“Meghan & Harry”: After criticism of the Netflix documentary, the Sussexes defend themselves

The Netflix documentary “Harry & Meghan” continues – as expected – to make waves. The outrage in Great Britain is great, the allegations made against the couple are harsh. Among other things, it is criticized that they share a number of private video clips and photos in the documentation. After all, according to the allegation, the protection of privacy was the main reason, reports can be read that the couple decided on the “Megxit” in 2020 and resigned from royal duties. But that’s exactly not true at all, according to “BBC”, a spokeswoman for Meghan and Harry said. These reports are wrong. The Duke and Duchess have never cited privacy as a reason for their resignation, the statement said. And: “This distorted narrative should silence the couple.”

The statement also says that their statement “in which they announced their decision to resign had nothing to do with privacy [erwähnte] and reiterates her desire to continue her roles and public duties. Any other suggestion addresses a key point of this series.” The statement continues, “They choose to share their story on their terms, and yet the tabloid media have created a completely untrue narrative that has undermined press coverage and… penetrates public opinion. The facts are right in front of you.”

Meghan and Harry want to tell their truth

Meghan and Harry had announced in advance that they wanted to tell their own truth about the events in the documentary. The emphasis here is on “their truth”. Because how much of this truth has to do with reality has been heavily questioned since the release of the first trailer. Among other things, it was discussed whether the disgraced Sussexes manipulated the documentary in their favor. Footage was taken out of context and edited to make it appear the couple were being chased by paparazzi. RTL reporter Dan Farrington, for example, appears involuntarily in the Harry Meghan trailer.

The first three episodes of the Netflix documentary were released on the streaming platform on December 8th, the publication of the other three episodes is announced for December 15th. In the first part of the documentary series, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan focused on the beginnings of their relationship and the aggressive reporting about it. “So painful! Royals ‘deeply upset’ by Harry’s insults,” headlined the Daily Express newspaper on Friday. The Telegraph quoted a royal insider as saying the couple wanted to overthrow the monarchy. An MP from the ruling Conservative Party has called for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to be stripped of their royal title when they seem to hate the monarchy so much

Meghan’s family finds the documentary “disturbing”

But the outrage is not only great in Great Britain and among the Royals. Now Meghan’s family has also spoken out. Speaking to Talk TV, estranged half-siblings Samantha and Thomas described the documentary as “so far off the mark on so many levels.” They criticized the first three episodes as “terrible”, “hurtful” and “a bit disturbing”. Thomas Markle Jr. is particularly disappointed with the portrayal of the Markle family. “She just swept the whole family under the rug like we didn’t exist and then lied that she didn’t have a family that she always wanted,” he said. That prompted him to reach out to a production team currently working on a counter-narrative.

But Meghan and Harry are not alone in the storm. They are currently getting help from Bryony Gordon, who writes for The Telgraph and has met the couple several times. She commented in the newspaper that the documentary “comes closest to how the Sussexes really are in private” than last year’s infamous Oprah interview.

She got to know the couple very well over the past few years, had lunch with them, flew across the Atlantic with them and was invited to Sunday tea. “What I’ve seen in those encounters is pretty much reflected in the three episodes I’ve seen so far: The Harry and Meghan that I know personally are the Harry and Meghan that are on the screens for everyone with a Netflix subscription. It’s not artificial or fake,” states Gordon.

Before the broadcast of the other episodes, the palace is now said to be very concerned. As the British newspaper “The Times” writes, citing a palace insider, “the next week would be like poison”. According to speculation, criticism could be directed at Harry’s father, King Charles III, in the coming episodes, who has not been the focus of the documentary series so far. According to observers, it seems unlikely that the late Queen Elizabeth II will also be put in a bad light.

Sources:/ with material from DPA and Spoton