Royal Family Disputes Netflix's Claim Palace Was Asked to Comment on Meghan and Harry's New Show
Nearly two years after they officially retired as senior royals, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are opening up about their experience in the British royal family and beyond in their new Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan, now available for streaming. As royal watchers clamor to the streaming platform to watch the tell-all limited series, the royal family is setting the record straight on the show's allegedly false claims that they were asked to comment on the show.
With three episodes now available to stream, the debut episode, titled "Episode 1," opens a title card that informs viewers that "this is a first-hand account of Harry & Meghan's story, told with never before seen person archive," adding that "all interviews were completed by August 2022," the month before Queen Elizabeth II's death at the age of 96. A separate title card alleges, "Members of the Royal Family declined to comment on the content within the series." However, this may not actually be the case, with royal sources disputing the show's claims and instead stating that members of the royal family were not asked to comment on the controversial series.
According to one source who spoke to PEOPLE, members of the family nor Buckingham Palace were not approached for comment on the content of the series. Prince William's office at Kensington Palace also was not contacted. A separate royal source added that while Kensington Palace did receive an email, it was from a third-party production company through an unknown organization's email address, and when Archewell, the Sussexes foundation and production company, and Netflix were contacted for clarity, Kensington Palace did not receive a response. Neither Buckingham Palace nor any member of the royal family has publicly commented on the matter.
Debuting Thursday, Harry & Meghan gives viewers a rare glimpse into the Sussexes life in California with 3-year-old son Archie and 1-year-old daughter Lilibet as the couple opens up about their relationship and the factors that ultimately led to their decision to step back as working royals and move their family to across the pond. The debut episode sees Harry opening up about his childhood in the public eye, with the second episode tracking the early days of their relationship and the public scrutiny they came under. The third episode follows their engagement and Markle's adjustment to life as a royal.
There are currently only three episodes of Harry & Meghan available to stream, with six episodes total set to debut. The remaining three episodes are set to arrive on Netflix next Thursday.