Harry & Meghan documentary premieres with intimate family photos, the truth about how they met and Diana comparisons

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have given an unprecedented look inside their family life, sharing never-before-seen photos of their children in their Netflix series Harry & Meghan.

The first three episodes of the six-part series aired on Thursday night, and despite there being no major new accusations made against Harry's family, it appears a significant dispute may already have emerged.

The first episode of Harry & Meghan began with a disclaimer that all interviews had been completed prior to August 2022, before the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

READ MORE: 10 things we've learnt from Harry & Meghan, the documentary

It also carried the message on screen: "Members of the Royal Family declined to comment on the content within this series."

However, ITV News royal editor Chris Ship said no members of the family "have been approached at any time".

Quoting palace sources, Ship also said the family also "won't respond to anything claimed in today's episodes".

About the decision to share such intimate details about their private lives, Prince Harry says in the docuseries that the issue of "consent" was vital.

Empowered by their chance to tell their story themselves, the pair went deep into the origins of their relationship.

They revealed that they had first spoken on Instagram in July 2016 before meeting up for their first date in the UK.

Text messages between the two were shared on screen with Meghan teasing Harry for "being late".

Harry said he was a ball of nerves before their first date and was dripping with sweat.

"He was just so fun, so refreshingly fun," Meghan said.

They decided to "give it a go" and started dating immediately.

Prince Harry spoke about the "temptation" to marry someone who was more suited to royal life but said he was his "mother's son" and had to follow his heart.

READ MORE: Every big moment from the Harry & Meghan documentary

Seconds into the start of episode one, Prince Harry and Meghan appear on camera immediately but separately, in interviews filmed on their mobile phones.

The duchess is at Vancouver Island, Canada and says "H is in London and I'm here".

Meghan has no makeup on and her hair is wrapped in a towel. She says, wiping back tears, that she doesn't know "where to begin".

Prince Harry is speaking from the terminal of Heathrow Airport, in March 2020.

"We've just finished our two weeks, our like final push, our last stint of royal engagements," he says.

"It's really hard to look back on it now and go 'what on earth happened'? Like, how did we end up here?"

The duke said it was a "sensible" thing to do, with "all the misinformation" to record themselves on mobile phones.

READ MORE: How much Harry and Meghan are earning from their Netflix docuseries

Moments later, they are seen together on the lounge of their home in Montecito, California.

Later in the first episode, Prince Harry revealed he didn't have many "early memories" of his mother but said he could remember "her laugh".

"The majority of my memories are of her being swarmed by paparazzi," he says.

Harry made several comparisons with his wife and Diana, saying "To see another woman in my life go through this feeding frenzy.. That's hard. It is really the hunter vs the prey".

Meghan's mother Doria Ragland has spoken on camera for the first time, saying the last few years had been "challenging".

We are also given a glimpse into the private Instagram accounts of the couple with screenshots of their posts and interactions also shared in the docuseries.

At one stage in the docuseries, Meghan spoke of the events that led up to her first date with Prince Harry. While she maintains she never Googled the royal, she said she did look at his Instagram account, and liked what she saw.

She said she was particularly struck by his photography in Africa including those that reflected his interest in conservation.

In one post Harry is at what appears to be a museum and dressed in an old-school pilots outfit.

She would also have been happy to see Prince Harry shares her love of dogs.

Meghan has also inherited her mother Doria Ragland's love of yoga. Doria also works as a yoga instructor.

Here we see Harry executing a perfect headstand in front of a gorgeous sunset, a perfect setting for meditation, yoga and reflection.

In episode two, she recalled first meeting Harry and described him as being "the one" for her daughter, being "handsome" and having good "manners".

Prince Harry, in episode two, also spoke about the directive of the palace of staying silent when asked why Meghan should be "protected".

He said: "The direction from the palace was don't say anything.

"But what people need to understand is, as far as a lot of the family were concerned, everything that she was being put through, they had been put through as well.

"So it was almost like a rite of passage, and some of the members of the family were like 'my wife had to go through that, so why should your girlfriend be treated any differently? Why should you get special treatment? Why should she be protected?"'

"I said 'the difference here is the race element'."

Racism features predominately throughout episode three, with Prince Harry saying there was a "huge level of unconscious bias" in the royal family.

"In this family, sometimes you are part of the problem rather than part of the solution. There is a huge level of unconscious bias."

He also spoke about when he wore a Nazi uniform to a private party in 2005.

"It was probably one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I felt so ashamed afterwards. All I wanted to do was make it right."

The Duchess of Sussex said she found the "formality" of being in the royal family "surprising".

Speaking about meeting key members of the royal family for the first time she said: "When Will and Kate came over, and I met her for the first time, they came over for dinner, I remember I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot.

"I was a hugger. I've always been a hugger, I didn't realise that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.

The duke said his family was "incredibly impressed" by Meghan, though some had obvious misgivings.

"But the fact that I was dating an American actress was probably what clouded their judgment more than anything else at the beginning. 'Oh, she's an American actress; this won't last'."

Meghan agreed, saying she felt the UK had a particular view of what being an actress meant, and that it was "easy to typecast".

In episode three, the Duchess of Sussex spoke about her half-sister Samantha Markle and their shared father Thomas.

Meghan's niece Ashleigh, who is the daughter of Samantha, was introduced to the world with the Duchess of Sussex speaking about their close relationship.

Prince Harry and Meghan's story will be told over six episodes, the first three which premiered Thursday in Australia.

Volume I, made up of episodes one – three was released simultaneously around the world.

But the timing has raised eyebrows, coming three months to the day Prince Harry's grandmother Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral.

Volume II, containing the final three episodes, will be released next Thursday December 15.

The series is co-produced by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Prince Harry and Meghan issue statement

As the first three episodes were set live, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex issued a joint statement.

They said: "We are grateful to have the ability to share our love story through such an esteemed creative team and with the global reach of Netflix.

"We hope it helps others to heal, and to feel inspired."

Director Liz Garbus added: "I hope that when Netflix viewers press play, whatever preconceptions people have, they will be open to the discovery of what we've shared in this documentary series".

The royal family's response

So far there has been no official response from Buckingham Palace.

King Charles and Prince William are rumoured to have their aides watching the first three episodes to brief the monarch and Prince of Wales with anything that needs an immediate response.

The last time Prince Harry and Meghan made controversial comments about the royal family, to Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, the late Queen Elizabeth was swift in her response by saying in a statement "recollections may vary".

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