At the moment, you literally can’t shut out all the noise around Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Netflix series, “Harry and Meghan”. The first three episodes dropped on Wednesday with the rest dropping on December 15.
It’s the best tabloid fodder out there and every media outlet is milking the bombshell revelations to the hilt - especially when it comes to juicy headlines to bait people into reading every morsel of gossip.
Of course, when it comes to holding the global audience captivated, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex do so with aplomb.
Do I need to remind anyone of last year’s jaw-dropping, tell-all with Oprah?
What comes through, though – and very strongly so – is that, at the heart of it all, this series is about a British prince and his American sweetheart.
But it is one that was compounded by protocol, duty and harassment by the paparazzi.
Interestingly, this series was in the making in 2020. As many will recall, Harry and Meghan announced that they would be stepping back from their duties in January of that year.
Of course, abdicating the responsibility comes with consequences. And the couple realised this when their security was pulled.
Financially, they had to also fend for themselves, from what many were led to believe.
What essentially happened was she sacrificed her privacy to be with him and Harry gave up his family obligations to be with her. It may seem poetic but it is a tad tragic as losses were felt on both ends. But that’s another story.
In “Harry and Meghan”, the couple unpacked their story, amid playfully jesting one another and being terribly cute, at the same time.
You know that saying, “Life happens”, well, it did for Meghan, who was hellbent on enjoying being single and holidaying with her girlfriends.
Their coming together was almost fortuitous, as was deduced by in old interview video clip where the interviewer playfully asked her: “William or Harry?”
While she was having the time of her life in London, enjoying Wimbledon, Harry was drawn to a snapshot picture of her, shared by a mutual friend, who eventually connected the two and it started with a drinks date.
The giddiness of their new romance was unmistakable as the two recalled their initial meetings.
Of course, that also meant addressing the elephant in the room. Meghan coming under fire when news of their relationship came to light.
Harry explained that he was most disturbed by the fact that it wasn’t just a rite of passage for anyone joining the royal family but it was harder for Meghan because she was mixed race and the media were not kind.
Viewers also get to hear from close friends of Harry and Meghan as well as her mother and the head of The Archewell Foundation.
The six-part series unpacks the strained relationships between Harry and his family. His love and connection to his mother seem to penetrate all he does.
At one point, he even says, “I am my mother’s son.”
And Meghan also talks about the reported strained relationship between her father Thomas Markle and her.
The series, directed by Liz Garbus, includes archival footage and never seen before images.
With Harry and Meghan seemingly on a more solid footing with the family since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, I am not sure how this series will be received and what damage it will do to those fragile family bonds.
This intimate portrayal of Harry and Meghan is a rating magnet for Netflix but, in taking back the narrative on their life, I can’t help but wonder if they have also sabotaged themselves, too.
“Harry and Meghan” is streaming on Netflix.