After stepping back from royal life in 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan signed a major deal with Netflix. In December 2022, the first fruit of that deal arrived: a six-part documentary series simply called Harry & Meghan.
The series was directed by the award-winning documentary maker Liz Garbus. It used the couple’s own interviews, private photographs and video diaries to tell the story of their relationship, their wedding and their departure from the royal family.
The first three episodes were released on 8 December, and the final three a week later. The series quickly became one of the biggest documentary launches in Netflix history, watched by millions of households around the world in its first week.
In the early episodes, the couple spoke about how they met, and about the press coverage of Meghan, which they described as relentless and often racist. Meghan spoke about how unprepared she felt for royal life and how isolated she became.
The later episodes were more explosive. Harry spoke about the Sandringham meeting in January 2020, when the family discussed his and Meghan’s future. He said it was terrifying to have his brother scream and shout at him, and his father say things that were simply not true.
Harry also accused royal staff of leaking and planting negative stories about him and Meghan in the press, in order to protect other members of the family. The couple said they had felt they had no choice but to leave.
Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace did not comment. The royal family chose silence, as it had largely done after the Oprah interview the year before.
Critics of the series said it was one-sided and that the royal family had no chance to respond. Supporters said it was the couple’s right to tell their own story after years of hostile coverage.
Either way, the series widened the rift. Just weeks later, in January 2023, Harry published his memoir, Spare, with even more personal claims. For many viewers, Harry & Meghan was the moment the family conflict became impossible to ignore.