The first part of the Harry and Meghan series premiered on Netflix, offering the perspective of Prince Harry, 38, and Meghan Markle, 41. All about life in the royal family and how they met.
In the first part of the series, the two talk about the beginning of their romance and their engagement, as well as the harassment from the press and Meghan's first interactions with the royal family. According to a message shown at the beginning of the program, the royal family did not want to comment on the content of the production. See the main highlights of the first part of the documentary:
Meghan and Harry met on social media.
The couple tells how their romance began. Harry fell in love with Meghan after seeing a photo of the actress on a mutual friend's social media. They started exchanging messages and soon got to know each other.
After just two dates, Meghan agreed to travel with the prince to Botswana, where he was on a work trip. They spent five days together in a tent in the middle of the forest.
“There were no distractions. There was no cell phone signal, there was no mirror, there was no bathroom. There was no, ‘Do I look good?’ Luckily, we really liked each other,” Meghan said.
Harry compares Meghan to his mother, Princess Diana
The first episode shows Harry reminiscing about Princess Diana. He said he doesn't have many childhood memories of his mother: "It's like I've blocked them out. I always remember her laugh, her cheeky laugh," he said. He compared Meghan to Lady Di and showed images of the couple's son, Archie, touching a photo of his grandmother.
“A lot of who Meghan is and the way she is is very similar to my mother. She has the same compassion, she has the same empathy, the same confidence. She has this warmth within her.”
Also shown are images of Diana's controversial interview with BBC journalist Martin Bashir. She was tricked by the reporter with false documents to give the interview. William has said that the programme should no longer be shown.
“We all know she was tricked into doing the interview, but at the same time she spoke the truth of her experience,” Harry said in the documentary.
Meghan was proposed to by Harry on bended knee
When the second episode arrives, we find out how the long-awaited proposal happened. The couple gives details of the moment Harry asked Meghan for her hand. Then Harry spread fifteen electronic candles in the North Garden of Kensington Palace and got down on one knee to make the proposal. They were accompanied by Meghan's dog, Guy.
On the other hand, Meghan says that the official interview with the British press about the engagement was “rehearsed” and an “orchestrated reality show”. The couple says that, at the time, they were not able to tell their story the way they wanted.
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Meghan being an actress was a matter for royalty
According to Harry, Meghan pleased the royal family when introduced.
“My family was very impressed when they met her. Some of them didn’t know what to do. They were surprised. Surprised that the redhead could be with such a beautiful and intelligent woman,” he said.
He said that the fact that Meghan is an American actress may have influenced their judgment at first, and that they believed the relationship would not last. Meghan agreed and said she believes her profession was a big problem in her relationship with the royals. She believes she was “labeled” because of it.
Meghan was never close to her half-sister
Samantha Markle, Meghan's half-sister, has criticized the former actress several times in the press. Speaking for the first time on the subject, Meghan says she was never close to her and that they never had a relationship, which Samantha denies.
The Duchess also revealed that, despite not having contact with her sister, she is close to Ashleigh, Samantha's daughter. Ashleigh was raised by her grandparents and said she sees Meghan as a sister and a mother figure. Meghan, in turn, describes her niece as a “little sister”.
However, after Samantha's disagreements with her half-sister, the two became estranged. Ashleigh cried when talking about her aunt's estrangement. Meghan said it was "heartbreaking" to have to tell Ashleigh that she couldn't invite her to the wedding due to the Palace's communications team. For them, it would be strange to invite their daughter without inviting Samantha.
The series will have its continuation of new episodes on December 15th.