Harry & Meghan is Netflix's biggest documentary debut ever

It was viewed for more than 80 million hours with about 28 million households watching at least parts of it

Prince Harry and Meghan's controversial Netflix documentary streamed around the world. Photo: Netflix

The Harry & Meghan documentary is a six-part series on Netflix. PA

The documentary, billed as 'unprecedented and in-depth', is being broadcast exactly three months after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. PA

The duchess appears with a towel wrapped around her hair, appearing to speak into her phone camera, saying: 'H is in London and I’m here.' Photo: Netflix

Office workers in London watching the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's controversial documentary. PA

A woman in London watches the docuseries. AFP

The couple discuss racism and the breakdown of their parents' marriages during the series. PA

The six-part series was available to watch from 8am UK time. PA

New images of Prince Harry and Meghan released by Netflix ahead of the show. AFP

Netflix showed the first trailer last week, just as Prince Harry's brother William made his first trip to the US as Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, prompting accusations of sabotage. AP

The couple quit as senior working royals in 2020 in favour of more freedom and the ability to earn their own money in the US. Photo: Netflix

Netflix has announced that its documentary Harry & Meghan, about Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, has had the biggest documentary debut ever on the streaming platform with more than 80 million hours viewed and about 28 million households watching at least part of it.

The mini-series, which debuted last Thursday, consists of six episodes that will be released in two parts. The first three episodes, titled Volume 1, tells the couple's side of the story — their version of events that led to them stepping down as senior members of the British royal family in early 2020.

The last three episodes will come out on Thursday.

Netflix also announced that Tim Burton’s Addams Family spin-off Wednesday, starring Jenna Ortega, had also broken a record by becoming only the third title to cross one billion hours viewed on Netflix within one month. The two other shows to have done the same were Squid Game and Stranger Things season four. Wednesday was released on November 23, meaning it still has another week to increase its overall hours watched for the month.

The show also surpassed Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story as the second-biggest English-language series in Netflix's history. The show has eight episodes and the streaming platform describes it as a “sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery that follows Wednesday as a student at Nevermore Academy".

However, it should also be noted that the streaming platform’s measurement is by hours watched so numbers can be skewed if shows have more episodes, meaning that more hours are counted towards the show.