RoyaltyThe first part of the Netflix documentary ‘Harry & Meghan’ remainedsomewhat flat, but in the second part – which can now be viewed – Harry (38)and Meghan Markle (41) do show the back of their tongues. In the three newepisodes, for example, they talk about Meghan’s suicidal thoughts and anexplosive argument with Harry’s brother William. “We will never get a realapology.” You can follow everything closely in our live blog.
LOOK. Our royalty expert Wim Dehandschieter analyzes the second part of theNetflix documentary: “This has become an open attack on Prince William”
“The world was watching, but at that altar it was just the two of us.” Thesecond part of ‘Harry & Meghan’, the Netflix documentary about Prince Harryand Meghan Markle, started like a fairy tale, with their wedding in 2018. Theyenjoyed the party and their energetic wedding dance (‘Land of 1000 Dances’).Meghan had fun with Queen Elizabeth on her first official engagement. “Itreated her like my husband’s grandmother,” she said. “It feels like family.”
Jealousy
But after their tour to Australia, something changed for Meghan, pregnant withbaby Archie at the time. Jealousy came into play. “The problem is that she gotmarried in what should be a supporting role, and then she attracts attentionor does the job better than the one who was born for this,” Harry analyzed.“And that is not going well, the balance is shifting.” Then the stories thatappeared in the press about Meghan began to change. Suddenly she was called a’diva’. According to Harry, his family had a lot to do with that, because theroyals’ communication teams gave stories about the other ‘teams’ to the press,to put their own bosses out of the wind.
Quote >>> I approached it as royal Harry rather than husband Harry. My feelings were> controlled by my royal role. I was trained to worry more about, ‘What will> people think if we don’t? We are late.’ And when I look back on it now, I> hate myself for it.>> Harry
Those stories weighed heavily on Meghan. “The lies, that’s one thing”, Harrysighed. “You get used to that, in this family. But what they did to her andthe effect it had on her… It had been enough, enough pain, enough suffering,”he says. “No one sees what goes on behind closed doors.” There, Meghan endedup in a severe depression, and she even seriously thought about taking her ownlife. “I thought: it will end when I’m gone.’ And that was the scariest thingabout it. They were such clear thoughts.”
Angry and ashamed
Harry said he felt angry and embarrassed when he was told his wife wasthinking about suicide, but he didn’t react well to it. “I approached it asroyal Harry rather than husband Harry. My feelings were controlled by my royalrole. I was trained to worry more about, ‘What will people think if we don’t?We are late.’ And when I look back on it now, I hate myself for it. What sheneeded from me was more than I could give”, he continued, with obvious regretin his eyes.
Quote >>> They didn’t throw me to the wolves. They just fed me to the wolves>> Megan
But Meghan could not expect support from the rest of the royal family either.“They knew how bad it was,” said Harry. “They thought: why can’t she take it?Everyone could handle it, why not them? But this was different.” The coupletherefore decided not to let Archie grow up in the “madness in which theylived.” So, at the request of the Queen, they moved to the more remoteFrogmore Cottage. The couple also explained why they didn’t show baby Archieto the world right away, as was customary. “I was really worried about mydelivery because I’m older, maybe it was a C-section…” Meghan said. And so shechose her trusted doctor, who worked in a different hospital than usual. Inreturn, she offered to give the press more time when they introduced him tothe castle. “The reactions were like: ‘Yeah, great!’ No one said, ‘Absolutelynot.’” But again, the press response was scathing.
Change
“There is a limit to what you can tolerate,” said Meghan. “So in the end yousay, ‘Something has to change.’” The Duchess of Sussex insists she dideverything she could to keep the royal family happy. “I really wanted to fitin.” But the media attacks kept coming, with Harry’s relatives not doinganything to stop them. “They didn’t throw me to the wolves. They just fed meto the wolves.”
Quote >>> That last meeting didn’t just look cold. It also felt cold. I felt so far> removed from my family>> Harry
That’s why Harry and Meghan toyed with the idea of moving abroad. NewZealand was suggested, or South Africa. But each time those ideas leaked intothe press and were shot down. In the end it was decided that it would beCanada. Harry was presented with five options by his family – Queen Elizabeth,Prince William and (then) Prince Charles. He opted for the golden mean:continue to dedicate himself to the British royal family, but also distancehimself from the press and protect his family. “It soon became clear that thisoption was not negotiable at all,” said Harry. “It was terrifying that mybrother was screaming and yelling at me and my dad saying things that weren’ttrue. My grandma sat there quietly and just took it all in.”
Cold
“The saddest thing about all of this was this rift that developed between meand my brother, who is now on the side of the institute. I partly understandthat. It’s his legacy,” he said. According to the prince, however, the mediawas only too happy to blame his wife. “But Meghan never asked to leave.” Thelast time Prince Harry and Meghan Markle saw the rest of the British royalswas at a public event at Westminster Abbey. “I was nervous to see my family,”said the Duke of Sussex. “It didn’t just look cold. It also felt cold. I feltso far removed from my family. It felt like a soap opera.”
Quote >>> The first morning we woke up in our new house, I had a miscarriage>> Megan
But in Canada, their troubles weren’t over. Paparazzi were everywhere, andrumors circulated that they would lose their royal patronage. “I assuredMeghan, ‘They’ll never do that,'” Prince Harry said. “But they did it anyway.”Eventually, Harry and Meghan moved to the United States permanently. However,disaster struck there too. “I was pregnant, and I wasn’t really sleeping,”Meghan said. “The first morning we woke up in our new house, I had amiscarriage.” Harry blames the British media for this. “I believe my wifemiscarried because of what The Daily Mail did. That whole court case wasdebilitating for my wife,” said Harry. Meghan filed the lawsuit because thenewspaper published a private letter she wrote to her father.
Still no clarity about ‘racist’ relative
Another much-discussed moment was Harry and Meghan’s infamous interview withOprah Winfrey. In the broadcast, Markle says that someone from the royalfamily had made a racist statement about Archie’s skin color. We also do notfind out who it was in the Netflix documentary, but Meghan does say that shedid not expect that part of the conversation to get all the attention. Thereactions in the press the next day were therefore mixed. Harry receives amessage about the broadcast from his brother William, but the content is notmentioned.
Harry also talks about the death of his grandfather, Prince Philip, a man ofwhom he has only good memories. “He died peacefully, peacefully and happily,”he smiles. The prince admits that he was not thrilled to attend hisgrandfather’s funeral in London. “I especially didn’t feel like spending timewith my brother and dad, who were just very focused on the samemisinterpretation of the whole situation,” he says. “Actually, none of usreally wanted to talk about it, but we did anyway. And I had to settle for thefact that we will never get a real accountability or apology. My wife and I,we move on with our lives. We focus on what comes next.”
Happy in the US
After that, the tide seems to be turning more or less. Daughter Lilibet isborn, Harry and Meghan win the lawsuit against Associated Newspapers and manydomestic family scenes follow that show that the couple feels at home inCalifornia. “Are there things you miss from your life at the Institute?” theinterviewer asks Harry at the end. “Yes, I miss the rare family gatheringswhen we were all together under one roof for certain times of the year. I missthe UK, I miss my friends, and I’ve lost a few friends in this process. Thereare times when I was angry. But actually I can’t be angry, because we areexactly where we need to be. We made it across.”
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In episode 4 Harry and Meghan tell that everything changed after their tour in Australia. They say they were so popular that it aroused jealousy among the other royals. And so the media also began to write more negatively about her.
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Meghan says that it made her so bad that she wanted to commit suicide. Harry reacted very badly to that, he admits. And Harry’s family didn’t know how to deal with mental health problems either.
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Harry also accuses his brother – or his brother’s team – of leaking stories about them to the press.
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In the fifth episode focuses on Meghan Markle’s relationship with the British media. The Duchess of Sussex was the scapegoat for everything and everyone. In addition, the institute was only too happy to leave the former actress to her fate. And also online, Prince Harry’s wife had a hard time.
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Little by little, the departure of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is also coming into the picture. Although that does not go without a hit or a hit. The couple gets a lot of headwind. Once again the British press is giving them a hard time. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex should not expect support from the British palace either.
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Harry and Meghan’s decision to step back also caused problems within the royal family. For example, Harry’s relationship with his grandmother Elizabeth is discussed. In addition, the relationship with his brother Prince William, with whom he used to be very close, is also discussed.
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In the last episode emotionally tells Meghan about the miscarriage she had at the end of 2020. The couple blames the British tabloids for this, which are conducting a smear campaign following a lawsuit Meghan has brought against Associated Newspapers.
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The couple also looks back on the infamous interview with Oprah Winfrey and Prince Philip’s funeral. “I’ve resigned myself to the fact that we’ll get an apology from the royal family one day,” said Harry.
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The documentary ends on a positive note, with cozy family scenes. Meghan and Harry are clearly having a great time in California. The couple emphasizes several times that they can lead a much freer life than in England. “We made it across,” Harry concludes optimistically.