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The royal family

Discussing the things we liked about Harry and Meghan's Netflix documentary series

1000 replies

MrsMaxDeWinter · 08/12/2022 14:22

There are so many threads on things posters hated about Harry and Meghan, the Netflix series, and fair play to those posters, so I thought I would have a go at stating a thread discussing some of the things that posters liked about the series.

I'll start.

I liked that this was supposed to be this bomb detonation, but has actually been a measured, warm, and loving look at H and M's relationship, and the pressures that the press put on them, and also on other royals. I genuinely did not notice anything incendiary. Maybe that is still to come.

I enjoyed the thoughtful insights shared on the invisible contract, especially, as Harry says, having to perform for a press that you know has said hurtful things about people you love.

I loved the warm memories of Sandringham, and meeting the Queen. And Meghan's memories of growing up. I think it was a wise, though sad, that they did not include Thomas. I really loved hearing Doria: my favourite bit is when a journalist offered her money, for an interview about Meghan and she said, "That's my child!"

I also learned for the first time about Meghan's relationship with her sister Samantha's daughter Ashleigh. I had no idea that she had been raised by her grandparents who adopted her, or that she had such a warm and caring relationship with Meghan. Along with Doria's, that was my favourite interview.

I enjoyed hearing from her childhood friends, as it is often said here that she had no friends who came to the wedding etc, just celebrities. They seem a tight nit grip who have been here fr years, and I am glad she has them.

I was gobsmacked that she needed security in Toronto after the relationship was announced.

I also thought the discussion on racism, in its wider context of colonialism and imperialism, was very well done, but then again it was led by David Olusoga and Afua Hirsch, who are always great, and I love their writing.

Most of all I love that Harry confronted head on the Nazi uniform debacle, and what he learned from it. And I loved, loved, loved, the segment on his life in Lesotho where they gave him the Sesotho name, "Mahale". A wonderful name.

“It was one of the biggest mistakes of my life,” Harry said. “I felt so ashamed afterwards. All I wanted to do was make it right. I sat down and spoke to the chief rabbi in London, which had a profound effect on me. I went to Berlin and spoke to a Holocaust survivor. I could have just ignored it and made the same mistakes over again in my life. But I learned from that.”

I predicted on another thread that Harry would address this and other episodes head on in his book. I was scoffed roundly for this. I expect him to say more in is book, and I am happy to be proved right.

If only for this, I am very glad they did this.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
12
minou123 · 09/12/2022 12:05

Lampzade · 09/12/2022 11:53

Ha ha
It was obvious that Meghan was laughing at herself not mocking the Queen.

Exactly.

Everyone who has met the Queen or a member of the Royal family will have a funny story of how they messed up or said something silly.

anexcellentwoman · 09/12/2022 12:31

The thing I find hardest about Meghan and Harry is Harry's racism towards Muslim colleagues. He used expressions that I cannot bring myself to type on here. He did it as a Captain in the Army when he should have known better.
www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/jan/12/prince-harry-video-pakistani
But the people he mocked were 'brown' not black and so he is forgiven.
I do see that they are entertaining. It is light hearted entertainment of the instagram, look at me and how wonderful I am, variety. However, he never addresses his racism on this video clip and makes out dressing up as a Nazi happened as an adolescent which he is now sorry for. Sorry he got caught I suspect.
I don't worry about H and M bringing down the monarchy. That will never happen. They are as committed to the institution as any of the others. There is never a suggestion that they might give up their Duke and Duchessness.
I do have a bitter taste at his crass racist comments made as a joke.
They are shoring up the future survival of the monarchy and painting it in Hallmark card colours. I don't forget the racism or the hurt they caused. Not Meghan's fault but if she was honourable she would get him to address it. I am sure that there are lots of little girls who look at Meghan and want a handsome prince and a lifestyle to match. They are the Hallmark card Prince and Princess for the instagram generation with a whole new fan of royalty in the USA.

Carryonmarion · 09/12/2022 12:33

H & M seem like ok people. As individuals, all of the senior royals seem ok, apart from Andrew, obviously. But they are just so self-absorbed, privileged and far removed from most people in the UK, who pay for their extravagant lifestyles that I just can't see them as real people, more as characters in a really lavishly produced soap opera. I just can't empathise with their "struggles", but enjoy the spectacle.

SenecaFallsRedux · 09/12/2022 12:39

they raised issues but let experts speak rather than themselves which lessened the impact

I think this was a very smart choice by the producers. It raised the episodes above the merely personal by viewing Meghan's entry into the RF in a wider societal context. It made it much more interesting and informative as well.

MrsTumblebee · 09/12/2022 12:40

anexcellentwoman · 09/12/2022 12:31

The thing I find hardest about Meghan and Harry is Harry's racism towards Muslim colleagues. He used expressions that I cannot bring myself to type on here. He did it as a Captain in the Army when he should have known better.
www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/jan/12/prince-harry-video-pakistani
But the people he mocked were 'brown' not black and so he is forgiven.
I do see that they are entertaining. It is light hearted entertainment of the instagram, look at me and how wonderful I am, variety. However, he never addresses his racism on this video clip and makes out dressing up as a Nazi happened as an adolescent which he is now sorry for. Sorry he got caught I suspect.
I don't worry about H and M bringing down the monarchy. That will never happen. They are as committed to the institution as any of the others. There is never a suggestion that they might give up their Duke and Duchessness.
I do have a bitter taste at his crass racist comments made as a joke.
They are shoring up the future survival of the monarchy and painting it in Hallmark card colours. I don't forget the racism or the hurt they caused. Not Meghan's fault but if she was honourable she would get him to address it. I am sure that there are lots of little girls who look at Meghan and want a handsome prince and a lifestyle to match. They are the Hallmark card Prince and Princess for the instagram generation with a whole new fan of royalty in the USA.

@anexcellentwoman the ref to "my little paki friend" came after the fancy dress party as did the comment about "ragheads". I’d think more of him if he’d also apologized for those other two comments as part of the broadcast.

anexcellentwoman · 09/12/2022 12:56

The fancy dress party happened when he was twenty. The comments about his Muslim colleagues happened when he was twenty four. He was senior in terms of being a Captain. He should never have said them. He doesn't want to address them on a programme because he knows that he cannot blame this kind of racism on being young. I think he is trying to pretend that racism towards someone 'brown' isn't really racism. If you watch the video of him saying these things it is hard to like him.He is the overgrown schoolboy who says things for a laugh.

Retz1212 · 09/12/2022 13:02

Rhondaa · 09/12/2022 11:05

I haven't watched this 3hr reality show but what I can say from the many clips online and on the news it is they are a lovely looking couple, it is beautifully shot, the soundtrack is emotional , left eye tear inducing. It lends itself to a channel 4 style Danielle Steel style film I thought.

If I may offer a couple of negatives, the mocking of a different culture regarding 'hugs' and greeting a head of state would seem inappropriate. Including the estranged daughter of her estranged disabled sister would seem a tad heartless and unnecessary.

Anyway, we must wait for vol 2 with baited breath. We can expect more cultural mocking, whispery hypocrisy and PA digs at W&K. All in time for Christmas. #Lovely#BeKind Xmas Grin

Maybe you should actually watch the show....

Retz1212 · 09/12/2022 13:04

anexcellentwoman · 09/12/2022 12:56

The fancy dress party happened when he was twenty. The comments about his Muslim colleagues happened when he was twenty four. He was senior in terms of being a Captain. He should never have said them. He doesn't want to address them on a programme because he knows that he cannot blame this kind of racism on being young. I think he is trying to pretend that racism towards someone 'brown' isn't really racism. If you watch the video of him saying these things it is hard to like him.He is the overgrown schoolboy who says things for a laugh.

But he did address these issues? ... Have people even watch the show. I'm so confused.

anexcellentwoman · 09/12/2022 13:08

AS I understand it he addressed the issue of dressing as a Nazi but forgot to mention the racist abuse to Muslim colleagues that happened four years later.

anexcellentwoman · 09/12/2022 13:10

The video is not on the Harry and Meghan show. It was caught on camera when he was doing a programme for the BBC on his life in the army.
www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/jan/12/prince-harry-video-pakistani

Retz1212 · 09/12/2022 13:18

anexcellentwoman · 09/12/2022 13:08

AS I understand it he addressed the issue of dressing as a Nazi but forgot to mention the racist abuse to Muslim colleagues that happened four years later.

Yeh I thought the same at first ... And being a Pakistani I wondered if he was going to. Maybe they could have showed a little media headline I'm not sure.

It did seem that he was just trying to address that period of his life without it being too long-winded so it seemed fair not to go into all the details. It was a long time ago and I don't think it would have added much going into specifics and maybe would have made things worse.

Retz1212 · 09/12/2022 13:19

I liked that things were subtly addressed. It wasn't in your face and was an easy watch.

WhatWouldHopperDo · 09/12/2022 13:27

I'm pretty laid back about the whole thing - I think there are 3 sides to every story and this is theirs. They seem to be coming across as pretty genuine to me but I know a lot of people will disagree with that.

The thing that was noteworthy to me was the bit where they were allegedly told 'we've all been through this - why is Meghan so special that she needs protecting' Surely a better response would be - we've all been through this, maybe it's time we did something about it. I know one of their 'experts' mentioned early on that there is this kind of give and take understanding with the British tabloids and the RF but it seems women particularly are put under huge scrutiny when they join the RF. I don't think I have ever seen a news article that paints Beatrice or Eugenie's other halves in a negative light. Maybe that's to do with them being further down the line of succession but I'm more inclined to think it's a male/female thing.

WidowTwanki · 09/12/2022 13:27

anexcellentwoman · 09/12/2022 13:08

AS I understand it he addressed the issue of dressing as a Nazi but forgot to mention the racist abuse to Muslim colleagues that happened four years later.

Yes and that’s why their credibility is so low.

He said on this documentary that he had learned from the Nazi incident after going through an awareness process with Chief Rabbi and a trip to Berlin.

Clearly he is still lying now with that claim because he then went on to repeatedly racially abuse colleagues in the most offensive terms.

And then goes on to point the finger at an unidentified racist comment within his own family and the press (both totally unacceptable) without taking the opportunity to apologise for his own offences - and then picks up an award for tackling racial injustice!

You couldn’t make it up.

Totally disingenuous.

How MM can tell that story about witnessing the distress of her DM being called the N word - whilst sitting next to someone who repeatedly racially abuse his colleagues with the offensive P word tells you all you need to know.

Poundofflesh · 09/12/2022 13:35

I loved the docu so far. Some of her American friends said a few vom-inducing things that made me gag, but that prob says more about me than them! They are just a very LA gang. They also seem like good friends to Meghan.

Meghan and Harry come across as two very down to earth, warm people who genuinely love each other. I completely understand why Harry wanted them out, he had a lot of very real concerns given his mother (who was not getting racially motivated death-threats) was killed being stalked by paparazzi.

I think Meghan’s had awful luck with her Dad’s side of the family being a very public bunch of nut-jobs and lending credibility to the media’s terrible treatment of her. It was very nice to see her relationship with her niece, they were given some very bad advice not to invite her to the wedding. It ended up making her look worse as she had no family at her wedding. If her niece had come to the wedding it would’ve shown the public that as they were good terms there must be more to the story.

Generally I think they’ve done a great job not making it too incendiary and pointing fingers at particular individuals. They just seem sad more than anything about the way things have gone, certainly don’t seem like two people who were just desperate to cause trouble.

The one thing I can’t understand is the people who hate Meghan and Harry the most are also Princess Di worshipers. Can’t they see the contradiction there that Diana did the exact same thing as they are doing? You can tell that Harry feels he’s just following in her footsteps and doing what he thinks would make her proud.

The whole institution needs a massive overhaul, it’s no way to live for the individuals involved. I thought it was interesting when they pointed out that Americans don’t really know what royal life is like but if you asked anyone from the UK they wouldn’t be in the Royal family for all the money in the world. If they aren’t going to get rid of the institution completely then it should be an opt-in system where children are given complete privacy and anonymity until they turn of age, then can decide for themselves if they want to be part of public life. It shouldn’t be an opt-out system where your life will be made a living hell if you do decided to leave.

MrsTumblebee · 09/12/2022 14:01

Retz1212 · 09/12/2022 13:04

But he did address these issues? ... Have people even watch the show. I'm so confused.

Did you watch it?

Because I’m not confused.

talkingpaperclip · 09/12/2022 14:56

I did not sympathise with Thomas Markle before, now I think he's horrific.

Recap: Thomas denied to Meghan that he participated in a staged photo shoot, which it was later revealed he did (for $100k). TMZ broke that he was not attending her wedding because of heart issues. Meghan learned this through TMZ. Meghan called and texted him more than 20 times, saying that they were more concerned about his health than the photo shoot, but he did not respond. When she finally received a message (which was wild: 'I'm sorry my health is an inconvenience for you') she did not believe the message came from him because he wrote her name incorrectly and didn't use his normal writing style. H + M also offered to fly to Mexico, pick him up, or get him away from paparazzi stalking his house and he refused. They showed her texts to him, alongside newspaper headlines and vox pops of people saying how disgusting she was for not taking care of her father.

They flashed the covers of tabloids showing a number of Meghan's friends and acquaintances who were offered large sums to sell stories about her but refused (including D-list celeb Simon Rex who was offered money to lie and say he had sex with her). That her father and sister took money to sell her out makes them beneath contempt in my view.

Rhondaa · 09/12/2022 15:11

'That her father and sister took money to sell her out makes them beneath contempt in my view.'

Doesn't the fact the Sussexes took money from Netflix to 'sell out' the rf make them beneath your contempt also then? Or do you subscribe to their one rule for them and another for everyone else life goals too?

Honestly how on earth can sniping about who wore what when meeting the then Cambridge be of any relevance whatsoever. Unless of course their agenda is to make the rf look uptight and unlikeable 🤔.

talkingpaperclip · 09/12/2022 15:29

Having watched the whole thing now, I think the discussion of who wore what at the meeting would be mischaracterised as sniping. In both the curtsy discussion and the hug discussion, Meghan puts the blame on herself for not understanding how things work, being unprepared and making incorrect assumptions based on her own background.

In particular, with the first meeting with W and K and what M wore, I think it's pretty clear that M meant that she felt there was a very formal face to the public, and she expected the 'behind the scenes' socialising to be chill and laid back. She's very californian, which is probably what Harry likes about her (jeans, barefoot, sitting on the couch and drinking green tea) and the Cambridges simply are not (or at least not with people they don't know well). That's not bad of Meghan, and not bad of the Cambridges, it's simply a cultural difference and I think it's unfair to claim Meghan snipes at them.

Rhondaa · 09/12/2022 15:35

It's the micro aggressions, pretending to be laughing at her own gaffes when we know she was actually laughing at the situation. They don't have to be overtly criticual of the rf to get their constant sneers and disapproval across. Being all wide eyed and 'I'm a hugger! they're so formal!', the 'no one helped me' leaving out the bit where they refused help from the Wessexes. There are PA digs aimed at the rf with the intention of causing hurt. H is projecting constantly.

Hate and shit stirring doesn't have to be blatant. They have dressed up their bitterness and jealousy as a glossy Netflix love story.

Not sure who they're trying to convince, us or themselves tbh.

talkingpaperclip · 09/12/2022 15:43

Oh ok, so you acknowledge Meghan is laughing at her own gaffes in the doc, but fortunately you know her true intentions and that's why you are able to be so discerning and see that she's really 'sneering.'

We completely agree: there's quite a lot of bitterness, jealousy, hate and shit-stirring.

Lampzade · 09/12/2022 15:44

talkingpaperclip · 09/12/2022 14:56

I did not sympathise with Thomas Markle before, now I think he's horrific.

Recap: Thomas denied to Meghan that he participated in a staged photo shoot, which it was later revealed he did (for $100k). TMZ broke that he was not attending her wedding because of heart issues. Meghan learned this through TMZ. Meghan called and texted him more than 20 times, saying that they were more concerned about his health than the photo shoot, but he did not respond. When she finally received a message (which was wild: 'I'm sorry my health is an inconvenience for you') she did not believe the message came from him because he wrote her name incorrectly and didn't use his normal writing style. H + M also offered to fly to Mexico, pick him up, or get him away from paparazzi stalking his house and he refused. They showed her texts to him, alongside newspaper headlines and vox pops of people saying how disgusting she was for not taking care of her father.

They flashed the covers of tabloids showing a number of Meghan's friends and acquaintances who were offered large sums to sell stories about her but refused (including D-list celeb Simon Rex who was offered money to lie and say he had sex with her). That her father and sister took money to sell her out makes them beneath contempt in my view.

Her father is despicable. I really don’t know how people can defend the indefensible

I remember reading articles at the time of the wedding where it was claimed that she was ashamed of her father and didn’t want him at the wedding , which was obviously not the case.
I think the truth is that he was ashamed of himself and his lifestyle. He feigned a heart attack because he didn’t want to attend the wedding. It really is sad.
He betrayed his own daughter and as a result will probably never be allowed to see his grandchildren.
He behaviour was reprehensible

Lampzade · 09/12/2022 15:48

I can’t understand how posters can comment and make sweeping statements about a show they haven’t even watched.
Strange

talkingpaperclip · 09/12/2022 15:53

Lampzade · 09/12/2022 15:48

I can’t understand how posters can comment and make sweeping statements about a show they haven’t even watched.
Strange

I would consider myself Sussex neutral before this and now I'm leaning toward pro-Sussex considering the number of messages along the lines of 'I have not watched this, BUT based on the snippet I've seen on TikTok, I have determined Meghan is a thieving liar with no friends who kicked her father and said that Kate is a stupid slag."

The space between reality and interpretation is wild, and the Mail and Piers are truly UNHINGED. That is my final Sussex opinion. Now back to researching beef stew recipes :)

Rhondaa · 09/12/2022 16:00

Lampzade · 09/12/2022 15:48

I can’t understand how posters can comment and make sweeping statements about a show they haven’t even watched.
Strange

Oh come off it, it is on the news constantly. I don't need fo sit through 3 hrs of it to have an opinion.

I did comment on the good points previously like the styling etc but the micro aggressions and PA comments are pretty noticeable.

I hope H's dc don't grow up to be incrediblly disappointed in him for his constant oversharing about their lives.

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