Netflix Harry & Megan is a docuseries, which means it purports to show us a candid and truthful side of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Thing is, after watching the rebellious royals for six hours, I just felt like there was one scene where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stopped being polite and – to quote a famous reality – Stealing show lines – starting to get real. In episode 6, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry complain to a friend about the situation with Jason Knauf. The normally polished, even-tempered, and perfectly trained couple finally speak out on a frustrating subject with the tone and physicality I’ve seen in the real world. Meghan throws up her hands and digs for Prince William, while Prince Harry says dryly: “That’s why I live in another country now.”
Meghan Markle is upset ‘it’s your brother‘ and everything that follows is the realest, roughest part of Harry & Megan and it will stay with me forever.
Harry & Megan is a six-part docuseries from Oscar-winning actress Liz Garbus that attempts to piece together how a modern-day fairy tale has morphed into a tumultuous tabloid saga. Given the pedigrees of everyone involved, most of the series is a slick piece of fluff full of staged confessions and Instagram-perfect behind-the-scenes shots. The story presented by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is one of true love thwarted by scheming, lying, ruthless and racist parties. Some of the villains are from their own families, while most of the bogeys are hiding behind a long-lens camera.
For the majority of the series, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle maintain the glamorous facade that has made them such great covers for the tabloids that loathe them. Prince Harry has the gentlemanly manners that come with his royal upbringing and his mother’s gift for commanding the camera. Markle charms with her self-deprecating jokes and innate elegance. Sure, we see her get overwhelmed during a perfectly staged meditation, but Meghan Markle maintains a composed dignity for the most part.
I’m not saying that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle lie in their many confessionals or privately recorded video diaries. What I’m saying is that these are two people who have learned to maintain an aura of on-camera perfection at all costs. It must be an integral part of their personality by now. If they make a small mistake, it will become a global controversy within minutes of being seen.
That’s why the rare scene where they’re not perfect is what delighted me the most. The lighting is dim, Meghan’s hair is tied back in a garish butterfly clip, and the shot is awful. (No one suspects good blocking!) The pair open up about the fact that Prince William’s then-aide Jason Knauf is volunteering to testify in Meghan’s ongoing legal battle with tabloid giant Associated Newspapers Limited. The press portrayed Knauf as Meghan Markle’s “former assistant” and conveniently edited out the fact that Knauf is extremely close to Prince William. And still is.
“Let me take care of it,” says Prince Harry.
An unusually nervous Meghan replies: “But how do we deal with this? Like, how on earth… like…”
Meghan’s friend points out that Knauf works for Harry’s brother.
“I know. Like… like me…” Meghan turns to Harry and throws up her arms in desperation. “It’s your brother.”
“Yes,” he says.
“I’m not going to say anything about your brother, but it’s so obvious,” she says in a tone that can only mean she’s not saying anything about Prince William because anything she wanted to say would be scathing.
Meghan’s body language was incredibly familiar to me in this scene in a way that her usual perfect posture never is. That’s how grown-ups dance around wanting to berate people they love, who have let them down time and time again. It’s the Bless Their Heart approach to talking shit; a phrase that basically talks all the shit without getting into the actual muck. And the fact that instead of getting upset, Harry agrees and doubles down on Meghan’s point of view, suggests he too has a lot of thoughts and feelings inside him.
Although Prince Harry and Meghan Markle meticulously presented a detailed, substantiated argument as to why they had to leave royal life, it was that one scene that really grabbed me. Because sure, you can talk eloquently about institutional racism and mental health issues and Diana’s legacy all you want. The moment Meghan Markle said: “it’s your brother‘ I knew we were watching two people cope with the bone-crunching, soul-crushing, heart-wrenching stress that comes with dealing with a toxic family member. Sometimes you have the strength to deal with them, but most of the time you just want to cut and run.
Harry & Megan didn’t have to be six hours long. It could have just been this one honest, human scene. And that’s why this moment sticks with me long after the rest of the show’s gossip has died.