Netflix has released two trailers for the upcoming documentary series about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The Sussexes have already come under heavy criticism for the series, after its first trailer dropped while William and Kate were in the US.
Suffice it to say, the trailers have been contentiously. Not only regarding the timing of their release, but also due to the subject matter. Harry & Meghan have included many never-before or rarely-seen pictures in it – and one in particular has drawn the eye of the public.
In it, the couple are pictured at Buckingham Palace. According to The Telegraph, they took the photo without asking the most important person’s permission first.
On December 1, the first trailer for the upcoming Netflix documentary series about Harry & Meghan aired.
Harry & Meghan – Netflix documentary series, trailer
Released on YouTube, it opened up with a woman’s voice asking why Harry and Meghan embarked on their journey in the first place. Then, some personal photos create a slideshow, including a picture of Harry playing guitar and he and Meghan taking a selfie on holiday.
The slideshow also features a picture from the couple’s 2018 wedding celebration and another from when Meghan was pregnant.
So why are they doing all that they’re doing?
“No one sees what is happening behind closed doors,” Harry says. “I had to do everything I could to protect my family.”
The teaser trailer – which gained almost two million viewers in 24 hours – continues with a time-lapse of photos of both Harry and Meghan, from when they were children all the way up to this point. Everything indicates that something big indeed will be revealed in the documentary series.
“When the stakes are this high, doesn’t it make more sense to hear our story from us?” Meghan says in the trailer.
Regarding what the documentary series will be about, a Netflix spokesperson said: “In an unprecedented and in-depth documentary series, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex share the other side of their high-profile love story.”
The timing for the Netflix series has not been well-received by everyone, especially not considering Prince William and Kate were both in the US for the Earthshot Prize Awards in Boston when the first one dropped.
Criticism for the timing of trailer release
“Here it is, the day before Prince William and Catherine’s big royal event in the USA. Bitter Prince Harry and Meghan,” royal expert Richard Eden said.
“I’m appalled by the trailer for Prince Harry and Meghan’s Netflix reality show – and so are Prince William and Catherine’s inner circle.”
“Right on cue, Harry and Meghan drop the trailer for their victimhood fest on Netflix. Shameless,” GB News presenter Dan Wootton said. “Meghan has already destroyed the Markles. Now Harry is trying to destroy the Windsors. Small mercy that the late Queen doesn’t have to live through this.”
If the first trailer wasn’t tantalizing enough, the second trailer was released on Monday.
The first look at the series focused more on the Sussexes themselves. However, the second one was even more explosive, featuring several clips of Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana, being hounded by photographers.
Harry’s heard talking about the “pain and suffering of women marrying into this institution.” Then, in another shot, Meghan cries, saying, “I realized they are never going to protect you.”
Harry & Meghan’s controversial Buckingham Palace picture
Moreover, Harry and Meghan are seen sitting in a car together, and Meghan’s voice is heard saying: “I was terrified, I did not want history to repeat itself.” Some argue that’s a direct reference Princess Diana.
An early shot of the second teaser shows a photo of the Royal Family during the 2019 Trooping the Colours. Harry says: “There is a hierarchy in the family. You know, there’s leaking, but there is also planting of stories, adding that “no one knows the full truth. We know the full truth.”
Though both trailers have stirred up any number of reactions, one specific picture has now become the subject of breaking royal protocol. Despite the Sussexes not being part of the Royal Family anymore – and thus not bound to certain rules and regulations – some things, such as respect for the reigning monarch, are always in play.
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That’s something Harry and Meghan may have ignored, according to The Telegraph.
In one of the pictures in the first trailer for Harry and Meghan’s Netflix series, the couple are pictured holding hands and walking toward a door at Buckingham Palace. It was reportedly taken at the palace in March 2020, while the Queen was still alive.
According to the regulations outlined by the Royal Collection Trust, there are “strictly” no photographs taken or films recorded inside the Staterooms at the Palace. Moreover, if one wants to photograph or film within Buckingham Palace for commercial purposes, permission is required from His or Her Majesty.
Didn’t ask Queen Elizabeth for permission
According to The Telegraph, though, Harry and Meghan didn’t seek permission from the Queen.
The Telegraph claims that the Sussexes took the picture without the late Queen’s permission. Their decision even to bring a photographer was the subject of a written palace complaint.
A source told the newspapers that the photo was a “genuine violation” of the Queen’s privacy. At the same time, it was understood that Harry and Meghan were unaware of the rule. Moreover, their photographer was not asked to leave the palace grounds at the time.
On social media, the image of the two has rubbed some people the wrong way, according to the Daily Mirror.
“Can you imagine screaming privacy being violated, but having the nerve to bring your own photographer here of all places. They are two sick people,” one person said.
“It’s interesting how they always think it’s ok to violate somebody else’s privacy and then complain about being harassed over the same thing,” another added.
“Aah! But I seem to remember they did want and filming inside their own homes. Hypocrites,” a third commented.
Royal family frustrated with Meghan & Harry
While Harry and Meghan obviously love the spotlight, others aren’t as impressed, despite the challenging subject they are believed to discuss in the documentary.
Sources tell the Mirror that King Charles and Camilla, Queen Consort, are growing increasingly frustrated with the Sussexes ahead of the release of the documentary series. The trailer didn’t do them any good, as tensions seem like they’re “climbing even higher,” a royal insider said.
That also goes for the Prince and Princess of Wales, who were said to be “surprised but not that surprised” about the timing of the trailer.
William has been at odds with his brother since Harry left the Royal Family and recorded the now-infamous Oprah interview. With the Netflix trailers and Harry’s upcoming tell-all memoir, he’s said to have grown tired of his younger brother’s antics.
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How much contact the two have at the moment is unclear. But an insider suggests that William will firmly tell Harry to “back off” if the material in the documentary series is misleading.
So, what happens next? Well, no one knows. But if the documentary includes bombshell revelations – those which William and Kate think are unfair or false – a “briefing war” might occur.
“It’s going to be worse than the royals can imagine”
“The Prince and Princesses’ team will wait to see what’s in the Netflix series before deciding what to do, but you can see the direction of travel,” a source told Express.
“I genuinely think it’s going to be worse than the royals can imagine,” a source in contact with a Netflix production insider told Mirror. “I’m told that it’s going to be utterly explosive and will be very damaging.”
“A lot of people are either pro-Sussex or pro-William and Kate, but there’s a belief that this documentary will bring people onside with Harry and Meghan. The big question is that, whatever the revelations are, who will people side with after seeing the show. It has that feeling like the public will have to choose,” another source told the paper.
“Whatever comes out, some people will think that Harry is betraying his family and that it’s unforgivable. But if what finally airs is as seismic as we’re led to believe, then it may be good for the Sussexes. There’s been some talk the documentary has been toned down, but at the moment, that’s wrong.”
Harry and Meghan have been very quiet about what content the Netflix series will deal with specifically. Neither has much information been leaked, so the world has to wait until December 8, when the first episode airs.
Back in October, Meghan spoke about the documentary project and how it has been to work with the director, Liz Garbus.
Meghan felt “amazing” about doing the documentary
Though she didn’t reveal what the documentary would reveal, she gave fans some slight hints.
“It’s nice to be able to trust someone with our story — a seasoned director whose work I’ve long admired — even if it means it may not be the way we would have told it,” Meghan told Variety.
“But that’s not why we’re telling it. We’re trusting our story to someone else, and that means it will go through their lens.”
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“For me, having worked on Suits it’s so amazing to be around so much creative energy and to see how people work together and share their own points of view. That’s been really fun,” the former actress added.
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