The Biggest Bombshells From Prince Harry & Meghan Markle's Controversial Netflix Series
After months of anticipation, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Netflix docuseries is finally here. The first part of Harry & Meghan debuted on Thursday, and though these first few episodes were mostly focused on the early years of their relationship and marriage, viewers still learned a lot about what was happening behind the scenes.
They addressed racism in the royal family.
Calling out racism throughout their relationship is something that Meghan and Harry have never hesitated to do, and this docuseries is no different. In 2017, before the couple tied the knot, Princess Michael of Kent wore a racist brooch to a luncheon where Meghan was in attendance — something they addressed in the docuseries.
But they weren't just throwing out blame. Harry also took the opportunity to discuss one of his biggest scandals: When he wore a Nazi uniform to a costume party in 2005. Afterward, he spoke with a rabbi and a Holocaust survivor to try to educate himself.
"Probably one of the biggest mistakes in my life. I felt so ashamed afterwards," he said. "All I wanted to do was make it right."
Meghan opened up about her family drama.
Harry and Meghan also addressed the ongoing drama with Meghan's dad's side of the family that ramped up right around their wedding, with dad Thomas Markle and half-sister Samantha Markle frequently talking to the press about how disappointed they were in Meghan.
Meghan admitted that she's not even close enough with Samantha to know her birthday, and it sounds like Harry blames himself for the fact that his wife and her father are no longer on speaking terms.
"She had a father before this, and now she doesn’t have a father. If Meg wasn’t with me, then her dad would still be her dad," he said.
Harry talked about Princess Diana.
Harry did speak a little about his memories of his mom, the late Princess Diana, and how Meghan reminds him of her — though he confessed that he doesn't have many early memories of his mom and thinks he might have "blocked them out."
He also shared that he felt he and William had "two hats" to wear after her death. "One was two grieving sons wanting to cry, grieve, and process that grief because of losing our mum. And two was the royal hat, get out there, meet people, shake their hands," he said.
Meghan shared her first impressions of Will and Kate.
Meeting Prince William and Kate Middleton did not go as Meghan expected, according to what she shared in the series.
"When Will and Kate came over for dinner, I remember I was in ripped jeans and was barefoot. I have always been a hugger, I didn’t realize that’s jarring for a lot of Brits," she said. "I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside … You close the door and you’re like, ‘Okay you can relax now!’ But, that formality carried through on both sides. That was surprising to me."
The royal family had no input on the series.
At the beginning of the series, a title card read, "Members of the Royal Family declined to comment on the content within this series," with another stating that interviews for the series were completed by August 2022 — or, in other words, before Queen Elizabeth's death.
This is just the first part, though, and three more episodes are slated to come next Thursday. Maybe by then, the royal family will have decided to issue a statement? Only time will tell.