What was revealed in ‘Harry & Meghan’ part two: Suicidal thoughts, harassment and an angry Prince William

Netflix released the last three episodes of Thursday morning Harry & Meghan, the second part of the documentary about the life of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The first part of the series, released on December 12, has been watched for 81.55 million hours. Each episode provides material for the media – British tabloid The Daily Mail Published 11 articles based only on a 59 second trailer.

The first part of the documentary looks at when Prince Henry and actress Meghan Markle started dating and ends when the couple announced their engagement. Part two begins with her royal wedding and explores the series of events that led her to break with the British royal family. Here is an overview of what happens in each episode of the last part.

[Warning: spoilers below]

episode four: From “Queen of Hearts” to “Diva Duchess”

Episode four begins with Prince Harry and Markle’s wedding at Windsor Castle. At this time, the popularity of the royal couple is high. Everything seems possible. Then-Prince Charles (now King Charles III) leads Markle down the aisle while the Duchess is hailed as a breath of fresh air. “It felt like a moment when the world stopped and celebrated love,” says Vicky Tsai, a friend of the couple, in the documentary.

But trouble begins as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex begin their official engagements, most notably their 2018 tour of Australia when they announce they are expecting their first child. The documentary claims her rising popularity – Markle has even been dubbed the “Queen of Hearts” in the media – sparked concerns in the royal family. “Australia was a real turning point. Because they were so popular, so popular with the public, the interiors of the Palace were incredibly threatened,” says Lucy Fraiser, a friend of Markle’s.

“The problem is when marrying someone who should be […] Supporting actor, then steals the limelight or does the job better than the person born to it, that upsets people, it shifts the balance,” added Prince Harry. At this point, the documentary shows an excerpt from Princess Diana’s controversial interview in the BBC documentary series panorama, which Prince William asked never to be shown again. In the clip, Lady Di Martin tells Bashir that she felt a backlash for “stealing the limelight” from now-King Charles: “With media attention came a lot of jealousy, and that created a lot of complicated situations.”

The documentary examines how the narrative of the royal couple has shifted: Markle has become ‘diva’, ‘difficult duchess’ and even ‘antichrist’. Media attention begins to affect Markle, who admits to having suicidal thoughts. She remembers thinking, “This is all going to stop if I’m not here.”

Things take a turn for the worse when their first son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, is born a year after their marriage. Harry and Markle felt the child didn’t belong to them but to “the institution.” Markle says she felt people wanted her to “serve her child on a silver platter” after being criticized for keeping Archie’s christening private.

The episode ends with the family’s trip to South Africa, where Markle gives an interview in which she discusses the difficulties she faces as a new mother. “Not many people have asked if I’m okay,” she tells ITV’s Tom Brady.Then comes the cliffhanger. “That’s when we started having harder conversations about what needs to happen in order for us to continue this work,” Markle says to the camera.

Episode 5: “I tried so hard but it still wasn’t enough, I still don’t fit in”

The fifth episode of Harry & Megan focuses on the intense media pressure the Duke and Duchess of Sussex faced and how it influenced their decision to leave the royal family. While Meghan says she wanted Archie to grow up surrounded by his cousins ​​and family, the situation became impossible. “I just did everything to make them proud and really be a part of the family,” she says. “And then the bubble burst.”

Prince Harry and Markle talk about how a private letter the actress wrote to her father asking him to stop speaking to the media was leaked The Post on Sunday. “How would they post Do you have the stupidity to print a letter between a father and a daughter?’ Well, the answer is simple: They knew the family would encourage us not to sue,” Prince Harry says in the docuseries.

When the royal family refused to act, they sued the post on sunday, which the couple says marks a turning point in their relationship with the royal institution.

Prince Harry and Markle are spending Christmas outside of London on Vancouver Island in Canada, but the press continues to haunt them. The Duke decides to take action and sends a plan to the late Queen’s secretaries, his father and brother, to move to Canada. The couple travel back to London to speak with Queen Elizabeth. According to Prince Harry, the late Queen invited her to spend a night at Buckingham Palace and assured him she had no other plans on her official agenda. But when they land, they receive a message that the queen has been busy all week and cannot see them. Then her plan to move to Canada is leaked to the press.

“It became clear that the institution was leaking the fact that we were going back to Canada,” says Prince Harry, who explains that he sent the plan to his father, then-Prince William. “He said, ‘I can’t do anything unless you put it in writing.’ So I put it in writing,” Harry recalls. “I emailed him on January 1st, 2nd and 3rd. In one of these I mentioned that we would be willing to give up our Sussex titles if that didn’t work out.

Following the leak, the pair decide to release a statement of their own: “After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have decided to make a transition this year to map out a progressive new role within this institution. We intend to step down as ‘senior’ members of the royal family.”

The statement sparks an emergency meeting at Sandrigham Palace. Markle, who is not invited, flies back to Canada to be with her son. According to Harry, it’s a heated meeting. “It was scary having my brother yelling and yelling at me and my dad saying things that just weren’t true and my grandmother sitting still and taking it all in,” he says. “The saddest thing about it was this wedge that created between me and my brother so that he is now siding with the institution,” he continues. “Part of that I get, I understand, right, that’s his legacy. So it is somewhat ingrained in him that part of his responsibility is the viability and continued existence of this institution.”

But Harry is less forgiving of why the royal press team allegedly forged a joint statement on his and William’s behalf to deny allegations that Prince William had bullied the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. “I could not believe it. Nobody asked me. No one had asked my permission to make such a statement,” Harry explains. “Within four hours they happily lied to protect my brother, and yet for three years they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us.”

“At that point there was no other option. I said ‘we have to get out of here,'” adds Harry. But while it’s his decision, it’s Markle who’s been blamed for the couple’s break with the royal family. “How predictable that a woman should be responsible for a couple’s decision,” he says. “In fact, it was my decision. She never asked to leave. I was the one who had to see it for myself.”

The Duchess of Sussex tells how, upon arriving in Canada, she threw herself into a trusted bodyguard and cried. “I tried so hard,” she says tearfully into the camera. “This is the piece that triggers so much. Because… it still wasn’t good enough, and you still don’t fit in.”

Chapter Six: From “We’re Stuck” to “Love Wins”

On March 14, 2020, the family is on what Harry calls the “freedom flight.” The couple flees Canada with Archie and travels to Los Angeles. “We were stuck in this house where everyone in the world knew where we were, vulnerable, with no security,” says Harry.

The family moves into the home of filmmaker Tyer Perry, who reached out to Markle amid the drama with her father. No one – not even the royal family – knows they are there. But soon her whereabouts are leaked to the press and Perry is forced to erect a fence around the property to keep the paparazzi out.

The chapter focuses on her argument with the daily mail, which they win. But the lawsuit is taking its toll. When the couple moved to their new home in Montecito, California in July 2020, Markle suffered a miscarriage. “I think my wife miscarried because of it post did,” says Harry. “Well, do we absolutely know that caused the miscarriage? Of course not. But considering the stress this caused, the lack of sleep and the timing of the pregnancy, how many weeks was I can tell from…