Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, arrive for a service of thanksgiving for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London on June 3, 2022, on the second of four days of celebrations to mark the Platinum Jubilee. Photo by Matt Dunham/Getty Images/TNS
By Matt Donnelly
Variety Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are about to pull back the curtain on their love story and subsequent retreat from life as working royals.
After months of mystery, distributor Netflix released a first-look trailer for the highly anticipated doc series on Thursday. The project, which is directed by “What Happened, Miss Simone?” helmer Liz Garbus, promises an intimate account of the couple’s courtship — and unprecedented access to their tumultuous years as senior royals.
In the trailer, which shares an array of romantic photos of the couple but none with their two kids, Garbus is heard asking, “Why did you want to make this documentary?” to which Harry responds — in voiceover — “No one knows what’s happening behind closed doors.”
“I had to do everything I could to protect my family,” he says. Markle, in an interview to camera, adds: “When the stakes are this high, doesn’t it make more sense to hear our story from us?”
The 50-second trailer, which is set to dramatic music and features a flash of Markle and Harry looking at one point visibly emotional during an interview, doesn’t provide a release date for the series, which is merely described as “coming soon.”
In October, Markle discussed the series in a cover story for Variety.
“It’s nice to be able to trust someone with our story — a seasoned director whose work I’ve long admired,” the duchess said. The former actor and content producer also said it was exciting to see Prince Harry as a member of a proper film production.
“My husband has never worked in this industry before. For me, having worked on ‘Suits,’ it’s so amazing to be around so much creative energy and to see how people work together and share their own points of view. That’s been really fun.”
Royal watchers and the couple’s supporters will no doubt take note of the timing of the trailer release, which comes just one day after a member of Britain’s royal household, now identified as Lady Susan Hussey, resigned after making offensive remarks to a Black guest at Buckingham Palace during a private event hosted by Queen Consort Camilla.
Ngozi Fulani, a British-born charity head, detailed on Twitter an uncomfortable exchange between herself and a “Lady SH,” revealing that the latter had repeatedly asked her where she “really came from,” to which Fulani kept repeating she was born in Britain.
Hussey was Queen Elizabeth II’s lady-in-waiting. Markle herself has been the subject of extensive scrutiny by the British tabloids. In an explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, Markle and Harry said a member of the royal family had made a racist remark about their firstborn, Archie.
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