The world is finally hearing Prince Harry and Meghan’s “truth” in their TV docu-series.
This includes controversial claims about the Royal Family but also insights into their early relationship.
Here we look at the key soundbites from the Netflix show so far...
Jibe at dad
Harry had “space and freedom to grow” in Lesotho, in southern Africa [on a gap year], returning yearly, for months at times.
He says he had: “A second family out there – good friends who literally brought me up.”
Love matches
Harry compares Meghan to Kate and other royal women...
“In the family there is a temptation to marry someone who will fit the mould and not someone you are destined to be with,” he says.
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Netflix)On his mum Princess Diana
Harry constantly compares Meghan to his mother, saying: “So much of what she has is so like my mum.”
The Duke also claims he had to leave in order to protect Meghan from the same fate Diana was put through, saying: “I know there will be so many people who will fundamentally disagree with what I’ve done.
“But after what happened to my mum, I didn’t want history to repeat itself.”
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TV GRABS)Meg's dad
Harry admits he “shouldered” the collapse of Meghan’s relationship with her father Thomas Markle.
The pair were estranged before her wedding over a photos row.
Harry says: “If Meg wasn’t with me, then her dad would still be.”
Fury at sister
Meghan hits out at half-sister Samantha, who “I hadn’t seen for over a decade, and only for a day”.
“I don’t know your middle name, your birthday. You’re telling these people you raised me and call me Princess Pushy?”
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Netflix)Image:
Netflix)Remembering their first date
Harry reveals they first “met” each other on Instagram after a mutual friend uploaded a picture of Meghan with a ‘dog ears’ filter.
Harry turned up late and a “hot sweaty, red mess” but Meghan said he already had an “extensive list” of how his perfect partner’s characteristics.
After an hour in London’s trendy Soho House bar, they met for dinner the next night – then spent their third date sharing a tent in Botswana.
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Netflix)UK's 'racism'
Author David Olusoga discussed how the Atlantic Slave trade once “fuelled” the British empire.
He said that Harry and Meghan’s engagement could have shown the Royal Family had “caught up with the rest of Britain”.
Media war
Without giving examples, Harry says the media has been in on a “dirty game” with the royals.
He adds: “We know the full truth, the institution knows the full truth and the media knows the full truth.”
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PA)Engagement TV interview
Meghan hits out at “orchestrated reality show” engagement TV interview. She claims: “It was rehearsed.”
She describes how the couple were “prepped” for the interview and told how a journalist would ask to see the ring. She says: “My point
is, we weren’t allowed to tell our story.”
Harry adds: “We’ve never been allowed to tell our story,” to which Meghan replies, “That’s true... until now.”
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PA)On royals' 'unconscious bias'
Commenting on the allegations of racism at the heart of the family, Harry said: “In this family sometimes you’re part of the problem rather than part of the solution.”
The Duke of Sussex said there is a “huge level of unconscious bias” while the documentary referenced when Princess Michael of Kent wearing a Blackamoor-style brooch to an event the Duchess of Sussex attended in 2017.
Harry said: “In this family, sometimes you are part of the problem rather than part of the solution.
“There is a huge level of unconscious bias.
“The thing with unconscious bias, it is actually no one’s fault. But once it has been pointed out, or identified within yourself you then need to make it right.
“It is education. It is awareness. It is a constant work in progress for everybody, including me.”
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Netflix)Mother Doria's race warning
Meghan reveals her mum warned her that criticism of her joining the royal family would be centred on her mixed heritage.
Appearing on camera for the first time, her mother Doria, 66, says of her daughter: “I said to her, I said this very clearly, this is about race. She said, ‘Mommy, I don’t want to hear that’, and I said, ‘You may not want to hear it but this is what’s coming down the pike’.”
Meghan claims in the programme that “at that time, I wasn’t thinking about how race played a part in any of this.”
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Netflix)Kate and Wills always formal
Meghan tells of cold meetings with the royals, claiming William and Kate didn’t know how to react to her hugs.
She says: “When Will and Kate came over, and I met her for the first time, they came over for dinner, I remember I was in ripped jeans and barefoot. I was a hugger. I’ve always been a hugger, I didn’t realise that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits. I started to understand very quickly that the formality carried through on the inside.
“There is a forward-facing way of being, and then you close the door and go ‘You can relax now’, but that formality carries over.. that was surprising to me.”
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PA)Paying curtsy call on Queen
In cringeworthy scenes, Meghan overreacts to being told to curtsy in front of the late Queen.
As Harry sits beside her clearly embarrassed, she said: “And I remember we were in the car driving up and he’s like ‘You know how to curtsy, right?’ And I just thought it was a joke.”
pls get in here that she demonstrated how she curtseyed while sitting on the couch (pictured)
Meghan also claims she wasn’t guided by royal family on duties such as public walkabouts despite being a successful actress.
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Netflix)On his Nazi uniform shame
Harry says he felt “so ashamed” after wearing a Nazi uniform to a party, calling it “one of the biggest mistakes” of his life.
The Duke caused outrage in 2005 when he put on the uniform, complete with swastika, for a fancy dress bash.
He says: “I felt so ashamed afterwards. All I wanted to do was make it right.”
He adds: “I could’ve just ignored it and probably made the same mistakes over and over again.”
He claims he spoke to an eminent rabbi and met a Holocaust survivor, adding: “I learned from that”
