As Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary looms, Buckingham Palace braces for royal revelations

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s new six-part docu-series is set to drop on Netflix on Thursday.

The show everyone seems to be talking about is being released in two parts, each consisting of three episodes. The first three land on Thursday at 3 a.m. ET (8 a.m. GMT), with the remaining installment following a week later, on December 15.

It’s unclear at this point whether it will be as seismic as the couple’s Oprah interview but it will inevitably be causing some anxiety within palace walls, given the British royal family will only find out what’s in it when the rest of the world does.

Netflix has strategically released its promotional material for the Liz Garbus-helmed show this past week, promising a no-holds-barred deep dive into royal life, complete with explosive details.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 06: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex speak onstage at the 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Gala at New York Hilton on December 06, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for?2022 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Gala)

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In the latest trailer, Prince Harry reflects on how life has changed since the couple decided to quit royal duties in 2020, saying: “It’s really hard to look back on it now and go, ‘What on earth happened?’”

The trailer then rewinds through the years to remind watchers that Meghan was initially heralded as “a royal rock star” before “everything changed.”

“There’s a hierarchy of the family. You know, there’s leaking, but there’s also planting of stories,” the duke says over file footage of the Windsor clan assembled on Buckingham Palace’s famous balcony as ominous music plays in the background. “It’s a dirty game.”

The trailer also sees Harry connect his wife’s experience with the media with those of his mother, Diana, and his sister-in-law, Catherine, which he describes as a “feeding frenzy.”

Previously, a one-minute teaser – released during the new Prince and Princess of Wales’ trip to Boston – had whetted appetites for the series. In it, a sequence of photos of the Sussexes in both public and private moments suggested a more intimate glimpse of the couple.

A still from the documentary series -- the first part of which will release on Thursday.

“No one sees what’s happening behind closed doors,” Harry says. “I had to do everything I could to protect my family.”

Meghan later adds: “When the stakes are this high, doesn’t it make more sense to hear our story from us?”

Buckingham Palace has not yet commented on the series, but conversations will surely be taking place internally over what might be revealed.

In their two-hour primetime Oprah special last year, the Sussexes accused the royal family of racism and gaslighting. The sit-down was likened to Princess Diana’s bombshell 1995 interview with the BBC, and the couple’s latest offering will probably prove just as controversial.

In the past, the late Queen Elizabeth II acknowledged in various statements the pressure Harry and Meghan faced, but avoided getting caught up in any kind of public spat with her grandson.

(form press release: (New York, October 27, 2022) SPARE, the memoir of Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, will be published globally on January 10, 2023, by Penguin Random House, it was announced today by Markus Dohle, Global CEO of Penguin Random House worldwide.

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However, it remains to be seen whether the new monarch, King Charles III, will choose to respond to any accusations from his son and daughter-in-law.

The decision to include still photographs of a steely faced Princess of Wales in both trailers has sparked some comments online. How her image is actually used in the program will be closely scrutinized within the palace. Prince William is known to be fiercely protective of his wife, and if he feels she’s been unfairly criticized in the series, he is more likely to call the Sussexes out.

Harry and Meghan remained tight-lipped on the Netflix series on Tuesday evening, as they made an appearance in New York to accept an award for their work on racial justice and mental health. The couple paused briefly on the event’s blue carpet to pose for photographers before making their way inside.

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