A bombshell teaser for Prince Harry and wife Meghan’s £88 million docuseries was released on Thursday, showing the duchess holding her head in her hands as the duke says “no one sees what goes on behind closed doors”.
The one-minute Netflix trailer, which features never-before-seen photographs of the couple, shows the duchess wiping away tears.
They are asked: “Why did you want to make this documentary?”
Prince Harry replies: “No one sees what's happening behind closed doors … I had to do everything I could to protect my family”.
Meghan says: “When the stakes were this high, doesn't it make more sense to hear our story from us?”
Since Prince Harry and Meghan stepped down from royal duties two years ago and moved to California, they have delivered stinging criticism of the British monarchy, including allegations of racism, which has led to a rift with the rest of the family, most notably with Prince Harry's father, King Charles III, and his elder brother, Prince William.
The last time Prince Harry and Meghan opened up about their relationship with other members of the royal family in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, it plunged the institution into its biggest crisis of recent times.
The timing of the trailer and the documentary could hardly be better for Netflix, with Prince William and his wife Kate currently in Boston, and Buckingham Palace dealing with a racism row involving the prince's godmother.
The trailer’s release comes during a three-day trip to the US for the Prince and Princess of Wales, which had been billed as a “Super Bowl” moment.
Royal watchers said Prince Harry and Meghan had already threatened to overshadow their visit by attending an event honouring them for speaking out about racism in the royal family.
Omid Scobie, a journalist with close ties to the Sussexes, said the highly anticipated show will share "the other side of their love story and the challenges they faced".
But Scobie said as he shared the trailer on Twitter that "if tomorrow is Prince William's Super Bowl, then here's your halftime show".
A new scandal erupted on Wednesday after it surfaced that Prince William’s godmother had repeatedly asked a black British woman where she was “really from” during an event at Buckingham Palace.
Prince Harry and Meghan Duchess of Sussex through the years — in pictures
-
Doria Ragland, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attend the Ms Foundation Women of Vision Awards in New York City. Getty -
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies in Los Angeles in April. Getty -
The royal couple speak onstage at the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Gala in New York in December 2022. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan watch as the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is placed into the hearse following the state funeral service at Westminster Abbey in central London in September 2022. AP -
Prince Harry and Meghan pay their respects at the Palace of Westminster. Getty -
Prince Harry, Meghan and Kate, Princess of Wales, attend a service for the reception of Queen Elizabeth's coffin at Westminster Hall. AFP -
The Princess of Wales, Prince William, Prince Harry and Meghan meet members of the public outside Windsor Castle. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan leave after a service of thanksgiving for the queen. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York in September 2021. AP -
Prince Harry and Meghan on the cover of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world edition, in September 2021. Reuters -
Prince Harry and Meghan are interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in March 2021. Reuters -
Prince Harry and Meghan shared this image on social media in February 2021 to announce they were expecting their second child. AFP -
Prince Harry and Meghan visit Canada House, London, in January 2020. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan visit Auwal Mosque on Heritage Day during their royal tour of South Africa in September 2019. Getty -
Prince Harry, Meghan and their son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor in South Africa in September 2019. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan meet Beyonce Knowles-Carter and Jay-Z at the European Premiere of Disney's The Lion King at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, London, in July 2019. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan pose for a photo with the New York Yankees before their baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at London Stadium in June 2019. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan pose with their newborn son Archie in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle in May 2019. Getty -
Meghan, joined by her mother Ms Ragland, shows her new son to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle in May 2019. AP -
Prince Harry and Meghan officially open Number 7, a Feeding Birkenhead citizen’s supermarket and community cafe in Merseyside in January 2019. Getty -
Prince William, the Princess of Wales, Meghan and Prince Harry attend a Christmas Day church service at the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate in December 2018. Getty -
Prince William, Prince Harry, Meghan and the Duchess of Cambridge attend a service marking the centenary of the First World War armistice at Westminster Abbey in November 2018. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan visit Redwoods Tree Walk in October 2018 in Rotorua, New Zealand. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan visit an exhibition of Tongan handicrafts at the Fa'onelua Convention Centre in October 2018 in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan visit the University of the South Pacific in October 2018 in Suva, Fiji. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan address the public during a Community Event at Victoria Park in October 2018 in Dubbo, Australia. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan meet a koala during a visit to Taronga Zoo in October 2018 in Sydney, Australia. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan arrive at the University of Chichester's Engineering and Digital Technology Park during an official visit to West Sussex in October 2018. Getty -
The queen, Meghan, Prince Harry, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge watch the RAF 100th anniversary fly-past from the balcony of Buckingham Palace in July 2018. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan on their wedding day in May 2018. Getty -
Prince Harry places a wedding ring on his new wife's finger. Getty -
Meghan and Prince Harry head to their evening wedding reception at Frogmore House. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan walk through the corridors of the Palace of Holyroodhouse on their way to a reception for young people at the Palace in February 2018 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Getty -
Prince Harry and his then-fiancee Meghan visit Nottingham for their first official public engagement together in December 2017. Getty
The trailer includes scenes of the Sussexes kissing while Meghan sits on a kitchen island, dancing together as newly-weds, cuddling in a photo booth and the duchess cradling her stomach while pregnant.
Billed as a Netflix Global Event, the “unprecedented and in-depth documentary series” is expected to air on December 8.
During the six-episode series, the couple will “share the other side of their high-profile love story”, Netflix said.
Netflix said the show “explores the clandestine days of their early courtship and the challenges that led to them feeling forced to step back from their full-time roles in the institution”.
Meghan, among other revelations, has previously spoken about how she thought about committing suicide and experienced racism from an unnamed member of the royal family.
There were several “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he was born”, Meghan had said.
A picture of Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, who is now three, with his mother Meghan and grandmother Doria Ragland, was released in the media this week after being shared by an academic who is reportedly writing a book on racism and the British monarchy.
Archie is shown sitting on his mother's lap in the image shared by Duchess Harris, who specialises in American studies and feminism.
It was accompanied by the caption: “I would love to invite you to be a part of my next book project: Racism and the British Monarchy: A Meghan Markle Reader. Co-Edited by Duchess Harris and Julie Schwietert Collazo.”
The image has since been deleted from the site.
The couple’s coming documentary features commentary from friends and family, most of whom have never spoken publicly before about what they witnessed, according to Netflix, and historians who discuss the current state of the British Commonwealth and the royal family's relationship with the press.
It adds: “The series does more than illuminate one couple's love story — it paints a picture of our world and how we treat each other.”
The director is Liz Garbus, a two-time Academy Award nominee and an Emmy winner.
