The Netflix series on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has reportedly used footage of the press filming events unrelated to the couple. In the context of the trailer which has been released today, it appears to depict how they were hounded by the paparazzi.
Harry & Meghan, which is to be an “unprecedented and in-depth documentary series”, is set to debut on the streaming platform on Thursday (December 8). The one-minute teaser was released earlier today (Monday), reports PA.
It shows the couple attending public events as well as private behind-the-scenes moments. In one section, clips of paparazzi are shown alongside old footage of Harry’s mother Princess Diana being followed by the media.
Harry says in a voiceover: “The pain and suffering of women marrying into this institution, this feeding frenzy. I was terrified, I didn’t want history to repeat itself.”
However, one of the clips shown to illustrate his words appears to be actually of members of the press awaiting TV star Katie Price arriving outside Crawley Magistrates Court. Another part of the trailer shows photographers huddling around a car as Meghan says, referring to the royal household, “I realised they are never going to protect you”.
Rather than depicting the royal couple being hounded, the clip seems to be of Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen being photographed.
At another point in the teaser, Harry says: “There’s a hierarchy of the family, you know, there’s leaking, but there’s also planting of stories. It’s a dirty game,” as a photo of the royal family at the Trooping the Colour in 2019 is shown followed by photos of photographers.
One of the images used shows a photographer on a balcony taking a picture of the couple walking with their son Archie down below. However, this picture appears to be of an accredited photographer during a royal rota event where Harry and Meghan met Desmond Tutu in Cape Town.
Netflix confirmed volume one of the series will launch on December 8 – exactly three months after the death of Harry’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth II – with the second volume to be released on December 15. Billed as a Netflix Global Event, the streaming giant has promised an “unprecedented and in-depth documentary series” over six episodes where Harry and Meghan “share the other side of their high-profile love story”.
It added it was a “never-before-seen look at one of the most-discussed couples in history”. Netflix said the show “explores the clandestine days of their early courtship and the challenges that led to them feeling forced to step back from their full-time roles in the institution”.
It features commentary from friends and family, most of whom have never spoken publicly before about what they witnessed according to Netflix, and historians who discuss the state of the British Commonwealth today and the royal family’s relationship with the press.
It adds: “The series does more than illuminate one couple’s love story, it paints a picture of our world and how we treat each other.”
The director is two-time Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning director Liz Garbus. Harry and Meghan signed lucrative deals – thought to be worth well over £100million – with Netflix and Spotify after quitting the monarchy and moving to the US.
Netflix and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been approached for comment.
