‘Harry & Meghan’ Recap & Review: An Intimate Peek Into The Life Of The Royals Who Dared To Be Different

Harry and Meghan, a couple that started as usual, with a man and a woman in love. But it was different—different for the world, different for the country Harry represented, and different for the world Meghan belonged to. It was a story the world was waiting to hear. This time it’s not from an anonymous source, a friend of the couple, or an ex-employee who decided to write a tell-all. This is Harry and Meghan themselves coming forward to tell the world the story of their lives up until now and the hardships they face as a couple. How often have we come across actual people from a high-profile family talking about something that has been hounding their family for years? “Harry & Meghan,” is all about their courtship and their life as an engaged couple, and all the noise in the media and social media after their engagement was announced. 

Spoilers Ahead


What Happens In The Documentary Series?

Prince Harry is the man who has been the center of attention since the day he was born. Second son of King Charles II and Princess Diana. The first episode of Vol. I begin with a video recording of both Harry and Meghan talking about the struggle they’ve had since they left Harry’s family and the responsibilities attached to it. Both get emotional at various points about how they didn’t expect their lives to take this turn, but it happened for the better. There are photographs from their collection being aired for the first time. Along with the headlines smeared across newspapers right after the couple had decided to step away from Harry’s family and their duties so that they could concentrate on themselves. The first episode in-depth talks about Harry and Meghan’s courtship and how they began dating in the year 2016. Harry came across Meghan on Instagram and decided to approach her. Meghan was intrigued by his Instagram profile, which had pictures of nature, wildlife, and the time he spent in Africa. Meghan and Harry had a rather uncomplicated yet secretive courting journey. Harry belongs to a family where nothing is secret about anything they do outside the palace walls. Harry has had the experience of being hounded by the paparazzi from a very young age. Before him, it was his mother who was a victim of the raging media. The media was relentless in photographing her every move. The first episode is where Harry and Meghan let their guard down and speak about the lengths they went to keep their relationship a secret for years. For a long time, both made sure to keep their relationship under wraps because they concentrated on getting to know one another. Harry, who has an attachment to African countries, wanted to see if Meghan liked them too. A trip to Botswana sealed the deal for them. There are their friends who talk about how they found the couple perfect and full of love for each other. Their relationship was made public by a local tabloid, and things have never been the same since then. The couple talked in detail about the racial undertones of the coverage their relationship received, which disturbed Harry and Meghan. 

The story moves to Meghan’s life as a young biracial girl growing up in California with her mother and father, who were divorced when she was just two years old. She spent all her life shuffling between her mother and father. Being a product of divorce and co-parenting is a common factor between Harry and Meghan, which they brought up in the documentary. Meghan’s life in America was the life of any young girl growing up, being a smart kid throughout her school and college life. The only issue that bothered her was being constantly questioned about her race. Since she has an African American mother and a white father, she has a hard time fitting in. Luckily, as she states, she was never discriminated against at any level of her life. Meghan, in detail, talks about her activism which began when she was in high school. Through her popularity, Meghan made sure she reached out and was vocal about women’s empowerment and gender equality. Her activism was something that sealed the deal for Harry, for, just like his mother, Harry was also involved in a lot of charitable work in Lesotho, Africa. This brought them together.

Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, was also the target of tabloids and paparazzi. The media went to great lengths to find and plant stories that weren’t true at all. The third episode of this volume was about the engagement of the two and the announcement of the same. The incidents leading up to their wedding and the stories of Meghan’s estranged family coming out put her in an awkward state. Meghan had to choose between whom to invite to the wedding and whom not to. The final nail in the coffin was Meghan’s father staging pictures for paparazzi for money days before he was supposed to attend the wedding. Meghan is heartbroken over the fact that the person she trusted the most ended up falling for something she and Harry were avoiding. The first three episodes were heavily about the kind of coverage their relationship received from the beginning without any censorship. From racist attacks to death threats, they had faced it all.


‘Harry & Meghan’ Review

The three episodic documentary series so far give us a peek into never-before-seen footage of the couple who decided to make a lot of their life story public owing to the kind of negative media attention both received since the beginning of the relationship. The documentary does a good job of asking the right questions to the couple and as individuals about their childhood, their work life, and how it impacted them. It was good to notice the kind of questions they are willing to answer about his family, for the Royal Family of England has been the center of attention for decades. It was poignant of the makers to talk about the racist history of the royal family and acknowledge the fact that the monarchs of the past were involved in the slave trade and were racist against people of other faiths, colors, and cultures all around the world. The makers did not question Harry about the colonial history of the country; it would have been interesting to know his take on the same. The documentary at areas does feel staged, but much of the footage involving their kids is heartfelt and genuine. It is moving to hear Harry and Meghan talking about how they want to keep their children safe and away from the limelight, unlike what Harry had to face growing up because of his lineage. Harry is his mother’s child, and he was subjected to relentless media attention, which he always had an issue with, unlike his other family members who never spoke against it. The documentary did a stellar job of gathering as many news clippings as possible from newspapers and television news reports made about Meghan and her family, which she claims were false and planted. The racist attacks never stopped, and the couple’s fight and right to have a private life away from the limelight and scrutiny are what makes the documentary highly watchable. The fact that they want their story to be told by them is what makes the documentary so far authentic and not far-fetched and gossipy. It was interesting to hear Harry talk in depth about his life in the army, serving in the Afghanistan war, which helped him understand life and grow as an individual. It was a relief to see Harry talk about the Nazi uniform controversy he was a part of in his younger days, which got leaked to the media. Harry was quick to make amends for the horrendous mistakes he had made in the past. Overall, the documentary so far is a good watch, for it tells the story from the actual source—the couple themselves—instead of relying on a random source or friend. It is refreshing to hear them talk about the life they’ve led so far and how they plan to continue to do so for the sake of their children. “Harry & Meghan” is a decent attempt to tell us the truth about the couple who dared to be different.


Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Smriti Kannan
Smriti Kannan
Smriti Kannan is a cinema enthusiast, and a part time film blogger. An ex public relations executive, films has been a major part of her life since the day she watched The Godfather – Part 1. If you ask her, cinema is reality. Cinema is an escape route. Cinema is time traveling. Cinema is entertainment. Smriti enjoys reading about cinema, she loves to know about cinema and finding out trivia of films and television shows, and from time to time indulges in fan theories.

Latest articles

Featured