Netflix Docu-Series of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (2022)

[Claire]

It is Tiaragate and she made Kate cry story. I don't think the Thomas Markle story is actually one of them - despite what Meghan says. That is just a dramatic pool and will allow her to say have a few things to say. Also she wants you to forget about the other two.

The problem is they know the palace feed stories - and it is easier to believe it now that they continued the practice till today. Harry would have seen what was happening as well and well if Charles was willing to do that to his siblings - what is stopping them from continuing today?

I just wander how many times are they going to tell their story, changing and adding bits here and there - before people start wondering why wasnt it it just given in one go from the start.

 

[Fem]

I don't have a fact sheet and the palace didn't release one to counter. So who knows. My point is that they didn't secretly criticize the royal family. They did it publicly!

Does the palace need to release a fact sheet, if Harry and Meghan themselves change their stories from an interview to an interview? We have what, two different stories about how they met, two different stories about meeting the Queen and two different stories about the engagement all directly from them. And I wouldn't be surprised if the truth was completely different.

Palace doesn't need to correct anything, if Meghan and Harry can't keep their versions of reality straight.

 

[Princess Merena]

I find it interesting that it is claimed that negative stories were leaked, not untrue ones.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

For those of you who have Instagram, check out Liz garbus post on her stories, the fact that they collaborate with people with agendas is so telling.

 

[Hallo girl]

It is Tiaragate and she made Kate cry story. I don't think the Thomas Markle story is actually one of them - despite what Meghan says. That is just a dramatic pool and will allow her to say have a few things to say. Also she wants you to forget about the other two.

The problem is they know the palace feed stories - and it is easier to believe it now that they continued the practice till today. Harry would have seen what was happening as well and well if Charles was willing to do that to his siblings - what is stopping them from continuing today?

I just wander how many times are they going to tell their story, changing and adding bits here and there - before people start wondering why wasnt it it just given in one go from the start.

I really do believe they want a pay off to stop talking and that is why there are no specifics. All we get is drip drip of hints , nudge nudge wink wink.

 

[Hallo girl]

It is Tiaragate and she made Kate cry story. I don't think the Thomas Markle story is actually one of them - despite what Meghan says. That is just a dramatic pool and will allow her to say have a few things to say. Also she wants you to forget about the other two.

The problem is they know the palace feed stories - and it is easier to believe it now that they continued the practice till today. Harry would have seen what was happening as well and well if Charles was willing to do that to his siblings - what is stopping them from continuing today?

I just wander how many times are they going to tell their story, changing and adding bits here and there - before people start wondering why wasnt it it just given in one go from the start.

I am not sure how the palace can be blamed for Thomas Markle, he was so important to Meghan she had failed to introduce him to Harry.
Is this her playing victim and blaming everybody else for her own shortcomings.

 

[Durham]

It won't make any difference whether it is a full royal family turnout or just the 11 working royals (plus Tim) the security cost will be the same.

There won't be any fewer people in the streets to see the non-working royals drive to and from the Abbey as there would be to see the working royals.

The security will be because the King and the heir apparent (and possibly the heirs children) will be in carriages to and from the Abbey.

There will also be foreign royals and representatives of foreign governments moving around the city.

Whether the Sussex's or York's are attending the ceremony will have no impact on the cost of security.

The comment was meant to be a bit tongue in cheek but even so wouldn't they have to be escorted to & from Windsor? Wouldn't that take up police time/cost money?

 

[Durham]

I really don’t get the sense that the show has damaged Britain’s reputation, at least not among my pool of American and Canadian friends and family members who will admit they watched it! No one is tuning into this thing for a lesson on colonialism.

Interesting, thank you for the feedback.

That said there was an impact last year (ie Yougov) which showed that allegations made in the Winfrey interview damaged the monarchy's reputation with BAME communities. It would be surprising if these latest comments improved those negative opinions.

 

[GraceOMalleysGhost]

Are you not doing the same thing by saying "most people know of the song"? You may know of the song but to say that "most people" is a bit of a stretch. I have never in all my near 40 years heard of the song and neither have my parents ( I just asked them).

I would've done my homework. I was just using Prince Philip's mother as an example. She was an incredible woman who did some pretty amazing things. For someone who champions herself as a feminist- I think Meghan would've like that story and obviously she could have used that as a talking point.
She is quite far from intellectually lazy. Her charity work, speeches locally and on the world stage pre-royal life can ttest to that.

I don't wish to side-track the thread with a back and forth, I think it's obvious by the responses just here on the board that many people have heard the song.

And yes, I think she's too lazy to do her homework on subjects that don't interest her such as protocol or even the history of her adopted country. If you don't agree, that's fine.

 

[Toledo]

I had to log back in because I just watched in YouTube the BEST live discussion of the Netflix series by the Behavioral Panel. Their show discusses everything body language from old news stories on video to politics and celebrities and the team also gets invited on TV shows.

They just finished the live show on the H&M Netflix current episodes and their overuse of Diana's tragedy to make Meghan the new Diana. All panelists said she'll never be like Diana. The best opinions are from UK's panelist Mark Bowden, who brings his perspective from the UK on royalty to the other panelists from the USA

Enjoy the show and they do their comments with a lot of humor too:
Body Language Experts React to Netflix Special

 

[Lilyflo]

who was the press secretary who said that Charles did this?

Sandy Henney but she didn't say Charles had done it. The issue was about Charles' aide Mark Bolland spinning stories about William and Harry to make Charles look good eg publishing private details of William's first meeting with Camilla and altering the order of events around Harry's drug taking episode to make it look like Charles responded by taking Harry to visit a drug rehabilitation place when in fact that had taken place before.

 

[Alison H]

From the BBC website:

Buckingham Palace conducted "a real kind of war against Meghan", the duchess's lawyer has claimed.

Jenny Afia said she had "seen evidence that there was negative briefing against Harry and Meghan by the Palace to suit other people's agendas".

She makes the claim in the latest trailer for the couple's Netflix series Harry & Meghan ahead of the release of the second instalment on Thursday.

I find the idea of this to be utter nonsense. Why on earth would the Palace want to give a negative impression of any members of the Royal Family? Or are we expected to believe that Harry and Meghan were so super-wonderful and super-popular (having complained that the press and the public all had it in for them) that other Royals were jealous of them? Complete tripe.

 

[Erin9]

From the BBC website:



Buckingham Palace conducted "a real kind of war against Meghan", the duchess's lawyer has claimed.



Jenny Afia said she had "seen evidence that there was negative briefing against Harry and Meghan by the Palace to suit other people's agendas".



She makes the claim in the latest trailer for the couple's Netflix series Harry & Meghan ahead of the release of the second instalment on Thursday.



I find the idea of this to be utter nonsense. Why on earth would the Palace want to give a negative impression of any members of the Royal Family? Or are we expected to believe that Harry and Meghan were so super-wonderful and super-popular (having complained that the press and the public all had it in for them) that other Royals were jealous of them? Complete tripe.

I find it notable that her lawyer says negative stories. She doesn’t say lies. Maybe she’ll say that in the 3 episodes, but that’s not in the trailer.

And if she’s seen the evidence- then produce it. Otherwise- what she claims to have seen is not notable imo.

If they can’t back this up- I’ll give it the attention it deserves: none.

And everyone knew it was a big deal that a POC was marrying into the top of the RF. Why would they want her- of all people- to be a disaster/fail?

 

[Claire]

I really do believe they want a pay off to stop talking and that is why there are no specifics. All we get is drip drip of hints , nudge nudge wink wink.

It is what keeps the interviews and book deals coming. Also keeps the newspapers fill.

 

[Hallo girl]

It is what keeps the interviews and book deals coming. Also keeps the newspapers fill.

Of course once they show their hand if they have one there is nothing to sell. Didnt really think of it like that.

 

[Mbruno]

Does the palace need to release a fact sheet, if Harry and Meghan themselves change their stories from an interview to an interview? We have what, two different stories about how they met, two different stories about meeting the Queen and two different stories about the engagement all directly from them. And I wouldn't be surprised if the truth was completely different.

Palace doesn't need to correct anything, if Meghan and Harry can't keep their versions of reality straight.

Besides, if there was indeed a "war against Meghan" and she had been made "the scapegoat of the Royal Family", how would "half in, half out" suit her? Given the circumstances she is describing in the docu-series, I would assume that nothing short of being totally out would be an acceptable solution to her.

I find it notable that her lawyer says negative stories. She doesn’t say lies. Maybe she’ll say that in the 3 episodes, but that’s not in the trailer.

And if she’s seen the evidence- then produce it. Otherwise- what she claims to have seen is not notable imo.

If they can’t back this up- I’ll give it the attention it deserves: none.

And everyone knew it was a big deal that a POC was marrying into the top of the RF. Why would they want her- of all people- to be a disaster/fail?

Meghan is projecting the Hollywood culture, in which an actor's worth depends on how popular he or she is and, accordingly, actors, sometimes in the same show, develop rivalries as they compete for the public's attention.

That is not how hereditary monarchy works though. One's position or rank is not determined by merit or popularity, but by order of birth. It is medieval, not modern; feudal, not capitalist. There is no need to put your siblings or your children down to prop you up. On the contrary, it is in the monarch's or the future monarch's interest that everyone in the Family look good to protect the institution. And the monarch or future monarch certainly will not deliberately attack his successors, who ensure the continuity of the monarchy. That would be completely irrational.

 

[kimebear]

From the BBC website:

Buckingham Palace conducted "a real kind of war against Meghan", the duchess's lawyer has claimed.

Jenny Afia said she had "seen evidence that there was negative briefing against Harry and Meghan by the Palace to suit other people's agendas".

She makes the claim in the latest trailer for the couple's Netflix series Harry & Meghan ahead of the release of the second installment on Thursday.

This is a dangerous claim for a lawyer to make unless she has evidence to back it up. Otherwise, she opens herself up for ethics troubles.

 

[Erin9]

Besides, if there was indeed a "war against Meghan" and she had been made "the scapegoat of the Royal Family", how would "half in, half out" suit her? Given the circumstances she is describing in the docu-series, I would assume that nothing short of being totally out would be an acceptable solution to her.

Indeed.

Except when they’re complaining that other royals got a version of the HIHO plan- most of the time their narrative doesn’t make much sense when you remember they started out wanting HIHO, then quit when they were told no.

But no one ever challenges them on the many many inconsistencies in their ever changing vague stories.

 

[HRHHermione]

Well, we will know what is in the episodes soon enough. I am now on Christmas vacation from school and work, so I will be getting up at 3am this morning and recapping the episodes right as they are released. My detailed recaps should be up no later than 8am ET. (Sometimes I have to take breaks and/or pause to capture an exact quote)

 

[Katymcwaity]

Well, we will know what is in the episodes soon enough. I am now on Christmas vacation from school and work, so I will be getting up at 3am this morning and recapping the episodes right as they are released. My detailed recaps should be up no later than 8am ET. (Sometimes I have to take breaks and/or pause to capture an exact quote)

Thanks so much for doing this

 

[Moran]

Well, we will know what is in the episodes soon enough. I am now on Christmas vacation from school and work, so I will be getting up at 3am this morning and recapping the episodes right as they are released. My detailed recaps should be up no later than 8am ET. (Sometimes I have to take breaks and/or pause to capture an exact quote)

Thank you!

 

[Lee-Z]

I find it interesting that it is claimed that negative stories were leaked, not untrue ones.

That is a very interesting observation, i wonder what the actual bit in the documentary will be..

 

[TLLK]

Well, we will know what is in the episodes soon enough. I am now on Christmas vacation from school and work, so I will be getting up at 3am this morning and recapping the episodes right as they are released. My detailed recaps should be up no later than 8am ET. (Sometimes I have to take breaks and/or pause to capture an exact quote)

Thank you for sharing your reviews. ?

 

[Durham]

Behind a paywall sadly but the headline alone gives an idea of how many here view the collaboration between H&M & certain other groups:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/14/harry-meghan-have-signed-woke-war-british-institutions/

The Telegraph is a (usually) Conservative Party supporting newspaper of record. In the same league as The Times of London, The Washington Post, The Globe & Mail, Sydney Morning Herald etc.

 

[Mirabel]

I don't wish to side-track the thread with a back and forth, I think it's obvious by the responses just here on the board that many people have heard the song.

I agree; that song is very well-known.

 

[Moran]

Does it really matter if the song is well-known? In this case? I was 14 (actually fourteen, not a woman in her 30s trying to play the doe-eyed teenager) when I first heard Smokie's Norwegian Girl. In my English class. My ability to tell the words I hear apart from one another isn't the great (apart from words by singers from the generation of Patti Page, so perhaps it isn't me who is the problem after all). But I learned it. I needed to. I listened to the words, made them out, memorized them, used them for my homework. It wasn't this hard.

Meghan was clearly unwilling to do her homework, instead insisting that the people who were having their hands full of her poor manners, love for word salads and determination that the monarchy needed to be revived by her refreshing vigour... didn't teach her the alphabet, so to say. I can totally see why the thought would never cross their minds.

 

[duchessrachel]

Behind a paywall sadly but the headline alone gives an idea of how many here view the collaboration between H&M & certain other groups:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/12/14/harry-meghan-have-signed-woke-war-british-institutions/

The Telegraph is a (usually) Conservative Party supporting newspaper of record. In the same league as The Times of London, The Washington Post, The Globe & Mail, Sydney Morning Herald etc.

Here's the link to the archive article: https://archive.ph/LvBu7

 

[yukari]

I rather think it's the opposite way. They- palace insiders, PR people from different camps fed stories to the press to make the Sussexes look bad.

To their credit- H &M have been very open and transparent in their criticism of the RF. They went on Oprah, did magazine interviews, the Netflix documentary, and now Harry's upcoming memoirs.

If I remember correctly, during the short term the Sussexes worked for BRF
- it was Meghan's friends who talked to People about her letter (which later backfired), not "palace sources",
- there's email proof that Harry instructed JK (who worked for him that time) to brief the press (while also told him to make that they had nothing to do with the leaks)
- there's email proof of Meghan sharing negative stories to Scobie prior to FF book
- James Holt (who now still work for the Sussexes) was openly reprimanded by the judge during Meghan v ANL lawsuit for sharing trial details to Scobie and Royston.

And I'm not counting what some RRs said to have witnessed with their own eyes during Sussexes tours.

Is there any similar evidences as above that show the so called smearing campaign by the palace? (other than what the Sussexes said considering how often they change their stories I don't know which "their truth" to believe anymore). And post-Oprah, GK bragged about "Meghan has receipts" especially about the racist accusations, then just few days ago she backpedal to say that she doesn't think they are racist. So which one is it? What about the receipts, why not show it?

Currently, Meghan has been outside the palace's clutch longer than within it's wall (less than 2 years as working royal vs 3 years "independent"), if it's all about palace leaking stories, shouldn't it stopped once they're leaving?
If it's all about smearing champaign via those leaks and the Sussexes are actually oh-so-wonderful-they're-the-best-thing-that-ever-exist, shouldn't they regain their popularity now that they're away and manage their own team longer than when they're "controlled" by the palace, especially since they're no longer in British soil?
But the fact is the leaks still happen and their popularity has tanked so bad to the lowest point.

Or perhaps the BRF is so powerful that until today, centuries after the US gained it's independence, the royal family still has significant influence in the US?

 

[Iluvbertie]

The comment was meant to be a bit tongue in cheek but even so wouldn't they have to be escorted to & from Windsor? Wouldn't that take up police time/cost money?

There will be so many people needing security all over the country that one extra couple needing a police officer or two won't make much difference.

The security cost will be huge and the cost to them will be a miniscule part of the budget.

William and Catherine will also have to be escorted from Windsor so no extra cost if they simply add an extra car to that set up. Edward and Sophie and Andrew (if invited and I am not sure he will be) also will have to come from Windsor so I can see a set up with 5 - 6 cars from Windsor to BP.

 

[GraceOMalleysGhost]

Does it really matter if the song is well-known? In this case? I was 14 (actually fourteen, not a woman in her 30s trying to play the doe-eyed teenager) when I first heard Smokie's Norwegian Girl. In my English class. My ability to tell the words I hear apart from one another isn't the great (apart from words by singers from the generation of Patti Page, so perhaps it isn't me who is the problem after all). But I learned it. I needed to. I listened to the words, made them out, memorized them, used them for my homework. It wasn't this hard.

Meghan was clearly unwilling to do her homework, instead insisting that the people who were having their hands full of her poor manners, love for word salads and determination that the monarchy needed to be revived by her refreshing vigour... didn't teach her the alphabet, so to say. I can totally see why the thought would never cross their minds.

Absolutely, Moran, it shouldn't matter at all! She most certainly didn't do her homework in many respects and it shows. And her husband was worthless in showing her the ropes because he was more concerned about making her happy than making her successful in the role (working royal) she signed up for.

And Meghan doesn't like to be told what to do, that is obvious. No one could counsel her, many tried. She doesn't care, she was out almost the moment she set foot in. That role wasn't a commitment for her, it was just a stepping stone, like so many others, on her path to fame and fortune.