London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jun 01, 2026

Harry and Meghan: That sigh of relief? It's the Palace watching Netflix

Harry and Meghan: That sigh of relief? It's the Palace watching Netflix

Are Prince Harry and Meghan the victims of an oppressive royal system? Or are they the millionaire moaners of Montecito?

However the public views their TV show, there will be one set of delighted viewers - and that's in Buckingham Palace and the rest of the Royal Family.

They might get a bit of a frosty blast from the series, described as unable to hug and getting married for the wrong reasons. But there are no real bombshells or direct hits and nothing specific about any individuals.

Rather than reaching for their lawyers, they'll be reaching for the family therapists.

If this is the start of the Harry and Meghan's winter offensive - Netflix up to Christmas, then Prince Harry's memoir in the new year - it's begun with something approaching a truce.

The series had threatened to be a tell-all tale of why Prince Harry and Meghan felt they had to step down from royal duties. But this inside story so far hasn't provided much inside information.

The pre-publicity had raised explosive issues of race and planted stories - but so far at least, the series has been much more revealing about how the couple see themselves.

It's a love letter to themselves. They present themselves as under siege, facing prejudice and threats, at war with the media. And as such it's a view looking inwards rather than outwards, with a supporting chorus of friends and experts.

For a Royal Family worried at the prospect of being painted as out of touch and unsympathetic, or even worse as racists, the programmes so far have not revealed anything really embarrassing or awkward.

King Charles, Camilla the Queen Consort, Prince William and Catherine are left in the background.

What it clearly shows is how emotionally raw Prince Harry remains about the loss of his mother, Princess Diana. His romance with Meghan seems inextricably linked to his experience of grief.

In terms of news lines, the biggest criticism is against the news writers, with the press seen as a haunting presence, with paparazzi chasing the royal couple and press attacks on them being amplified on social media, including racist abuse.

Prince Harry bristles at spending a life surrounded by such constant media intrusion.

If there are criticisms of the Royal Family, it's more of a complex, institutional argument than personal attacks. There's discussion of historic royal links to the slave trade and references to "unconscious bias".

Prince Harry talks of realising that his visits to "half the Commonwealth" hasn't been the same as understanding the experiences of communities facing disadvantage - and the series discusses the long legacy of colonialism.

Meghan recalls the pain of racist insults aimed at her mother after going to a concert together.

It's part of a powerful personal story. But the episodes, at least so far, are more about the psychodrama of a couple under pressure, recording their own feelings, more a video diary rather than a documentary.

There are no critical voices or discordant questions. How does a champion of equality feel about the title of 'Duchess'? What do they really make of the rest of the Royal Family?

Is it right for this mega-rich couple to present themselves as victims, when so many people are struggling to pay the bills and buy food? Are they now, with their Netflix and Spotify deals, part of the media they've been criticising?

It's not that kind of programme. It's a selfie on a global stage.


Home video of Archie features in Harry and Meghan documentary


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
Extreme Weather Patterns Trigger Severe Drought in Madagascar and Destructive Flooding in East Africa
Indian State of Karnataka Faces Political Upheaval as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Abruptly Resigns
Philippines and Japan Reaffirm Defense Ties as Crucial for Indo-Pacific Regional Stability
Norway Joins French Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in Major Shift for European Security Architecture
Global Critical Mineral Alliances Expand as Western Nations Move to Counter Chinese Supply Dominance
United States Imposes Fifty Percent Tariffs on Mexican Steel and Aluminum Ahead of Trade Pact Review
European Union and China Head Toward Major Trade Conflict Over Clean Technology Exports
United States Economic Growth Severely Downgraded to One Point Six Percent as Stagflation Fears Mount
World Health Organization Warns Central African Ebola Epidemic is Outpacing Containment Efforts
United States Treasury Department Conditions Sanctions Relief on Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz
Iranian Air Defenses Intercept and Destroy United States Military Drone Over Bushehr Province
Iranian Armed Forces Launch Ballistic Missiles Toward Unspecified Targets Prompting Regional Condemnation
United Nations Secretary-General Warns Global Order Facing Highest Level of Conflict Since 1945
Israel Issues Sweeping Evacuation Orders in Southern Lebanon Amid Intensified Hezbollah Conflict
Russia Announces Systemic Military Strikes Targeting Ukrainian Defense and Energy Infrastructure
United States and Iranian Negotiators Reach Draft Agreement to Extend Ceasefire and Resume Nuclear Talks
United Nations Security Council Deeply Divided Over United States Capture of Venezuelan President
US and Iran Exchange Direct Military Strikes Amid Fragile Gulf Ceasefire
World Health Organization Warns of Catastrophic Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo
Russia Threatens New Wave of Strikes on Ukrainian Infrastructure and Embassies
Scientists Warn Atlantic Ocean Currents Could Collapse Faster Than Projected
Anthropic Reaches $900 Billion Valuation in Historic AI Funding Round
Washington Imposes Crippling Sanctions on Iranian Maritime Authority
Japan and the Philippines Initiate Strategic Intelligence-Sharing Pact
Microsoft Deploys Autonomous Computer-Using AI Agents to Global Markets
Anthropic Secures $45 Billion Compute Infrastructure Agreement With SpaceX
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Resigns Amid Administration Shakeup
Micron Technology Crosses Trillion-Dollar Valuation Amid Unprecedented Hardware Demand
Canada and Germany Finalize Historic Long-Term LNG Export Agreement
China Expands International Travel Restrictions on Domestic AI Researchers
Japan Approves Sweeping Overhaul of National Intelligence Apparatus
Global Airlines Scramble Logistics as Middle East Airspace Remains Fractured
Japan's Naphtha Imports Plunge 47 Percent Amid Strait of Hormuz Closure
Global Crude Prices Retreat Below $96 as Gulf Tensions Momentarily Ease
Generative AI Outperforms Human Baselines in Landmark Global Creativity Study
NASA Partners With Private Aerospace to Unveil Permanent Lunar Base Architecture
South Korean Equity Markets Surge on Next-Generation Memory Chip Frenzy
×