"Harry and Meghan": what we learned from the Netflix series

In early episodes, the couple describe ongoing media harassment and want to continue Princess Diana's legacy.

"Harry and Meghan", the Netflix series released on Thursday, was one of the most anticipated TV shows of the year - more media event than documentary.

Royal watchers have been eagerly anticipating the series, which is directed by Liz Garbus, although Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, have already given a revealing interview to Oprah Winfrey , last year: In this interview, they discussed their strained relationship with the British royal family, and Meghan said she once considered taking her own life. Prince Harry has also given several equally candid interviews, including James Corden.

The series begins with an on-screen message emphasizing its authenticity: "This is a First-hand account of Harry and Meghan's story, told with unpublished personal archives.The royals "refused to comment", he adds.

The documentary lands in an altered royal landscape following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September. King Charles III – Harry's father – is due to be crowned next May. Three more episodes will air on December 15.< /p>

Here are the main findings:

Harry's war with the media continues

The first episode tells how Harry and Meghan fell in love, but he also criticizes the British media.

Harry said q that the paparazzi had always had an impact on his life. Although he has few early childhood memories of his mother, Princess Diana, he said, “the majority of my memories are of being swarmed by paparazzi. Rarely have we gone on vacation without someone with a camera jumping out of a bush, or something.

Harry said photographers continued to harass him when he was at school and started dating. Paparazzi harassed his girlfriends, he added, and their families' lives were also "turned upside down" as a result. When he met Meghan, he said: "I was terrified that she would be chased away by the media - the same media that had driven so many away from me."

Meghan and Harry have long been critical of British tabloid culture and have taken legal action against several British newspapers for invasion of their privacy.

The couple want to carry on Diana's legacy< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0"> Harry said the media harassment of Meghan by the tabloids is reminiscent of the experience of her mother, who died in a 1997 car accident in Paris after being followed by paparazzi. But he also drew positive comparisons between his wife and his mother.

"A lot of what Meghan is, and how she is, is so much like my mother," he said. said in the first episode of the series. "She has the same compassion, the same empathy, she has the same confidence, she has this warmth around her."

Harry said he sees himself also as continuing the legacy of Diana. "I am my mother's son," he said. Of his charity work, he added, "I kind of wanted to carry my mother's torch and try to keep her legacy alive and try to make her proud."

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