimed that a senior member of the royal household questioned her about her ancestry during a banquet at the palace, did Buckingham Palace come under fresh accusations of racism. The palace believed that William and his wife Kate’s much-anticipated trip to Boston would emphasise their environmental credentials, but coverage of the problem dominated British media, overshadowing the trip.
Media attention was also diverted by Netflix’s decision to release the first trailer for “Harry & Meghan” in the middle of the trip.
Six episodes of a “unique and in-depth documentary series” featuring Harry and Meghan “sharing the other side of their high-profile love story” have been promised by the streaming behemoth. The first three episodes will be available on Thursday, and the next set will be available on December 15.
In the U.K., where even the teasers were attacked for providing false images to support the emotionally charged narrative alleging misogyny, unjust media coverage, and racism, the programme will be closely observed.
In one section of the footage, clips of paparazzi are spliced together with old footage of Princess Diana being followed by the media as Harry says in a voiceover: “The pain and suffering of women marrying into this institution, this feeding frenzy. … I was terrified, I didn’t want history to repeat itself.”
One of the videos used to illustrate his points appears to show reporters and photographers waiting outside Crawley Magistrates Court as TV personality Katie Price arrives.
The use of the press by palace officials, which Harry called a “dirty game,” is also criticised in the second teaser.
Over a picture of the royal family posing on Buckingham Palace’s balcony, Harry adds, “There’s a hierarchy in the family.” There is leakage, but there is also story planting, you know.
That is followed by a picture of a photographer perched on another balcony as Harry and Meghan walk with their young son Archie down below. While the scene suggests the photographer was covertly snapping pictures of a private moment, the photo actually shows an accredited press photographer who was covering the couple’s meeting with Desmond Tutu in 2019.
Whatever the series reveals, palace officials hope to quell the uproar by portraying William and Kate as forward-thinking young royals who are taking on challenging issues like early childhood education and climate change, as opposed to Harry and Meghan, who are viewed by detractors as merely celebrities selling their story to the media.
“While Prince Harry and Meghan continued to paint themselves as victims, heads in hands, tearing their hair out at the unfairness of it all, the Prince and Princess were simply getting on with the job,” the Telegraph wrote.
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