(London) The British press erupted in outrage on Friday at the documentary series of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, which lambasted the British media for its treatment of the royal couple.
But much of the UK reacted to the Netflix series with a shrug. Buckingham Palace made no comment and the Prime Minister did not watch.
The first three one-hour episodes of Harry & Meghan were released on Thursday, and three more are due out on December 15. So far, the series has not contained earth-shattering revelations as feared by the palace.
In the show, the couple, along with friends and family of Meghan, recount their life before and their blossoming romance, leading up to their fairytale wedding at Windsor Castle in 2018. They also exhibit their growing dissatisfaction with what they describe as the racist media treatment of Meghan and the lack of support from the Palace.
Harry and Meghan stepped down from royal duties in early 2020 and moved to California to start new lives as activists, charity benefactors and media personalities.
At the heart of the series is the symbiotic and sometimes toxic relationship between the British royal family and the media. Each part needs the other, but both are often dissatisfied with the arrangements. Prince Harry has long spoken out against the intrusion of the press which he says darkened his childhood and contributed to the death of his mother, Princess Diana. The latter was killed in a car accident in Paris in 1997 while she was being chased by photographers.
Meghan claims in the documentary that the media wanted to “destroy” her, while Harry says his wife was subjected to a “media frenzy”.
An “attack” on the queen
This outraged British newspapers, many of which exposed their anger on the front pages and editorial pages.
Some have taken issue with the series’ claims that the Commonwealth of the United Kingdom and its former colonies — an organization ruled until her death by Queen Elizabeth II — are an extension of the British Empire and its racism. The first page of Daily Telegraph criticized the show for being a “direct attack” on the Queen’s legacy.
the Sun said the documentary was “made for an American audience — cementing their money-making potential in the United States — and damn the rest, including the truth.”
The Scottish newspaper Daily Record said the palace was stunned by the couple’s allegations, captioned: ‘We are not amused’.
Bob Seely, a ruling Conservative Party MP, has even announced his intention to introduce a bill in Parliament to strip the couple of their royal titles, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Mr Seely claimed Prince Harry was attacking important British institutions, “in addition to ransacking his family and cashing in on his misery for public consumption”.
The series airs at a crucial time for the monarchy. King Charles III is trying to show the institution still has a role to play following the September death of the Queen, whose personal popularity dampened criticism of the crown during her 70-year reign.
The King declined to comment on the Netflix series during public engagements in London on Thursday or during a visit to Welsh football club Wrexham AFC on Friday.