Buckingham Palace prepares for Harry and Meghan series

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  Arjan van der Horst

  United Kingdom and Ireland correspondent

Hurricane season has officially ended in the United States, but a princely PR hurricane is brewing on America’s west coast at the last minute of 2022. Buckingham Palace braces for damaging new revelations about the British royal family.

The first three episodes of the six-part documentary series appear on Netflix tomorrow Harry and Meghan. The series is about the private life of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle. The first three episodes focus on the early years of their romance and strained relationship with the royal family.

Part two, due out next week, will examine the motivations behind it megxitin early 2020. The couple then announced via Instagram that they would be retiring from the royal family and moving to California.

The British already had a preview with two trailers last week. While the promo videos together are no more than two minutes long, they’ve been dominating the news for a week now. In September, commentators speculated whether Queen Elizabeth’s death would be a moment of reconciliation for Harry and his brother William, who have grown apart in recent years and barely speak to each other. But the trailers make it clear that there’s no end to the Civil War in the Windsors any time soon.

In the documentary, Prince Harry denounces the invasion of his privacy and complains about the aggressive press that constantly harasses him and his wife. He talks about a “dirty game” and suggests that the royal family have inserted some of the juicy newspaper articles.

“There is a hierarchy in the family,” Prince Harry can be heard saying in a voiceover below images of the royal family and reporters. “Stories have been leaked, but stories have also been made up.”

In the trailer, he also refers to his mother, Princess Diana. “The pain and suffering of women marrying into royalty, the insatiable hunger of the media. I was terrified and didn’t want history to repeat itself. I’m doing everything I can to protect my family.”

The British criticize Harry and Meghan on the street:

In particular, the complaint about the invasion of their privacy is striking, because the couple constantly tries to advertise themselves. This year was the high-profile interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which Meghan Markle spoke racism within the royal family spoke. Plus, she had his podcast seriesso this month the Netflix series will appear, with intimate moments from their private life, and in a few weeks, Prince Harry will publish his biography.

Meghan and Harry defend themselves that this is the only way they can tell their side of the story. “No one sees what happens behind closed doors,” says Harry. Meghan, wiping tears from her cheeks in the trailer, adds, “When there’s so much at stake, doesn’t it make sense for you to hear the story from us?”

The documentary series certainly doesn’t hurt the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as are their official titles. Netflix is ​​reportedly paying €95 million for the series. Meghan would have received 24 million euros for her podcast on Spotify. According to British media, Prince Harry has received an advance of 19 million euros for the autobiography Replacementwhich will be released in early January.

The release of the trailers coincided with Harry’s brother William’s first overseas visit as crown prince. He and his wife Kate were in the US last week to present the Earshot Prize to citizens who are committed to a better environment, an initiative that King Charles’ eldest son attaches great importance to.

The British media agreed that the release of the trailers was just about time, to overshadow and interrupt William and Kate’s visit. The Times newspaper quoted an unnamed building source as “seething with rage”. “It’s emotionally draining. There’s no end.”

Prince William and Kate knew the series was coming and had opted not to comment on any commercials. The Crown Prince appears to be following the Windsor motto regarding royal hoopla: never explain, never complain. Never explain, never complain. In other words, keep your jaws locked. The coming weeks will show whether that ancient wisdom holds up in this public relations storm outside the classroom.