I’m sure we are all familiar with the prominent British royal family and the drama and fame that follows their name. If you’ve heard of the royal family, then it’s very likely that the names Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were brought up with it. Prince Harry is the duke Sussex, and he is the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, princess of Wales. Since marrying Harry, Meghan has become the Duchess of Sussex. The two met in July of 2016 and have been married since May 19th, 2018.  

Recently the couple broke away from their ties with the family. They have faced intense backlash since making this decision but its seems that Meghan has been getting the worst of it with people telling her that she “forced” Harry out because of her own disputes with the family. The word that they were “kicked out” also surfaced however that is not true.   

Nevertheless, the couple didn’t let these rumors go unanswered. As of December 8th, 2022, they released a Netflix documentary titled “Harry and Meghan”. The documentary discusses their love story, as well as their time as working members of the royal family. They talk about why they decided to step down and give up their royal responsibilities to start a life in California. With this they also put rumors to rest about the real reason for their stepping down and they explain how they felt as if they were basically being tied down as a part of the family. For instance, the pair had been developing their brand “SussexRoyal” and mentioned that the Buckingham palace was restricting them from further business and development. Another factor that drove them to leave was the constant media intrusion. In the show Meghan talks about how everything was for the public and that most things they did were lies. “Just by existing, we were upsetting the dynamic of the hierarchy,” Meghan said. She explains how she felt as if they were frowned upon and how she didn’t feel welcomed.  

As the documentary discusses the negative side of their leaving, it also discusses the positive parts of their relationship and does a very good job of focusing on their love story. In their docuseries, Prince Harry dishes on the first moment he (virtually) saw Meghan. He said, “Meghan and I met over Instagram. I was scrolling through my feed and someone who was a friend had a video of the two of them, like a Snapchat,” Harry explained. From that, they started talking and then like most relationships, talking turned into dating. The couple dated for a little over one year before announcing their engagement.  

   The documentary ultimately touches on everything from the early days of their relationship to the intense media scrutiny surrounding their lives. They shared stories that some fans knew about and that some did not.  

While there was no official response from the Royal family themselves about the Netflix show, they did let it be known that the racism allegations said in the series were untrue and they denied all that was said surrounding it. The family said that the issues raised by the couple, “particularly that of race, are concerning”. Nonetheless the show did receive a wide-ranging demographic that varied with both good and bad judgement. It easily became the highest viewed documentary premiere for the streaming platform, reaching 81.55 million hours viewed. However, it did gain negative comments with critics going as far as to saying the series made them “sick”. Others called it, “Self-aggrandizing” claiming that the couple was doing it just to promote themselves and to only “gain more fame, money, and attention”, an anonymous twitter account tweeted.
Piers Morgan, a vocal critic of the couple for years, called the series a “whine-a-thon” and a “coldhearted betrayal” of the royal family. 

  With these pessimistic opinions also came optimistic and doting ones as well though. The series shortly became Netflix’s second most successful documentary with lots of people talking about how it was “inspiring”. One viewer even stated that she respects the couple for their decision and thinks that “it was a powerful move and a brave decision”.