Harry and Meghan: What to look out for in the Netflix series
- Published
The first three episodes of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's new documentary have dropped - they cover how Harry and Meghan met, their first dates, and include insights into their family life. Here are some of the moments to look out for.
First glimpse of Harry as he leaves the Royal Family
After the dramatic opening credits and music, one of the first scenes in episode one shows Prince Harry filming himself inside the VIP Windsor Suite at London's Heathrow airport. He is waiting to board a flight to Canada.
It's March 2020. The Queen had agreed that her grandson and his wife could stand down from their roles as senior royals, and Harry has just finished his last stint of engagements. It's a personal and pivotal moment - and it's the first time we've seen it.
"What on earth happened? How did we end up here?" Harry says.
Footage of newspaper front pages expressing shock at the couple's dramatic decision to resign from the institution then cuts to Vancouver Island in Canada, where Meghan is filming herself on a mobile phone, with a towel wrapped around her hair.
"H is in London, and I'm here," Meghan says, shaking her head. "I don't even know where to begin."
Archie speaks
Later in episode one we get an intimate look into the Sussexes family life at their home in California. As a vivid red sunset appears across the screen, we hear Meghan asking her eldest child, Archie, how he would describe it.
"Well, it's all done beautiful," the toddler, now aged three, responds.
The audio is accompanied by footage - filmed by Meghan on her mobile phone - of Archie toddling down a path outside their Montecito home, while Harry pushes a pram, in which we assume is daughter, Lilibet.
Camping and a chicken sandwich in Botswana
Episode one also sees Harry and Meghan set out how their romance began, in 2016. The pair had only met twice before when Prince Harry invited Meghan to join him on a five-day trip to Botswana. They slept in a tent with no access to a bathroom, no mirrors, and no mobile phone reception.
"I'm getting on the plane and going to the middle of the bush? What am I doing?" Meghan says. "What if we don't like each other?"
Meghan admits things felt a little awkward when she first arrived. "I remember he handed me a chicken sandwich," she says, laughing. "Thankfully we really liked each other."
H, M - and Haz
It doesn't take long to realise that while they might be the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to you and I, much like any other couple, Harry and Meghan have pet names for one another.
And there seem to be a lot of them. She's M, Meg and Meghan, while he's H. At one point the camera shows Harry FaceTiming Meghan, and his name appears to be saved on her phone as Haz.
Meghan on racism
Episode two focusses on Meghan and her childhood and she talks candidly about both racism and being mixed race. "People don't talk about what it's like to be mixed race. So much of my self-identification was trying to figure out where I fit in. And I think a lot of that is, you're not white enough or you're not black enough. But I don't see the world that way."
Meghan is seen driving past the Hollywood Bowl, in Los Angeles, and talks about the last concert she went to there with her mum.
As they were exiting the car park after the show, Meghan remembers her mother impatiently honking her horn at someone blocking their way.
"And the woman turned around and screamed the N-word at my mom," Meghan says.
Her mother gripped the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white, Meghan says.
"She was just silent the rest of the drive home, we never talked about it."
In the same episode, Harry says that although he thought he "had an awareness" of racist issues, his relationship with Meghan has made him realise he's been "blissfully sleepwalking through life".
"My children are mixed race and I'm really proud of that," he says.
'I have always been a hugger'
In episode two, Meghan also recalls the first time she met other senior Royals and admits she hadn't anticipated the levels of formality that would be required - even behind closed doors.
She says she was barefoot and wearing ripped jeans when Prince William and his wife, Catherine, came over for dinner - and she went in for a hug.
"I have always been a hugger," Meghan says, "I didn't realise that that was jarring for a lot of Brits."
Later, she describes the moment Harry asked if she knew how to curtsy, moments before her "surreal" first meeting with her boyfriend's grandmother - the late Queen.
"I just thought that was a joke," Meghan says. "It was so intense."
When the Queen left the room, Meghan was congratulated by Princess Eugenie and her mother, Sarah, Duchess of York.
"I didn't know what I was doing," Meghan admits.
The proposal and the penguin onesies
In the same episode, Harry describes when he proposed to Meghan. It was late 2017 and Meghan had been roasting a chicken at their home, when Harry decided to open a bottle of champagne.
Having already asked for his grandmother's permission, Harry then got down on one knee to pop the question in the gardens of Kensington Palace, surrounded by 15 electric candles.
Although an official announcement would not be made for some weeks, the couple had an engagement party for friends at which all the guests dressed in animal costumes.
"Meghan and Harry were in matching penguin onesies - because penguins mate for life," their friend, Lucy Fraser, recalls. "They were so sweet."
Muted outfits
While the Queen was famous for her colourful, co-ordinated outfits, in episode three, Meghan explains why she was often seen dressed in muted tones - including white and beige - while in the UK.
"You can't ever wear the same colour as Her Majesty," she explains, "but then you also shouldn't be wearing the same colour as one of the more senior members of the family."
She says she did everything she could "to blend in".
"I don't want to embarrass the family," she adds.