'It was incredibly painful' - Meghan on her father speaking to press
Harry and Meghan/Archewell Productions/Diamond Docs/Story Syndicate/NetflixCopyright: Harry and Meghan/Archewell Productions/Diamond Docs/Story Syndicate/Netflix
Meghan discusses the impact she felt the media had on her relationship with her father Thomas Markle early in episode five, about two minutes in.
She recalls how she had "talked to my Dad several times a week".
The interviewer asks: "So when did things start to go awry there?"
"When the media got involved," she says.
"After the wedding my Dad started doing these interviews mostly saying things about me.
"It was incredibly painful.
"And then he started criticising the Royal Family. It was very embarrassing for the family.
"It was a problem that needed to be solved and they wanted me to make it stop."
Meghan recalls croissant and mimosa on wedding morning
Steven McIntosh
Entertainment Reporter
Harry & Meghan/Archewell Productions/Diamond Docs/Story Syndicate/NetflixCopyright: Harry & Meghan/Archewell Productions/Diamond Docs/Story Syndicate/Netflix
The soaring piano music is back as the opening credits roll on our live-blogging of episode four.
"On the day of our wedding, it's like I went into a really calm space," Meghan says.
"I don't know how I was so calm. And all I wanted was a mimosa, a croissant and to play the song Going to The Chapel. And that's what I did, and it was great."
To be fair, that does sound like a good way to spend the morning to us. Possibly even more enjoyable than getting up early to liveblog a royal documentary on Netflix.
The song plays, and archive footage is shown of the morning of the couple's wedding. David and Victoria Beckham are there, which always denotes an event of national significance.
The crowds have lined the streets to see Meghan being driven to the church and walking up the steps. The ceremony is about to begin.
'I was being fed to the wolves' - Meghan
Harry and Meghan/Archewell Productions/Diamond Docs/Story Syndicate/NetflixCopyright: Harry and Meghan/Archewell Productions/Diamond Docs/Story Syndicate/Netflix
Episode five opens with Meghan saying she did everything she could to make the Royal Family proud and be one of them, as shots are shown of her joining them at Sandringham for Christmas in 2018.
"And then the bubble burst," she says.
Speaking as negative tabloid headlines fill the screen, Harry then says: "It was already clear to the media that the palace wasn't gonna protect her. Once that happens the floodgates open."
Meghan explains: "And I realised that I wasn't just being thrown to the wolves, I was being fed to the wolves."
Meghan likens herself to 'foreign organism'
Steven McIntosh
Entertainment Reporter
Harry and Meghan/Archewell Productions/Diamond Docs/Story Syndicate/NetflixCopyright: Harry and Meghan/Archewell Productions/Diamond Docs/Story Syndicate/Netflix
Our live-blogging of episode four kicks off with the familiar "ba-boom" of the Netflix logo, before proceedings kick off with archive footage of previous royal weddings.
The clips include Prince Charles and Princess Diana and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge - who may well come up again over the next three episodes.
Meghan recalls hearing a private secretary tell her: "It's like this fish that's swimming perfectly, and then one day this foreign organism comes in, and then the entire thing goes 'what is that? What is it doing here? It doesn't look like us, it doesn't move like us, we don't like it, get it off of us.'"
She continues: "And she just explained that, you know, they'll soon see, that it's stronger, faster, even better with this organism as part of it.
"It will be hard at the beginning for them to adjust to this new thing but then it'll be amazing.
"And I was really hopeful that that was true."
The voices of Gloria Hunniford and Coleen Nolan can be heard alongside Janet Street Porter, who can be heard describing Meghan as a "controlling woman".
As much as we always welcome hearing old Loose Women clips, the implication is Meghan is going to use this episode to suggest she was not welcome in the royal family in the eyes of the media.
BreakingNew Harry and Meghan episodes hit Netflix
It's just past 08:00 GMT - and the final three episodes of the Harry and Meghan series have now appeared on Netflix.
Stay with us on this page as we keep you informed of the key lines, as well as reaction and analysis from our royal correspondents.
We'll also be live-blogging the three episodes - so if you don't want to watch them yourselves, you don't have to. Stay with us.
Stronger attacks would put pressure on Palace to respond
Sean Coughlan
BBC News, royal correspondent
These next episodes promise to be more hard-hitting and direct in their claims that Harry and Meghan were deliberately undermined.
Or at least that’s the impression from the trailers, with talk of "lying” and “institutional gaslighting” and Meghan being used as a “scapegoat” in manipulated press coverage.
What will be under scrutiny is how specific these claims might be and what examples or evidence is provided. Who exactly is being accused of what?
The stronger and more personal the attacks, the more pressure there will be on Buckingham Palace to respond.
Although so far, royal aides seem determined to avoid commenting if at all possible.
The suggestion is that behind the palace walls, the mood is more sad than angry.
But if the claims become too critical of the rest of the Royal Family, will they eventually feel the need to reply? Or will they feel the best answer is to get on with the day-to-day round of visits and events, rather than get dragged into a transatlantic media squabble?
And might they calculate that Britain doesn’t want to hear any more moaning from California?
There was a feeling last week that the episodes hadn’t delivered the expected bombshells and revelations. After all the build-up, there was plenty of sizzle but not much steak.
But this second serving seems to want to be more controversial.
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
Press intrusion likely to remain central
Steven McIntosh
Entertainment Reporter
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Like last week, I will be watching the latest episodes of Harry & Meghan in order, and live-blogging them here.
The theme of press intrusion permeated the first half of the series, and it will likely shift up a gear in the second as the timeline reaches Harry and Meghan’s wedding and its aftermath.
In the third episode, the couple discussed being chased by photographers, and how their friends and family were approached to sell stories on the couple.
“It's amazing what people will do when offered a huge amount of money,” said Harry, whose tell-all docuseries is part of a reported $100m Netflix deal.
Meghan also recalled how the paparazzi “stalked” her in the early days of their relationship, recalling how photographers surrounded her home in Toronto.
For episodes four, five and six, expect to see the couple discuss the scrutiny they have continued to face, particularly since 2020, when they announced their decision to step down from royal duties.
It’s almost time to get started. Make our espresso a double.
What else was said in the recent trailers?
Harry and Meghan/Archewell Productions/Diamond Docs/Story Syndicate/NetflixCopyright: Harry and Meghan/Archewell Productions/Diamond Docs/Story Syndicate/Netflix
In the second trailer previewing the next part of the documentary series, it is claimed that Buckingham Palace planted stories.
The Palace was also accused by the duchess’s lawyer of "a real kind of war against Meghan". Jenny Afia said she’d “seen evidence that there was negative briefing from the Palace against Harry and Meghan”.
Buckingham Palace is yet to comment on the series.
Prince Harry said on Tuesday that there had been lies to protect his brother, Prince William (though it was not clear from whom), but Meghan went a step further in the later trailer.
She claimed the Palace would target website homepages and newspaper front covers with stories about her whenever another member of the royal family got negative attention.
Neither Meghan nor anyone else in the trailer offered evidence for the claims.
Later in the trailer, Afia said the “barrage of negative articles” about the breakdown of the relationship between Meghan and her father was an example of some of the “nasty” coverage of Meghan.
Harry comments in recent trailer cause confusion
There was confusion over comments from Prince Harry in a trailer for the programme earlier in the week, during which he said lies were constructed to protect Prince William.
"They were happy to lie to protect my brother, they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us," Prince Harry said. But it’s unclear exactly who he meant by “they”.
There was a potential answer. Another version of the same trailer offered a different subtitle to the same voiceover, which read: “The British media are happy to lie to protect my brother”.
But the context in which Prince William was allegedly “protected” was also unclear. Netflix has been asked for a comment on the differences in this key moment.
The trailer also showed Meghan and Harry explaining why they stepped down from royal duties. "I wasn't being thrown to the wolves, I was being fed to the wolves," Meghan said.
It suggested allegations of a campaign against the couple.
Buckingham Palace has so far not commented on the Netflix series, and has not responded to these latest clips.
NetflixCopyright: Netflix
Against a backdrop of Buckingham Palace, one version of the trailer accuses "they" of lying without specifying whoImage caption: Against a backdrop of Buckingham Palace, one version of the trailer accuses "they" of lying without specifying who
NetflixCopyright: Netflix
In another version, the accusation is aimed at the "British media"Image caption: In another version, the accusation is aimed at the "British media"
Other key moments from the first half of the series
PA MediaCopyright: PA Media
Before the second half of the series appears on Netflix, here are some more takeaways from the earlier episodes:
Prince Harry called the press pack of royal correspondents "essentially an extended PR arm of the Royal Family". He said he believed the media saw his trauma as its "narrative to control"
Meghan called the time around the pair’s engagement an "orchestrated reality show"
Harry said his family were "incredibly impressed" with Meghan when they first met her. He added: "But the fact that I was dating an American actress was probably what clouded their judgment more than anything else at the beginning”
The duke compared Meghan to his mother, Princess Diana – who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997. He said: "So much of what Meghan is, and how she is, is so similar to my mum. She has the same compassion, she has the same empathy, she has the same confidence, she has this warmth about her"
The duchess's mother, Doria Ragland, said she warned Meghan that the harassment was "about race"
Harry said wearing a Nazi uniform to a 2005 costume party was“ one of the biggest mistakes” of his life
Key moments from Volume One
Duke and Duchess of Sussex / Netflix/PACopyright: Duke and Duchess of Sussex / Netflix/PA
In the first three episodes of the series, the couple talked about life in the Royal Family, press intrusion and race issues.
Prince Harry – who is fifth in line to the throne – said some royals had questioned why Meghan should get “special treatment” from press harassment.
“Some of the members of the family were like, ‘my wife had to go through that, so why should your girlfriend be treated any differently?’” Harry said.
But, he added: “The difference is the race element.”
He added that he was proud of having mixed-race children, which made him want to “make the world a better place for them.”
The couple also spoke about meeting other royals, with Meghan saying she found it surprising that the formality "carries over" even when not in public, referencing a meeting with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
“I remember I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot,” she recalled. “I was a hugger. I've always been a hugger; I didn't realise that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.
"I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside."
This morning, Netflix will release the final three episodes of the six-part series, Harry and Meghan - in which the couple pledge to tell their side of the story about life in the Royal Family.
The second batch of episodes drops at 08:00 GMT. While it’s not yet clear what these will cover, Netflix has already given us a bit of a flavour through a couple of new trailers.
In one, Harry is shown saying: “They were happy to lie to protect my brother”. It’s not clear who “they” referred to.
The Royal Family is yet to comment on the series.
Our reporter will be live-blogging all three episodes back-to-back, and we’ll keep you posted on the key lines, reaction, and analysis from our royal correspondent. Stick with us.
Live Reporting
Edited by Chris Giles and James FitzGerald
All times stated are UK
'It was incredibly painful' - Meghan on her father speaking to press
Meghan discusses the impact she felt the media had on her relationship with her father Thomas Markle early in episode five, about two minutes in.
She recalls how she had "talked to my Dad several times a week".
The interviewer asks: "So when did things start to go awry there?"
"When the media got involved," she says.
"After the wedding my Dad started doing these interviews mostly saying things about me.
"It was incredibly painful.
"And then he started criticising the Royal Family. It was very embarrassing for the family.
"It was a problem that needed to be solved and they wanted me to make it stop."
Meghan recalls croissant and mimosa on wedding morning
Steven McIntosh
Entertainment Reporter
The soaring piano music is back as the opening credits roll on our live-blogging of episode four.
"On the day of our wedding, it's like I went into a really calm space," Meghan says.
"I don't know how I was so calm. And all I wanted was a mimosa, a croissant and to play the song Going to The Chapel. And that's what I did, and it was great."
To be fair, that does sound like a good way to spend the morning to us. Possibly even more enjoyable than getting up early to liveblog a royal documentary on Netflix.
The song plays, and archive footage is shown of the morning of the couple's wedding. David and Victoria Beckham are there, which always denotes an event of national significance.
The crowds have lined the streets to see Meghan being driven to the church and walking up the steps. The ceremony is about to begin.
'I was being fed to the wolves' - Meghan
Episode five opens with Meghan saying she did everything she could to make the Royal Family proud and be one of them, as shots are shown of her joining them at Sandringham for Christmas in 2018.
"And then the bubble burst," she says.
Speaking as negative tabloid headlines fill the screen, Harry then says: "It was already clear to the media that the palace wasn't gonna protect her. Once that happens the floodgates open."
Meghan explains: "And I realised that I wasn't just being thrown to the wolves, I was being fed to the wolves."
Meghan likens herself to 'foreign organism'
Steven McIntosh
Entertainment Reporter
Our live-blogging of episode four kicks off with the familiar "ba-boom" of the Netflix logo, before proceedings kick off with archive footage of previous royal weddings.
The clips include Prince Charles and Princess Diana and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge - who may well come up again over the next three episodes.
Meghan recalls hearing a private secretary tell her: "It's like this fish that's swimming perfectly, and then one day this foreign organism comes in, and then the entire thing goes 'what is that? What is it doing here? It doesn't look like us, it doesn't move like us, we don't like it, get it off of us.'"
She continues: "And she just explained that, you know, they'll soon see, that it's stronger, faster, even better with this organism as part of it.
"It will be hard at the beginning for them to adjust to this new thing but then it'll be amazing.
"And I was really hopeful that that was true."
The voices of Gloria Hunniford and Coleen Nolan can be heard alongside Janet Street Porter, who can be heard describing Meghan as a "controlling woman".
As much as we always welcome hearing old Loose Women clips, the implication is Meghan is going to use this episode to suggest she was not welcome in the royal family in the eyes of the media.
BreakingNew Harry and Meghan episodes hit Netflix
It's just past 08:00 GMT - and the final three episodes of the Harry and Meghan series have now appeared on Netflix.
Stay with us on this page as we keep you informed of the key lines, as well as reaction and analysis from our royal correspondents.
We'll also be live-blogging the three episodes - so if you don't want to watch them yourselves, you don't have to. Stay with us.
Stronger attacks would put pressure on Palace to respond
Sean Coughlan
BBC News, royal correspondent
These next episodes promise to be more hard-hitting and direct in their claims that Harry and Meghan were deliberately undermined.
Or at least that’s the impression from the trailers, with talk of "lying” and “institutional gaslighting” and Meghan being used as a “scapegoat” in manipulated press coverage.
What will be under scrutiny is how specific these claims might be and what examples or evidence is provided. Who exactly is being accused of what?
The stronger and more personal the attacks, the more pressure there will be on Buckingham Palace to respond.
Although so far, royal aides seem determined to avoid commenting if at all possible.
The suggestion is that behind the palace walls, the mood is more sad than angry.
But if the claims become too critical of the rest of the Royal Family, will they eventually feel the need to reply? Or will they feel the best answer is to get on with the day-to-day round of visits and events, rather than get dragged into a transatlantic media squabble?
And might they calculate that Britain doesn’t want to hear any more moaning from California?
There was a feeling last week that the episodes hadn’t delivered the expected bombshells and revelations. After all the build-up, there was plenty of sizzle but not much steak.
But this second serving seems to want to be more controversial.
Press intrusion likely to remain central
Steven McIntosh
Entertainment Reporter
Like last week, I will be watching the latest episodes of Harry & Meghan in order, and live-blogging them here.
The theme of press intrusion permeated the first half of the series, and it will likely shift up a gear in the second as the timeline reaches Harry and Meghan’s wedding and its aftermath.
In the third episode, the couple discussed being chased by photographers, and how their friends and family were approached to sell stories on the couple.
“It's amazing what people will do when offered a huge amount of money,” said Harry, whose tell-all docuseries is part of a reported $100m Netflix deal.
Meghan also recalled how the paparazzi “stalked” her in the early days of their relationship, recalling how photographers surrounded her home in Toronto.
For episodes four, five and six, expect to see the couple discuss the scrutiny they have continued to face, particularly since 2020, when they announced their decision to step down from royal duties.
It’s almost time to get started. Make our espresso a double.
What else was said in the recent trailers?
In the second trailer previewing the next part of the documentary series, it is claimed that Buckingham Palace planted stories.
The Palace was also accused by the duchess’s lawyer of "a real kind of war against Meghan". Jenny Afia said she’d “seen evidence that there was negative briefing from the Palace against Harry and Meghan”.
Buckingham Palace is yet to comment on the series.
Prince Harry said on Tuesday that there had been lies to protect his brother, Prince William (though it was not clear from whom), but Meghan went a step further in the later trailer.
She claimed the Palace would target website homepages and newspaper front covers with stories about her whenever another member of the royal family got negative attention.
Neither Meghan nor anyone else in the trailer offered evidence for the claims.
Later in the trailer, Afia said the “barrage of negative articles” about the breakdown of the relationship between Meghan and her father was an example of some of the “nasty” coverage of Meghan.
Harry comments in recent trailer cause confusion
There was confusion over comments from Prince Harry in a trailer for the programme earlier in the week, during which he said lies were constructed to protect Prince William.
"They were happy to lie to protect my brother, they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us," Prince Harry said. But it’s unclear exactly who he meant by “they”.
There was a potential answer. Another version of the same trailer offered a different subtitle to the same voiceover, which read: “The British media are happy to lie to protect my brother”.
But the context in which Prince William was allegedly “protected” was also unclear. Netflix has been asked for a comment on the differences in this key moment.
The trailer also showed Meghan and Harry explaining why they stepped down from royal duties. "I wasn't being thrown to the wolves, I was being fed to the wolves," Meghan said.
It suggested allegations of a campaign against the couple.
Buckingham Palace has so far not commented on the Netflix series, and has not responded to these latest clips.
Other key moments from the first half of the series
Before the second half of the series appears on Netflix, here are some more takeaways from the earlier episodes:
Key moments from Volume One
In the first three episodes of the series, the couple talked about life in the Royal Family, press intrusion and race issues.
Prince Harry – who is fifth in line to the throne – said some royals had questioned why Meghan should get “special treatment” from press harassment.
“Some of the members of the family were like, ‘my wife had to go through that, so why should your girlfriend be treated any differently?’” Harry said. But, he added: “The difference is the race element.”
He added that he was proud of having mixed-race children, which made him want to “make the world a better place for them.”
The couple also spoke about meeting other royals, with Meghan saying she found it surprising that the formality "carries over" even when not in public, referencing a meeting with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
“I remember I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot,” she recalled. “I was a hugger. I've always been a hugger; I didn't realise that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits. "I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside."
Welcome along
Good morning, and welcome.
This morning, Netflix will release the final three episodes of the six-part series, Harry and Meghan - in which the couple pledge to tell their side of the story about life in the Royal Family.
The second batch of episodes drops at 08:00 GMT. While it’s not yet clear what these will cover, Netflix has already given us a bit of a flavour through a couple of new trailers.
In one, Harry is shown saying: “They were happy to lie to protect my brother”. It’s not clear who “they” referred to.
The Royal Family is yet to comment on the series.
Our reporter will be live-blogging all three episodes back-to-back, and we’ll keep you posted on the key lines, reaction, and analysis from our royal correspondent. Stick with us.