The first official teaser for Harry & Meghan, the Sussexes’ behind-the-scenes Netflix docuseries, has premiered.
The one-minute trailer, which featured never before seen private photographs of the couple, was released on the second day of the Prince William and Kate’s high-profile trip to the US.
In one section of the footage, Meghan appears to be wiping away tears with both hands as they stream down her face, while Harry sits and tilts his head right back, seemingly in distress.
The couple are heard being asked: “Why did you want to make this documentary?”
Harry says “No one sees what’s happening behind closed doors… I had to do everything I could to protect my family”, while Meghan says, “When the stakes were this high, doesn’t it make more sense to hear our story from us?”
Images of William and Kate with Harry and Meghan at the Commonwealth Day service in 2019 – the year before the Sussexes final public royal engagement at the same event – feature among the photographs.
Also, there are happy snapshots of the Sussexes kissing while Meghan sits on a kitchen island, as newlyweds dancing with joy at their evening wedding do, cuddling in a photobooth and Meghan cradling her bump while pregnant.
But the duchess is also pictured with her hand over her face as she sits cross legged on a chair holding a phone but it is not clear in this image whether she is crying.
Billed as a Netflix Global Event, the streaming giant promised an “unprecedented and in-depth documentary series” over six episodes where Harry and Meghan “share the other side of their high-profile love story”.
It added it was a “never-before-seen look at one of the most-discussed couples in history”.
The series was described as coming soon but it is reported to be airing on December 8 – exactly three months after the death of Harry’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth II.
Netflix said the show “explores the clandestine days of their early courtship and the challenges that led to them feeling forced to step back from their full-time roles in the institution”.
It features commentary from friends and family, most of whom have never spoken publicly before about what they witnessed according to Netflix, and historians who discuss the state of the British Commonwealth today and the royal family’s relationship with the press.
It adds: “The series does more than illuminate one couple’s love story, it paints a picture of our world and how we treat each other.”
The director is two-time Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning director Liz Garbus.
Royal watchers have questioned the timing of the teaser during the Waleses’ State-side visit for William’s major Earthshot Prize awards ceremony, dubbed “the Prince’s Superbowl moment of the year”.
Harry has had a long reported rift with his brother William and also spoken of his strained relationship with his father, King Charles.
The British monarchy is also currently facing a serious race row, after a royal aide repeatedly quizzed a black charity boss on where she “really came from”.
The royals are also adjusting in the aftermath of the Queen’s death.
Harry and Meghan signed lucrative deals – thought to be worth well over €100 million – with Netflix and Spotify after quitting the monarchy and moving to the US.
