As their Netflix series comes to an end, one thing is very clear: Harry and Meghan want us to view this as a love story. The two, for better or for worse, are hopeless romantics and at every stage reiterate just how much they adore one another. While that may have a fair few viewers rolling their eyes, the sweetness mixed in with salacious details makes for a satisfying happily-ever-after.
We begin typically where the fairytale would begin, on their wedding day. Meghan describes being calm and Harry recounts the events with his signature disbelief that he landed this woman. Even King Charles is talked about lovingly, with Meghan recalling just how charming he was in the wake of her estrangement from her own father and how much it meant for him to walk her down the aisle. A surprising amount of time is given to them gleefully rehashing the details, from Elton John’s performance to the event’s symbolism (Serena Williams overeggs the matter by describing it as “courageous”). The documentary’s access brings in new photographs and footage of the wedding, which somewhat screams “Netflix exclusivity deal.”
The two are equally effusive whenever the Queen comes up, studiously reiterating their respect for her (the programme was filmed before her death). And Prince Philip is only ever discussed in the most loving of terms; the two seem to want to emphasise that breaking off from the royal family did not mean rejecting family itself. But as the programme continues, the sweetness gives way to something far more interesting: it is clear that Meghan and Harry are furious.
In the years the programme covers we’ve not been short of royal content; decades after her death, Diana’s “revenge dress” is still being dissected. This series continually draws parallels between Diana’s experience and Harry and Meghan’s, which are glaring. When footage of Diana appears she seems like a soothsayer, talking about how her popularity led to jealousy within her marriage and the palace – and giving her son and his wife a warning they should have heeded sooner.
That “jealousy” is where things take a turn for Meghan and Harry, and the programme claims things started to go wrong after they proved a hit on their tour of Australia, while Meghan was pregnant with Archie. As grand and imposing as the firm can seem, it’s always remarkable to be reminded just how petty it can be. Where the first episodes placed the blame squarely at the feet of the British media, the latter half is more critical of the palace itself. While anyone who has taken a cursory glance at the tabloids can see how Meghan was condemned for what Kate was praised for (eating avocados or touching her pregnant belly), the show takes us step by step through how increasingly racist her portrayal became. As Prof David Olusoga explains, when it came to Meghan’s race, “anger sells” and the tabloids partook in “outrage industrial complex”. Harry appears particularly incensed by the way his wife was reported on, and keen to point out its racist undertones. At one point he plainly states: “If you can’t see the difference, I can’t help you.” The documentary finally follows them through to the present day, where the couple are settled in California, enjoying their newfound freedom and large Netflix paycheques.
Meghan and Harry’s story isn’t one that can really provide much in terms of new information. Nearly every element has been reported on ad nauseam, from the meetings surrounding their departure, to her miscarriage, to the lawsuit against the Daily Mail. But the series still lands a punch because there are so many unlikely twists, with palace officials leaking information to scupper their plans, horrendous death threats, social media frenzies and the truly surreal role Tyler Perry played in their rescue. Fervent royalists will probably be outraged by Harry being so openly critical of his father and brother, but in the programme it seems that Meghan’s mere existence is enough to infuriate many of them.
No matter your feelings about any of the royals, by the time the series shows us this happy couple and their two young children playing in the garden of their California home, you can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief that they escaped. Even with their tendency towards the saccharine, and an extremely California way of expressing themselves, when they conclude that “love wins” it’s clear that for the two of them, it really did.
