Harry & Meghan: Netflix releases latest trailer for volume II

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On Thursday, the final three episodes of Harry & Meghan will be released on Netflix. Trailers suggest that Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have more to say about their family overseas, with the latest preview showing the Duchess of Sussex’s lawyer claiming “there was a war against Meghan”. Previous episodes saw the Duke and Duchess of Sussex touch on issues they faced as working royals, including press attention, royal protocol and their relationships with senior members of the Firm. While the couple didn’t direct any criticism at specific royals, it has widely been assumed that some of their comments were directed at King Charles III, Prince William and Kate, Princess of Wales.  

One instance sees Harry claim his family did not offer assistance when his then-girlfriend was on the receiving end of intense press and public intrusion. He alleged that when he asked for help, his family said it was a “rite of passage” and that their wives had to go through it — so why should his partner be treated any differently. 

Zoe Forsey and Russell Myers — host of and regular guest on the Daily Mirror’s Pod Save The King podcast — discussed the first volume of Harry & Meghan on last week’s episode. 

Talking about Harry’s comments, Ms Forsey said: “He didn’t directly say it was about William and Charles, but there’s not really anyone else it could have been.” 

Harry criticised the general treatment of women entering the Royal Family, saying it was through his mother that he learned about “the pain and suffering of women marrying into this institution”, a comment interpreted as being about Kate. As Harry spoke, an image of the Princess of Wales flashed across the screen, accompanied by the headline: “Princess in crisis.”

Later in the series, Meghan talks about her first meeting with Kate — a casual dinner at Kensington Palace. The Duchess’ description has been described as particularly “unfair,” with Ms Forsey and Mr Myers arguing it paints the Prince and Princess of Wales in an “unfortunate” light. 

In the second episode, Meghan described the dinner at which the future Duchess of Sussex wore ripped jeans and was barefoot. “I was a hugger. I’ve always been a hugger. I didn’t realise that was really jarring for a lot of Brits,” she said. “I guess that I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside.”

Mr Myers said: “Kate and William come in for pretty bruising encounters; Meghan talks about their first meeting saying: ‘I’m a hugger.’ Typically Americans, I suppose some Brits will say, are…sort of over the top and emotional.”

He continued: “And William and Kate, as a representation of the British Royal Family, are very staid, [have a] stiff upper lip and that just went down like a lead balloon. 

“So you get this whole concept of they [Harry and Meghan] are the really chilled-out people who wanted to modernise the monarchy and essentially that is quite true, but you can’t just put a bulldozer through the centuries-old institution. You’ve got to respect some of the — mainly archaic — tones within it. I thought that was quite unfortunate with Kate and William because I do think they are quite warm people.”

Ms Forsey added: “This was [during] the early days of their relationship, and while they obviously — I’m assuming — hoped it would work out, they didn’t know that they weren’t going to break up six months later…They are used to this world of knowing that people sell [stories]; you’ve got to have your guard up…People have to earn your trust and that can’t have been a surprise.”

Mr Myers continued: “I thought it was an unfair interpretation of the event because everybody probably did have their guard up — the fact that they’re not all hugging, joking and laughing. But then to tarnish everyone by saying, I didn’t think it would be so jarring and the very fact that this lot are all the same, I thought it was pretty unfortunate and it was [like using a] sledgehammer to crack a nut. It just felt a bit personal to me.”

The Duke also explained that he felt a certain pressure to marry someone who fit in with what was expected within the Royal Family, rather than someone he truly loved. “I think for so many people in the family, especially obviously the men, there can be a temptation or an urge to marry someone who would fit the mould as opposed to somebody who you perhaps are destined to be with,” he said. 

Touching on how he takes after his mother, the late Princess Diana, who died in a Paris car crash when he was just 12 years old, Harry added: “The difference between making the decision with your head or your heart. My mum certainly made most of her decisions, if not all of them, from her heart. And I am my mother’s son.”

The comment has been interpreted as a dig at William’s relationship with Kate, with many commentators claiming Harry was suggesting that his older brother only married his current wife to “fit the mould”.  

Ms Forsey said: “It felt like a bit of a dig at William…Whatever your views are on William and Kate, I don’t think anyone could say they are not completely in love — they met and fell in love at university — you can see in the pictures that you see of them. To me, it just felt like he [Harry] was saying, ‘they’re together because she was right for the royal job but I didn’t do that,’ and that just felt a bit mean.”

Later, Mr Myers speculated that Harry and Meghan were alluding to the fact that they are “special” because they married for love and in doing so, “broke the mould”. 

Friends of the brothers have also assumed Harry was indirectly referencing the Prince and Princess of Wales. One told The Times last week: “That was so cheeky, that’s a love match if ever there was one. Catherine doesn’t even fit the mould — she’s not an earl’s daughter or blue-blooded. The sadness is Harry was so close to Catherine.”

Another friend of the family, who saw the King on Thursday when Harry & Meghan aired, said: “It is so awful. What on earth are they doing? I want to say to them: ‘Think of your futures. Think of how you may regret this in years to come.’”

It has been reported that William and Kate are choosing not to watch the docuseries. One friend said: “William does not want us fuelling the conflict, he’s been very clear on that. He’s keen to have as much of a normal week as possible.” Another revealed his advice for the Prince: “I reminded him to keep his rifle pointed at the target and not to be distracted, even though it’s all f***ing tedious in every sense of the word.”

The next three episodes of the series will air on Thursday, December 15. While the first teaser for the second volume showed Harry and Meghan discussing their wedding dance, the following two have indicated that the Sussexes have more revealing topics to discuss. 

In the teaser, dropped on Monday, Harry turns to the camera and says: “They were happy to lie to protect my brother”. It is unclear whether he is referring to the Palace or the media.

Two different versions of the trailer were released — one on Netflix’s website and one on the streaming service’s Twitter page — the first suggests Harry is referring to the press; the second the Palace. It is presumed that both the Palace and the media will come under attack when the final episodes air. 

Given the Prince’s mention of his brother in the explosive trailer, many expect the Sussexes to delve further into their fractured relationships with William and Kate. 

Katie Nicholl, author of William and Harry: Behind Palace Walls, speculated: “Given Meghan has rehashed several old stories in the first three episodes, it’s likely that she will revisit the story over who made who cry at a bridesmaid dress fitting for Princess Charlotte in advance of Meghan’s 2018 wedding to Prince Harry.  

“Reports at the time stated that Meghan made Kate cry but Meghan refuted that in the couple’s 2021 interview with Oprah, insisting that it was Kate who made Meghan cry.” 

Writing for Vanity Fair, she continued: “It’s probable the Sussexes have other examples of when they felt unprotected and as Meghan says ‘fed to the wolves’. No doubt the palace will be watching closely and may be forced to issue a comment.”

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