Royals brace for more Sussex ‘truth bombs’: World waits for Harry and Meghan’s explosive Netflix docuseries to be released at 8AM TODAY with Palace ‘poised to respond robustly to any unjust claims’ but Charles, William and Kate ‘WON’T be watching’
- Senior royals bracing for worst and prepared to address unfounded accusations
- Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary is set to drop at 8am on Thursday
- Sussexes have already made number of claims in trailers released in recent days
- But royal aides believe that the series will actually by slim on new revelations
- Instead, they believe there is ‘a lot of noise’ but there ‘isn’t much more to say’
Meghan and Harry’s Netflix bombshell documentary series is released today at 8am.
Buckingham Palace will be braced for the worst after two trailers revealed the couple will claim they had no protection from royal officials and that aides actively leaked and ‘planted stories’ against them as part of a ‘dirty game’.
King Charles and Prince William are poised to issue a ‘swift and robust’ response to any unjust claims in Harry and Meghan’s upcoming Netflix series – but William and his wife Kate are not likely to watch it themselves, sources said.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have already made a number of claims in two trailers released by Netflix
King Charles and Prince William (pictured with Queen Consort and the Princess of Wales) are poised to issue a ‘swift and robust’ response to any unjust claims
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made an appearance at the Ripple of Hope Awards in New York last night
Liz Garbus, the Left-leaning Oscar nominated director behind Harry and Meghan’s Netflix series has had a 25-year career working on projects about oppressed women and is ‘long admired’ by Duchess of Sussex .
Ms Garbus is known for her critically acclaimed exposes and documenting the stories of ‘survivors’, and worked on the Handmaids Tale finale.
Raised in New York by a civil rights lawyer father, her career has spanned almost 25 years, covering documentaries, true crime and high-end drama.
Her notable titles include The Farm: Angola, USA; Bobby Fischer Against The World; Love; Marilyn; and The Fourth Estate.
The Duchess of Sussex previously suggested that the show’s direction was in the hands of left-leaning filmmaker Liz Garbus ‘even if it means it may not be the way we would have told it’.
She said: ‘It’s nice to be able to trust someone with our story — a seasoned director whose work I’ve long admired — even if it means it may not be the way we would have told it.
But that’s not why we’re telling it. We’re trusting our story to someone else, and that means it will go through their lens.’
Senior royals are said to be bracing for the worst and will be prepared to address any unfounded accusations as the new series drops on the streaming service at 8am.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have already made a number of claims in two trailers released by Netflix in recent days, saying they had no protection from the Palace and accused aides of actively leaking and ‘planting’ stories against them as part of a ‘dirty game’.
But the Royal Family believes the series will actually by slim on new revelations.
A source told The Mirror: ‘There’s a real feeling in the camp that Harry and Meghan are making a lot of noise and there isn’t much more to say.
‘But preparations are being made for all outcomes, especially if there are unjust accusations being made.’
Members of the Sussexes’ now defunct household are also said to be ‘seething with rage’ over trailers for the six-part documentary.
Officials from both Buckingham and Kensington Palace will watch the first three episodes of the series on Thursday morning.
But it is understood that the Prince and Princess of Wales will refuse to watch the first three episodes of the documentary.
An insider also told The Sun that the royals are reluctant to engage in a tit-for-tat battle over the series.
They said: ‘If there are parts which are blatantly wrong, then it is only right that they are corrected.
‘The trailers already have some glaring errors and misrepresentations, which doesn’t bode well for the full series. But the plan is to keep schtum and carry on.”
But sources told the newspaper they are unlikely to respond until the full series has been released – due next Thursday.
Aides are understood to have been briefed by the King and Prince of Wales to issue a ‘swift and robust’ response if required.
‘If there is a need to respond to anything in the upcoming series then you can be assured that response will be swift and robust.’
It is understood that Netflix offered a right of reply to senior ryal to allow them the chance to respond to any allegations featured in the series.
But Buckingham and Kensington Palace both deny receiving any such approach.
Harry and Meghan, meanwhile, have vowed that it is just the ‘beginning’ and have earlier spoken of ‘sweeping down walls of oppression’.
But Netflix’s use of ‘misleading’ footage in two trailers for the series would not have been tolerated by British broadcasters, according to producers.
Former BBC and Channel 4 commissioning editor Peter Grimsdale said lawyers would have intervened before the trailer was relased.
He told The Times: ‘It’s almost hard-wired into us to make sure we know where every shot comes from because that’s the sort of thing that if there was complaints about it, you would be in real trouble.
‘There’s a certain duty of care. I think people working for Sky would feel the same way. It’s partly a function of regulations just being different in America.’
Mr Grimsdale added: ‘99.9 per cent of the time this doesn’t happen because every one checks.’
Members of the Sussexes’ now defunct household are said to be ‘seething with rage’ over trailers for the six-part documentary
The couple have been shown claiming they had no protection from the Palace and that aides actively leaked and ‘planted stories’ against them as part of a ‘dirty game’
It comes after the Sussexes faced an awkward grilling from journalists about their explosive documentary in New York last night.
Harry and Meghan were asked if they were putting money before family as they graced a star-studded gala hosted by the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights organisation, where they received an award for fighting racism in the Royal Family.
The pair did not give a direct response, but the duke could be heard saying ‘so many questions’ before they were escorted inside.
Earlier, they told the ceremony that their war against ‘oppression’ has only just begun.
Harry and Meghan delivered the politically charged pre-taped remarks after being honoured with an award for fighting racism in the Royal Family by the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Foundation, a prize that counts Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton among its former recipients.
Meghan also talked about her struggle with suicidal thoughts since becoming a member of the Royal Family, telling the audience she ‘didn’t want to be alive anymore’ and revealing that the decision not to end her life ‘wasn’t easy’, in remarks echoing those made during her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.
In a speech praising the late RFK, the Duke of Sussex told the star-studded Ripple of Hope Gala: ‘As we all face a complete and challenging time in the world, we choose the path of optimism of care for each other and our communities.
‘We understand this honour, not about the culmination of a life’s work, but instead and in many ways for us, a beginning.’
He said: ‘Bobby Kennedy said, ”Each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.”’
Harry and Meghan were asked if they were putting money before family as they graced a star-studded gala
His wife said: ‘The enduring dream of RFK of a just and peaceful world is so much more than a simple hope. It’s a direct ask, a specific challenge, a call to action, a test of individual courage and collective spirit. And his appeal to humanity is as relevant today as it was in 1966 when he stood before the University of Cape Town, a place we’ve visited and hold close to our hearts. And he delivered a vision for the common good of society.
‘He also said those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance’.
Friends and family snub Harry and Meghan’s Netflix show: Elton, Oprah, Edward Enninful and the Obamas AREN’T taking part in bombshell series
Alison Boshoff, chief showbusiness writer for the Daily Mail
Prince Harry and Meghan’s most famous celebrity friends – and almost all of their families – have snubbed their bombshell Netflix documentary.
In publicity material released ahead of today’s transmission of the first three episodes, Netflix has promised that interviews with ‘friends and family’ of the couple will feature.
But the Mail can reveal key allies – including Elton John, Vogue editor Edward Enninful and Prince Harry’s ‘surrogate Dad’, the music producer David Foster – are not taking part.
It is thought that Oprah Winfrey is not a part of it either, and nor are the Obamas.
Moreover there will also not be a single royal ‘talking head’ in the Harry & Meghan series – not even Princess Eugenie with whom they remain close.
Harry and Meghan’s new show, which comes out on Netflix tomorrow, is promised interviews with ‘friends and family’. Pictured: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle appear in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021
The Obamas are not thought to be taking part in the programme. Pictured: Prince Harry speaks to Barack Obama at a wheelchair basketball match during the 2017 Invictus Games
Of all the absences, perhaps the most surprising is Vogue editor Edward Enninful. He landed a major coup when Meghan agreed to guest edit the September 2019 issue, Forces for Change.
It was the fastest selling edition in Vogue’s history and in an article for the publication, Meghan wrote that she and Enninful were ‘like-minded thinkers who have so much in common’.
The following year, Enninful said he felt she had been criticised unfairly in the media storm over Megxit – the couple’s move to California.
But sources close to the Vogue editor confirmed that he was not taking part. He recently praised the Princess of Wales for her ‘graceful’ fashion sense.
Elton John, a key ally of the couple, is another who is thought not to be taking part in the show. Pictured: Elton John attends the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party
Oprah Winfrey is not thought to be appearing on their Netflix show. Pictured: Oprah (right) speaks to Harry and Meghan (left) during their interview in 2021
Another absent influential figure is Sir Elton, a great friend of Princess Diana’s who has gone out of his way to defend Harry and Meghan in the past.
He and husband David Furnish have had them for family holidays at his home near Nice in France and Furnish was among executives working on the proposed Archewell show Pearl, which was later shelved.
Last week Prince Harry sent the singer a video message thanking him for being a friend to the couple and their children, and to his late mother.
Sir Elton is regarded as an unofficial godfather to both William and Harry and was among the guests at William’s wedding. The Waleses had their first dance to Sir Elton’s Your Song.
Music producer Mr Foster has not taken part, a spokesman confirmed this week. He and Harry grew close during the Megxit crisis and Mr Foster helped to find them a temporary home in Canada before they settled in California.
Meghan and Mr Foster’s wife, Katharine McPhee, are old classmates and the four have been seen dining together in California where they all live.
And it can also be revealed that their preferred journalist, Omid Scobie, is not among those in the show.
Vogue editor Edward Enninful is another who is not thought to be appearing. Pictured: Edward Enninful at Paris Fashion Week in October 2019
Representatives for Miss Winfrey and the Obamas did not return requests for comment but sources in America say both are wary of being drawn into what they see as a ‘family drama’.
Guy Pelly, one of William and Harry’s oldest friends, is also not appearing, the Mail was told. Nor is former Vanity Fair editor and royal biographer Tina Brown, who has been covering dramas surrounding Buckingham Palace since the early days of Diana.
It was confirmed yesterday that Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie – the best friends of the Sussexes among the young royals – are not taking part.
Their mother Sarah, the Duchess of York – no stranger to a tell-all TV special – is also not going to be on camera, and neither is her ex-husband Andrew.
King Charles, Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales will naturally not feature.
A spokesman for Earl Spencer declined to comment on whether he or his sisters Jane and Sarah might appear, but sources indicate that it’s unlikely any of them would.
Which leaves only Meghan’s mum, Doria Ragland, as a possible family member appearing on the series. She has never previously spoken on camera and her rumoured appearance was, as of last night, still unconfirmed.
Meanwhile there are signs of a backlash from the public about the high-profile show. So far, the first Netflix trailer on YouTube has 20,000 likes and 288,000 dislikes and the second has 16,000 likes and 133,000 dislikes.
WHY does Meghan always wear utterly impractical white when she’s got two toddlers, a bunch of dogs and chickens and presumably she’s against dry cleaning because it’s bad for dolphins or something, asks LIZ JONES
Liz Jones for the Daily Mail
This woman has two toddlers, right? Dogs. Chickens. She must be ‘against’ dry cleaning, given it’s probably ever so bad for dolphins. And surely she’s not getting married again?
So why on earth does Meghan wear top-to-toe white, like, all the time?
Take the off-the-shoulder Louis Vuitton gown — worth upwards of £10,000 — she wore on Monday night.
It’s just the latest in a long line of white outfits she’s donned since joining the Royal Family, starting with the £600 belted wrap coat for her engagement photo call way back in 2017.
The slightly over-long, off-the-shoulder bespoke Louis Vuitton gown that the Duchess wore to accept an award for her stance against institutional racism could have cost upwards of £10,000
The Duchess of Sussex accessorised the £10,000 floor length white Louis Vuitton dress with black heels and statement jewellery. She wore her hair in a slicked back updo and added glitter eyeshadow to the outfit
Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, were accepting a human rights award from the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation, which his daughter Kerry said was in honour of their ‘heroic’ stance against ‘structural racism’ in the Royal Family
The Duchess retained the colour white as a key feature of her wardrobe after she and her husband stepped down as working royals. Their bombshell documentary about the royal family will be released on Netflix tomorrow morning
During the photocall to announce the couple’s engagement, Meghan donned a white coat which she tied at the waist with a sash. The Line The Label wrap coat retails for £620
The Duchess of Sussex has often worn white on big occasions, including when announcing her engagement to Prince Harry in November 2017
The Duchess wore white throughout the couple’s early engagements, including during their tour of New Zealand in the months after they were married. She wore this £485 custom Maggie Marilyn Leap Of Faith dress at an arts event in Wellington
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex – wearing a £1,250 white Zimmerman dress dress with complementing hat – wave from the balcony of the Grand Pacific Hotel during their 2018 tour of Australia, Tonga, New Zealand and Fiji
Since then, to name but a few, there’s been the Grace Wales Bonner post-partum dress, costing £675, she wore to present Archie to the world. The £6,000 Valentino shift so short you can only surmise Harry had put it on a hot wash by mistake.
And the £7,200 Dior coat and hat — as well as white shoes (a little bit Essex, but no worries: Meghan has never heard of a county unless it has the word ‘duchess’ in front of it) — for the Platinum Jubilee in June.
Meghan’s not the only A-lister who loves it and a woman in white always stands out. It’s long signified innocence.
Prince Harry and wife Meghan presented their son, Archie, to the world at St George’s Hall in Windsor Castle following his birth in May 2019. The Duchess of Sussex wore a £675 sleeveless white Grace Wales Bonner post-partum dress
Meghan often wore white to both intimate and formal royal events while she was a working member of the royal family, including taking her newly born son, Archie, to meet his great-grandparents shortly after his birth
Meghan had chosen white throughout her pregnancy with Archie, including during a trip to the National History Museum for a gala in support of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust. She wore an Amanda Wakeley coat, which costs £875, and a £14,95 bespoke Calvin Klein dress
For her only one-on-one engagement with the late Queen, Meghan chose a £2,220 white Givenchy dress with a black belt. She accessorised her look with black heels and a handbag, as did the Queen
The Duchess joined the late Queen Elizabeth II for the opening of the new Mersey Gateway Bridge just weeks after her marriage to Prince Harry
Speaking at the Global Citizen Live concert in 2021, Meghan donned a £3,300 white Valentino shift dress, decorated with flowers, which costs £6,000
Prince Harry kept things casual at the Global Citizen Live concert, wearing a similarly neutral colour palette with an open necked shirt
The Commonwealth Service, often cited as a flash-point for the royal family, saw the Duchess of Sussex don a white pillarbox hat and dress, both from Victoria Beckham
The Duchess of Sussex wore another all-white outfit to the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June. The £5,000 Dior coat dress – paired with a £2,300 Stephen Jones hat – was complemented by white gloves and heels for the occasion
Not to mention evoking images of crisp, fresh sheets in Persil ads (so useful when airing one’s dirty laundry).
And as Harry says in the couple’s much anticipated Netflix documentary, it’s a ‘dirty game’. So, really, we should applaud Meghan for staying so perfectly spotless.
There’s no denying that Meghan dresses beautifully. And wearing white is difficult to fault.
Unless you are the late Queen, who reportedly thought Meghan’s wedding gown should have been off-white, given Meghan was a divorcee.
Meghan’s wedding dress was designed by Clarie Waight Keller, artistic director of Givenchy. The Queen reportedly believed that Meghan should have worn off-white, as her marriage to Prince Harry was her second
The newly weds both chose to change outfits for their more intimate reception after getting married at St George’s Chapel in Windsor. Their reception was held at Frogmore House
A behind-the-scenes photo of Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018 gives a glimpse of the duchess’s second wedding outfit, a halter-neck Stella McCartney design
The Duchess utilising a neutral colour palette at the recent Invictus Games 2023 launch, including a white sleveless top and pared-down makeup
In an intimate look into the royal couple’s home, Meghan is once again seen wearing a white ensemble, suggesting that the colour is something she opts to wear while at home
The video, which was released to celebrate Meghan’s fortieth birthday, offered a glimpse into the couple’s £11million California mansion
The Duchess might use white clothing to signal confidence and may also use it to be easily visible in large crowds. It is a colour she has worn at many state and formal occasions, including at a launch event for the 2023 Invictus Games. She wore a £2,100 Valentino twill blazer and £1,100 trousers
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex now live in an $11million Montecito House in California. Their controversial Netflix series will premier tomorrow morning after the streaming giant reportedly splashed out £100million for the rights to the show
Or, of course, a fashion commentator like me, who finds wearing all white a little too Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct.
Oh, and a mystery solved. The reason Meghan looks so sombre as she sits, clad in white shirt and white trousers, next to Harry on the sofa in the Netflix trailer?
He’s just come perilously close to her with an unsheathed Biro.
The Duchess preferred white throughout her time as a working royal, including during a trip to Ascot in June 2018 in a £1,800 bespoke Givenchy dress and £1,950 Philip Treacy hat, shortly after her marriage to Prince Harry
White has been a staple colour in the Duchess’s wardrobe ever since she was introduced to the world as Prince Harry’s partner. She wore a £1,300 white sheath dress by Karen Gee during their first royal tour in Sydney
The Duchess of Sussex clearly favours white for more intimate settings, choosing to wear it for an interview segment in the upcoming Netflix series
Picture research: Claire Cisotti.
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