SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Harry & Meghan Volume 2. If you have yet to watch the Netflix documentary, please exercise caution.
Exactly one week after the first half of Netflix’s six-part documentary, Harry & Meghan, was released and shed light on the early days of the couple’s relationship, the concluding chapters debuted and provided insight into the events that ultimately led to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex departing the Royal Family.
Following the release of Harry & Meghan Volume 1, we broke down seven big takeaways from the 2022 Netflix series, including some of the most heartwarming moments and heartbreaking revelations from their relationship up until the eve of their wedding. This time around, we’ll discuss even more takeaways from Harry & Meghan Part 2 that focus on everything from Meghan Markle opening up about her miscarriage (and the blame placed on the tabloid media) to how Tyler Perry became the couple’s biggest support system in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Double Standards For Meghan Markle And Kate Middleton Were Preposterous
A lot of the focus throughout Harry & Meghan is placed on the way the Duchess of Sussex has been treated by the press, especially when compared to the coverage her sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, has received over the years. This is discussed in great detail throughout one section of the fourth episode of the documentary series where stories about Meghan and Kate essentially doing the same thing are handled much differently by the same newspaper.
One example of these preposterous double-standards is the way the Daily Mail handled stories of the two princesses during their respective pregnancies, with Kate being applauded for “tenderly” cradling her baby bump, while words like “vanity” and “acting” are used to describe Meghan holding her bump in the same manner. But this wasn’t an isolated incident, as there were around 25 examples of this treatment discussed throughout the episode.
The Parallels Between Meghan Markle And Princess Diana Get Worse As The Documentary Unfolds
There were a great number of parallels between Meghan Markel and Princess Diana throughout the first half of Harry & Meghan, and they only get more severe as the documentary unfolds. This includes everything from how the Duchess of Sussex felt isolated from other members of the Royal Family to the way the media would simply not leave her alone as time went on, causing severe depression in the process.
This attention and abuse by tabloids in the United Kingdom and around the world didn’t get any better for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after they left Kensington Palace, but instead got much worse, with photographers surrounding their Vancouver home in hopes of getting cover images after they left. All of this is frighteningly similar to the way in which the late Princess of Wales was treated in the years leading up to her untimely death.
The Section About The Coordinated Social Media Attack On The Duke And Duchess Of Sussex Was Absolutely Terrifying
Documentaries like The Social Dilemma, Q: Into the Storm, and the Frontline special A Thousand Cuts, have long talked about the dangers of coordinated social media attacks and the spread of misinformation over social channels, and Harry & Meghan provides yet another example of the uncontained power of services like Facebook and Twitter.
At one point in the documentary, Harry and Meghan talk about research that was conducted by a service called Bot Sentinel that looked at 114,000 tweets and determined that 70 percent of the hateful content online originated from 83 accounts with a reach of 17 million people. The research also discovered that Meghan’s estranged half-sister, Samantha Markle, was part of that group, and used as many as 11 different accounts to participate in coordinated attacks.
Harry And Meghan Leaving The Royal Family Feels Like The Death Of A Dream For A New Britain
Throughout Harry & Meghan, journalists, scholars, and commentators talk about how much of a breath of fresh air it was when Meghan Markle, a biracial woman, became a part of the Royal Family, and how it felt like the beginning of a new chapter in British history. The joy and hope surrounding the couple in those early days makes their departure from the Royal Family all the more heartbreaking and devastating as it's painted in the light of being the death of the dream for a Britain that could get beyond backwards thinking and racism.
British writer Afua Hirsch points out at one point that Harry and Meghan’s relationship pushed forward the idea that Britain could change and that even the most traditional parts of British life could evolve with the times, before describing their departure as “the death of a dream.”
Tyler Perry Did More To Support Harry And Meghan In One Day Than The Royal Family Did In Years
Tyler Perry has a history of helping out people in need, and he did just that when the Duke and Duchess needed a place to lay low after leaving the Royal Family in March 2020. Just before the world shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Harry and Meghan needed to get out of Canada (where they were living at the time) before the borders were closed to prevent further spread of the virus. In comes the creator of the vastly popular Madea franchise.
Not only did Perry help the Duke and Duchess of Sussex get out of Canada, and not only did he provide them a place to stay and much-needed privacy, he also gave them a support system, something they didn’t have with “the Institution” back in England. The couple was so appreciative of Perry’s help, they ended up naming him the godfather to their daughter.
Meghan Opening Up About Her Miscarriage Was An Incredibly Emotional Experience
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had an incredibly emotionally-grueling year in 2020, and matters were only made worse when Meghan Markle had a miscarriage during her second pregnancy. Even though a great deal of time had passed between the tragedy and filming of Harry & Meghan, the pain and grief can still be felt in their words and read on their faces.
Prince Harry continues to blame the tabloid media and its relentless pestering of the family throughout their departure from the Royal Family as the cause for the miscarriage, which adds a whole other layer of emotional trauma to the situation.
Harry And William Have Yet To Find A Way To Repair Their Fractured Relationship
For the longest time, Princes William and Harry were seen as a unified front and led multiple charitable efforts together, but that closeness came to an end in the fallout of the younger brother’s decision to leave the Royal Family.
The Harry & Meghan documentary was filmed before the death of Prince Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, so it’s hard to say how things have changed for the Royal Family since then, but the documentary does end on a note that makes it seem as if the once close-knit bond shared by her most famous grandsons has yet to be repaired.
All six parts of Harry & Meghan are currently available to stream for anyone with a Netflix subscription. If you’re looking for more great shows to watch after finishing it up, there are still quite a few high-profile Netflix shows on the 2022 TV schedule worth checking out.
