'Harry and Meghan's deliberate and calculated attention-seeking stunt to upstage William and Kate'

OPINION – – From the moment Prince Harry and Meghan's trailer for their new "love story" documentary was released, their intention was obvious.

Coinciding with day two of Prince William and Catherine's crucial US charm offensive, the Netflix-produced clip must be seen exactly for what it is: a deliberate and calculated attention-seeking stunt by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

And boy did it work.

READ MORE: Six things we've learnt from Harry & Meghan's new trailer

With the amount of coverage given to Prince Harry and Meghan's candid and raw insight into their lives, you've be easily forgiven to question 'what royal tour?'

But the Prince and Princess of Wales, the real royals in this family saga, kept true to that very British mantra exemplified by the late Queen: keep calm and carry on.

They smiled and waved and met children in an around Boston, trying to keep the focus on the three-day visit to the US, their first overseas tour since the death of Queen Elizabeth II and their first on American soil in eight years.

The visit is aimed at strengthening the all-important US-UK alliance, culminating in Prince William's passion project The Earthshot Prize Awards.

The Prince of Wales has brought the awards to the US, knowing full well it is where they will get the most attention. Its link to America's own unofficial royal family, the Kennedys, makes the choice of Boston as host city even more poignant.

Prince William and Catherine's itinerary also included a meeting with US President Joe Biden, soft diplomacy at its best.

Prince Harry and Meghan lack the clout and royal weight to score their own meeting with President Biden so have to grab the headlines the only way they know how: by selling themselves to an insatiable audience and streaming giant.

For a couple who apparently craved privacy, this is an intimate and near invasive look inside their personal lives.

But with a reported $100 million pay check, money talks.

READ MORE: Prince Harry and Meghan's documentary first look

Take that photo of a crying Meghan, sitting crossed-legged on an armchair, head in one hand and mobile phone in the other.

In any other situation, the publication of that image would be condemned. But because this is Harry and Meghan on their own terms, controlling their narrative, it has now been shown to millions around the world.

The full story behind the photo, and why someone (presumably Prince Harry) stood there and took it, will only be found out by watching the documentary.

Another screen shot shows the couple clearly exasperated – Prince Harry, head back in frustration, Meghan wiping tears from her face.

They've upstaged the Wales', motivated not only by money but also revenge.

It there was any doubt about that, take the pointed photo of the royals included in the trailer.

The only image showing any other members of the royal family features Meghan's sister-in-law front and centre.

Taken a full year before Prince Harry and Meghan's decision to step down as senior working royals, the photo is from the 2019 Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.

Prince Harry and Meghan would use the event the following year, in 2020, as their final engagement with the royal family before moving to North America.

Catherine is seen in the middle of this photo, staring directly into the camera, while Prince William is looking equally stony-faced next to her. Camilla, now Queen Consort, is also pictured looking downcast.

Interestingly, Prince Andrew – who was seated next to Meghan at the service – has been cropped out.

The inclusion of this photo showing a sour-looking Kate is an indication Meghan may criticise the Princess of Wales, again, and speak about their relationship – or lack of.

The next shot in the trailer is a solo photo of Meghan looking sad, standing on the balcony during a Remembrance Sunday service in London.

Coming two years after telling Oprah about how Kate made her cry, one can only roll their eyes at the accusations Meghan will throw at the Princess of Wales.

Even before this trailer was released to the world on Thursday US time – early Friday morning in Australia – there was lots of chatter about Prince Harry and Meghan being in competition with Prince William and Kate this week.

It was a battle for publicity, of sorts, and it seems for now the Wales' have lost.

And it's been a busy week, for both couples.

Meghan took centre stage on Tuesday to speak at an event on women's empowerment, hours before Prince William and Kate arrived in Boston on Wednesday.

The Sussexes are likely (though not confirmed) to visit New York on December 6 to collect an award for their "moral courage" and their "willingness to speak up" by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organisation.

Coming just four days after the Earthshot Prize Awards, the US has never been more saturated with British royals until now.

Prince Harry and Meghan are not new to this type of publicity-seeking stunt.

In the middle of Prince William and Kate's tour of India and Pakistan in 2019, Meghan and Harry were in southern Africa.

And it was then that the Duchess of Sussex told ITV's Tom Bradby that "no one's asked me if I'm okay", a comment that immediately portrayed the royal family as a cold institution without any regard for Meghan's feelings.

Prince Harry acknowledged the rumoured tension between himself and Prince William, saying that like any siblings, they have "good days and bad days".

And just one day after returning from the UK for the Queen's historic Platinum Jubilee in June, the couple shared a new photo of their daughter Lilibet from her first birthday party, the only solo photo of their second child released to the public so far.

They had reportedly been asked not to release it earlier for fear of overshadowing the monarch's 70-year-reign.

So they held back, for a day.

And much was said about the bad timing of Meghan's wide-ranging magazine interview with The Cut, which came out days before the 25th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in August.

Some may argue that Prince Harry and Meghan had no say over when this Netflix trailer would be released.

But that suggestion fails to see the sway the royal couple has with the streaming giant or any other of their contracts.

That would be a wrong assumption.

Meghan's interview with entertainment giant Variety was held back by a month in light of the Queen's death.

The duchess was later re-interviewed so the journalist could add in Meghan's praise of the monarch as the "most shining example" of "female leadership".

Her podcast, Archetypes, on Spotify was paused for several weeks out of respect to the royal mourning period.

Prince Harry and Meghan know exactly what they are doing.

This is self-promotion at its best and, for them, the perfect set up to the release of the duke's tell-all memoir Spare on January 10.

They've added even more fuel to the fire that is the royal feud with this docu-series, titled simple Harry & Meghan.

As Meghan says in the trailer: "When the stakes are this high, doesn't it make more sense to hear our story from us?"

And we cannot wait to watch it.