Harry and Meghan’s Docuseries and its Misconceptions

Maria Martínez

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle starred in Netflix’s Documentary Series Harry & Meghan, their first project after signing a contract with the streaming platformto produce several content in the following years. 

The documentary follows Harry and Meghan’s experience in the Royal Family from the moment they meet and fall in love to when they leave the monarchy and move to California. The themes portrayed in the six episodes, which premiered on Dec. 8, are true love, cultural racism, the strict Royal Family and the ruthless tabloids. 

The music synced with the stories told throughout the documentary. When Meghan described her European trip with her gals, the seventies hit “Don’t Worry About It” by Lonette McKee gave feminine and joyful vibes. When Meghan and Harry went on their first date, “Anything Goes” by Helen Merrill played with its piano solo representing the fluttering excitement and the joys of falling in love. 

The image quality was satisfactory. They combined studio camera recordings with simple videos and photos from cell phones on the documentary without being disruptive to the eye. 

I appreciated the variety of personal archives exhibited, such as simple and silly pictures of the Sussex Royals, videos of their day-to-day, instagram posts, excerpts from articles, letters and text messages, along with graphic animations and historical registers. 

I loved the historical context because it explained the background behind Harry and Meghan’s struggles. They described the media and the Royal Family ́s relationship in how the monarch’s lives are stripped of privacy. As royals they are obligated to report their spendings and personal endeavors to the taxpayers who maintain them. 

The documentary failed on its central theme in telling the whole truth because it was naturally biased. The most accurate version of the truth would have included talking to everybody involved, searching for documents, data, books, recordings, previous article extracts and the information found must form a credible story. However, for Harry and Meghan, the whole truth turned out to be their truth as the only outside sources who spoke in the documentary held the same point of view. The few family members and friends who do appear share only loving words about them, not any criticism. 

Meanwhile, the series did not include conversation with other members of the Royal family. Even Meghan ́s father and half-sister were not given the opportunity to respond to the allegations made against them. 

Furthermore, I agree with some of the conclusions the Sussex Royals made in the docuseries. For example, they were right about how merciless the press is in the UK, like when the Daily Mail released a private letter she sent to her father, or when Meghan suffered racism and fake news from some articles. 

However, the couple also made senseless comments, like when Harry promised Meghan that he was going to protect her from the media. Yet they are stillactive public figures with many admirers which also means there are always journalists observing and informing the public, whether they like it or not. 

Part of me empathized with the experiences the couple went through, but I also felt skeptical about seeing the documentary as the “whole truth.” Still, I enjoyed watching it, and I would recommend anybody interested in learning about Harry and Meghan’s departure from the Crown.