Regardless of your opinion on the Royal Family, Harry & Meghan on Netflix is a must watch.
Released in early December, the six-episode documentary features the Duke and Duchess of Sussex sharing details about their life together. This includes recounts of their high-profile love story and the challenges they faced that lead the couple to step down as working members of the royal family.
The personal perspectives from Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, as well as their friends and family members, peel back the layers of how tabloids and the media have portrayed the exploited couple.
Meghan and Harry met in July of 2016 through an Instagram message: a “modern love story.”
The couple soon met in person and dated in private for about six months before the media found out about their relationship. After tabloids revealed the couple to the public, the world was overjoyed to see some diversity and non-traditional aspects in the royal family.
Meghan is not only a famous actress, best known for her reoccurring lead role in the television show Suits, she is an American and a divorcee. She is also half-black.
But despite the love and positive attention from the public, the couple reveal the personal struggles they faced among the royals, including damaging race debates.
The documentary tells the story by sharing newspaper headlines and magazine covers while Meghan and Harry also recount what actually happened behind closed doors. The couple is candid with their responses and emotions, including tears in their eyes when touchy subjects come up.
In 2020, Meghan and Harry turned the whole world upside down when they announced in an Instagram post they would be stepping down from their royal duties. The frenzy they created was on every headline, news station and even topped search history records.
The series follows and discusses the fallout of the couple and the royal relationships they had, as well as their new life in both Vancouver and California.
In addition to the relationship details and deterioration of royal duties discussed in the series, you learn a lot about the Duke and Duchess and what they do in their spare time, including a wide variety of community volunteering.
Meghan has done work with the Hubb community kitchen in west London and assisted them in creating a cookbook titled Together: Our Community Cookbook. She has also done a variety of work to promote female empowerment.
Prince Harry also does his fair share of community volunteering, including work with veterans and the homeless.
The couple originally bonded over their love of making a difference in community and even created Archwell Inc., a non-profit created by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with the purpose to uplift and unite communities using acts of compassion and service.
Even if you knew very little about Meghan and Harry before watching the documentary, you finish the series with empathy and gratitude for what they have been able to accomplish in their short time as a royal couple.
Although the stories are told from their personal perspectives, you can’t help but feel as though you understand where they are coming from when they discuss the pain and hurt they have gone through as a couple and as individuals.
By no means does this documentary bash the royal family or the monarchy, but most of the points are accompanied with an abundance of valid evidence, which makes it hard to ignore the abuse that The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have faced.
If you have ever paid attention to the royal family, royal weddings, Princess Diana, or even Suits for that matter, you should take the time to watch Harry & Meghan.
Candid personal interviews and never before seen home videos leave you with a smile on your face and a feeling of understanding of what happens behind closed doors with arguably the most powerful and watched family in the world.