Their new Netflix documentary captures the couple’s inability to see how good they have it.
Their new Netflix documentary captures the couple’s inability to see how good they have it.
W e now have the first three episodes of Meghan Markle’s and Prince Harry’s Netflix documentary, a tell-all about their battle with the British media and estrangement from the British royal family. In episode one, Harry poses the question, “How did we end up here?” Here being Los Angeles, trashing his family and country as part of a $100 million entertainment deal.
“I understand that there will be people around the world who fundamentally disagree with what I’ve done and how I’ve done it,” Harry says. “But I knew I had to do everything I could to protect my family, especially after what happened to my Mum.” In protecting his family (his wife and children), how is it necessary to publicly attack his family of origin?
Harry’s reasoning is a good illustration of what Peggy Noonan described in a recent column — the conflation of conscience with one’s opinion or feelings about what is the right thing to do. Noonan noted that for a conscience to be formed or developed, it needs to be in conformity with objective moral standards, such as the Ten Commandments, for instance. Moses delivered these to the Israelites to save them from self-destruction.
But Harry and Meghan have their own standards. “This is a great love story,” Harry says. “And the crazy thing is I think this love story is only just getting started.” Much of the first episode is spent rehashing the familiar: how they met, how they fell in love, how Meghan had difficulty acclimatizing to royal life and expectations. Harry says Meghan “sacrificed everything she ever knew, the freedom that she’d had, to join me in my world.” Meghan suggests she didn’t realize what the sacrifice entailed.
Theirs is no ordinary love story, in part because theirs is no ordinary level of wealth and privilege. In the early stages of the relationship, one of them (mostly Meghan) was taking flights every other week across the Atlantic. Their first trip together was to Botswana. As well as being famous, they were highly popular. Meghan was enthusiastically received by the British public and, Harry says, accepted by the royal family, who were “very impressed” when they met her. If they had any initial reservations, it was not to do with her being biracial, or even her being a divorcée, but “the actress thing.” Perhaps they were worried she might have attention-seeking, drama-queen qualities?
It may be that the couple are saving their best evidence of racism, as with the accusations they discussed with Oprah Winfrey, for a later episode. But in the first three, the alleged systemic racism of modern-day Britain is supported only by activist historians who vilify Britain’s colonial past. The more compelling villain is the British tabloids.
In the segment on Harry’s childhood, he explains how media harassment chased previous girlfriends away, and even led to the death of his mother, who was killed in a high-speed car crash while being chased by paparazzi. That’s enough to make anyone feel resentful. Still, Harry’s PR management has been far more damaging to him and Meghan than anything the royal family has done. Indeed, much of the negative press has been in response to the couple’s victimhood complex, as well as their unsubstantiated accusations that British society and the royal family are racist.
Harry considers it his “duty as part of this family to uncover the exploitation and bribery that happens within our media.” He complains about the Royal Rota — the long-standing access agreement the royal family has with certain newspapers. He resents that his and Meghan’s engagement interview was rehearsed. “We weren’t allowed to tell our story,” Meghan says. “We’ve never been allowed to tell our story,” Harry agrees. They both laugh. “Until now.”
Perhaps what other members of the family understand better is the value of keeping public and private life separate. The late Queen was a master at this. In 70 years on the throne, very few of her opinions, political or otherwise, were known to the public. That’s not to say she didn’t have them, only that she knew that the best way to avoid unwanted attention was to maintain a separate public persona. Kate Middleton has had her fair share of negative tabloid coverage. She has been subjected to gossip, comparison, and criticism — no thanks to Harry and Meghan. Yet she handles it with grace and aplomb, chiefly by ignoring it.
In the series, Meghan claims she never wore bright colors because she didn’t want to be the center of attention or “embarrass the family.” One friend, who offers a character reference, says that “her nature is to never make things more difficult for anyone.” Another says, “She had such a beautiful life before everything exploded.” The saddest part is they still have a beautiful life, only they are too spoiled or shallow to appreciate it.