Harry and Meghan’s dramatic Netflix docu-series appears to be more about opening old wounds than sharing their love story. Photo / Netflix
Harry and Meghan’s dramatic Netflix docu-series appears to be more about opening old wounds than sharing their love story. Photo / Netflix
OPINION:
“No one knows the full truth. We know the full truth.”
If there was any doubt remaining that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s long-awaited Netflix docu-series was going to blow the roof off Buckingham Palace, its latest trailer will have eviscerated it.
The jaw-dropping, one-minute sneak peek directly targets the royal institution, with Harry himself calling out the “dirty game” of the monarchy, the “hierarchy” within the Royal Family and the “pain and suffering” of the women who marry into it.
I, like millions around the world, am now more invested in watching it than ever. Cracking open the chest of long-held secrets of the Royal Family, for us mere mortals to gaze upon for the first time ever? Sign me up.
But it begs the question: besides the obvious windfall, what’s in it for Harry and Meghan?
The hotly anticipated docu-series Harry & Meghan premieres on December 8. Photo / Netflix
What is this docu-series, if not a rehashing of their bombshell Royal Family exit interview with Oprah Winfrey?
There’s no doubt that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s sensational resignation from the Royal Family in the pursuit of happiness and freedom inspired many.
They’ve built the beautiful family they’ve both always longed for (in a home worth more than $20 million), they’ve got unparalleled access to people and organisations around the world that will truly help them make a real difference in their philanthropy, and most importantly: they’ve got each other.
Their decision to sit down with Oprah and air their grievances with the Royal Family was a divisive move, but as in all breakups, sometimes closure is what’s needed.
That was almost two years ago – and here we are again, about to hear all the issues they faced during their short stint as a unit within The Firm.
After watching the second trailer, I was hit with an unexpected emotion: disappointment.
Back in 2017, with the media frenzy around Harry’s new relationship with his then-actress-girlfriend showing no signs of burning out, Meghan hinted that one day they would tell their private love story.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in a scene in their kitchen from Harry and Meghan. Photo / Netflix
“I’m sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories to tell … Personally, I love a great love story,” she told Vanity Fair.
From the first sneak peek of the Netflix series, released last week, it seemed like we were finally going to get it. There were cosy pictures of the pair kissing in the kitchen, smiling selfies, silly shots of them jumping in the air: it was their private moments, the real ones, the side we’ve never seen before.
With so much negative press dogging them in recent years, and a feeling of being misunderstood, here was their great opportunity: to flip the script and simply show the world who they are and what they care about.
Instead, it appears we’re getting another round in the endless Sussexes v Monarchy war.
And who does it serve? Harry and Meghan are free, living a privileged existence most could only dream of, with the world at their feet and every opportunity to have a lifetime of happiness.
They deserve it, and it took courage for them to carve that out for themselves.
Of course, they owe us nothing, and are completely entitled to live as private citizens, as they declared was their intention when they quit royal duties in early 2020.
But if they are willing to fling open the doors to their Montecito mansion and let us all in: it’s a shame it can’t simply be to finally show us who they are, away from the negativity of the past.
