Netflix releases Harry & Meghan documentary
trailer amid royal race row
Teaser shows images of Meghan apparently in tears and
Harry talking of protecting his family
Caroline
Davies
Thu 1 Dec
2022 14.16 GMT
An
emotionally charged trailer of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s forthcoming
Netflix documentary series has been released, as Buckingham Palace reels from a
racism incident and during a key visit to the US by the Prince and Princess of
Wales.
In the 1
min 12 sec “teaser”, Harry and Meghan share previously unseen intimate
photographs, some showing the duchess apparently crying, with one scene showing
Harry with his head tilted back as his wife appears to wipe away her tears with
both hands.
As an
unseen interviewer asks: “Why did you want to make this documentary?” a montage
of black and white photographs flashes up. One shows Meghan curled up on a
chair, head in hands on the phone and seemingly distressed. Harry says: “No one
sees what is happening behind closed doors.”
The trailer
then cuts to a photograph of a stern-looking Kate, with William sitting beside
her, and Meghan behind, taken at the Commonwealth Day service before the
Sussexes left the UK.
Further
photographs show Meghan sombre in a black hat, taken at the funeral of Queen
Elizabeth, and another of a bank of press photographers, as Harry continues: “I
had to do everything I could to protect my family.” A picture shows Meghan
seated in a car seemingly wiping away tears.
Meghan
tells the interviewer: “When the stakes were this high, doesn’t it make more
sense to hear our story from us?”
Other,
happier, personal photographs show Harry playing guitar for his wife, the
couple hiking with him holding picked flowers, wading in a stream with their
dogs, a pregnant Meghan in silhouette, dancing at their wedding, and sharing a
kiss in their kitchen.
In an
accompanying statement, Netflix described “Harry & Meghan” as a
“never-before-seen look at one of the most discussed couples in history”.
The timing
of the trailer is not the best for Buckingham Palace, which is still dealing
with the aftermath of the resignation of Lady Susan Hussey, one of the late
Queen’s ladies-in-waiting, after she questioned the charity founder Ngozi
Fulani about where she was “really from” at a palace reception. The palace and
William, her godson, described the comments as “deeply regrettable” and
“unacceptable”.
Kensington
Palace will also undoubtedly be concerned that the trailer will switch the
focus to the Sussexes and away from William and Kate as they undertake the
second day of engagements in Boston promoting the prince’s Earthshot
environmental prize.
Netflix
said in a statement: “In an unprecedented and in-depth documentary series, the
Duke and Duchess of Sussex share the other side of their high-profile love
story. Across six episodes, the series explores the clandestine days of their
early courtship and the challenges that led to them feeling forced to step back
from their full-time roles in the institution.
“With
commentary from friends and family, most of whom have never spoken publicly
before about what they witnessed, and historians who discuss the state of the
British Commonwealth today and the royal family’s relationship with the press,
the series does more than illuminate one couple’s love story, it paints a
picture of our world and how we treat each other.”
Agreed. The timing of the trailer is not the best for Buckingham Palace... but when would be a better time?
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