15 Key Revelations Made By Prince Harry, Meghan Markle In New Netflix Series

On Thursday, the much-anticipated documentary series on Netflix titled "Harry & Meghan," about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, was made available to stream for the first time.

Prince Harry, now the Duke of Sussex, has spoken out about his hesitation in starting a relationship with Meghan Markle in 2016, exposing the profound effect his status in the British royal family has had on his personal life.

Harry And Meghan/Netflix

On Thursday, the first three episodes of a documentary series titled Harry & Meghan were released on Netflix.

The couple's departure from the royal family and their continuing troubles with the British press media seem to be central themes in the series, at least according to a teaser posted on Netflix's website.

Harry And Meghan/Netflix

Here are 14 key takeaways from the explosive first-hand account of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's whirlwind romance and the subsequent storm series.

1. Prince Harry revealed they had already begun shooting before they signed the Netflix deal.

Harry And Meghan/Netflix

"A friend of ours actually suggested that we document ourselves through this period of time," says Harry. "With all of the misinformation that was going on out there, especially about us and the departure, it seemed like a really sensible idea."

Meghan says: "We know that right now it might not make sense, but one day it will make sense."

Harry And Meghan/Netflix

Thus the Heathrow airport VIP lounge video shows Harry fleeing to Canada. "Hi. So we¡¯re here on Wednesday the something of March. We¡¯ve just finished our two weeks, our like final push, our last stint of royal engagements. It¡¯s really hard to look back on it now and go, ¡®What on Earth happened? Like, how did we end up here?¡¯"

Cut to sorrowful piano music as Meghan films herself with a towel over her head. "I don¡¯t even know where to begin," she quivers.

2. Harry says he married Meghan as she is similar to his mom, Princess Diana

Harry And Meghan/Netflix

¡°So much of what Meghan is and how she is, is so similar to my mum,¡± says Harry. ¡°She has the same compassion, the same empathy; she has the same confidence. She has this warmth about her.¡±

Harry says about his parent¡¯s divorce:

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¡°I saw things, I experienced things, I learned things ¡ª the pain and suffering of women marrying into this institution.¡±

3. Meghan struggled to grasp the concept of a royal "walkabout"

Harry And Meghan/Netflix

¡°I never saw pictures or videos of a walkabout. I was like, ¡®¡¯What¡¯s a walkabout?¡¯¡¯¡¯ says Meghan. Harry continues by saying he could not provide any sartorial advice for her first walkabout ¡°The piece I didn¡¯t really know about was the style... what a woman needed to do, how they needed to dress, and that sort of stuff.¡±

After a wardrobe mishap on her first day with the royal family, Meghan says it was challenging to figure out what to wear.

Harry And Meghan/Netflix

¡°And then the zip breaks... the whole thing was just ridiculous,¡± says Harry.

4. Meghan was taken aback by the royal family's stiff formality (and the lack of appreciation for her many hugs).

¡°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 I was barefoot. I was a hugger. I¡¯ve always been a hugger; I didn¡¯t realize that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits. I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside 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 on both sides. And that was surprising to me.¡±

5. They say the royal family was skeptical of their relationship since Meghan was an actress.

Harry And Meghan/Netflix

¡°I remember my family first meeting her and being incredibly impressed; some didn¡¯t quite know what to do with themselves. Because I think they were surprised. They were surprised that ginger could land such a beautiful woman and such an intelligent woman. But the fact that I was dating an American actress probably clouded their judgment more than anything else at the beginning, ¡®Oh, she¡¯s an American actress; this won¡¯t last¡¯.¡±

Meghan adds: ¡°The actress thing was the biggest problem, funnily enough. There is a big idea of what that looks like from the UK standpoint - Hollywood - and it¡¯s just very easy for them to typecast that.¡±

6. Harry says his parents and siblings didn't understand why Meghan needed protection.

He added the royal family was unsympathetic. ¡°Eight days after the relationship became public, I put out a statement calling out the racist undertones of articles and headlines written by the British press and outright racism from those articles across social media.¡±

But, he says, ¡°The direction from the palace was, just don¡¯t say anything.¡±

Harry adds, ¡°But what people need to understand was that, as far as a lot of the family were concerned, everything that she was being put through, they had been put through as well. So it was almost like a rite of passage. And some of the family members were like, ¡®Right, well, my wife had to go through that, so why should your girlfriend be treated any differently? Why should she get special treatment? Why should she be protected?¡¯ ¡°I said, ¡®The difference here is the race element¡¯.¡±

7. We finally hear from Meghan's mom!

¡°My name is Doria and I¡¯m Meghan¡¯s mum. The last five years have been challenging,¡± she says. ¡°I¡¯m ready to have my voice heard. A little bit of experience as her mum.¡±

She quickly realized Harry was 'the one', remarking, ¡°He was this 6ft 1in handsome man with red hair, [he had] great manners. He was just really nice. They look really happy together. He was The One.¡±

Speaking about the news coverage of Meghan¡¯s background, Doria noted that photographers would capture images of deprived neighborhoods in Los Angeles.

¡°They would take pictures of different parts of, say, Skid Row, and say that is where I lived and that is where she was from.¡± ¡°It was horrible,¡± adds Meghan. ¡°But I continued to hold the line. Say nothing.¡±

8. They called their engagement interview an "orchestrated tv"

Harry And Meghan/Netflix

According to Meghan, the interview with the BBC to share the news of their engagement felt like an "orchestrated reality show." ¡°It was rehearsed,¡± Meghan says. ¡°We did the thing with the press, went right inside, took the coat off, and did the interview. So it¡¯s all in that same moment.¡±

The interviewer inquired whether she was given any explanation about how everything worked. Meghan responds, ¡°Yeah, but also like, ¡®Then there¡¯ll be a moment where they¡¯ll want to see the ring, so show the ring¡¯... We weren¡¯t allowed to tell our story because they didn¡¯t want [it].¡±

9. Prince Harry on how 'badly' women are treated once they enter the royal family

Harry And Meghan/Netflix

In one of the episodes, Prince Harry addressed the longstanding mistreatment of women who marry into the royal family. "The pain and suffering of women marrying into this institution, this feeding frenzy," he said.

The Duke also admitted his worry that the attention from the press might be too much for Meghan, causing her to withdraw as it did in "previous relationships."

10. Harry spoke about race and the time he wore a Nazi uniform

Harry And Meghan/Netflix

Harry called it a mistake to dress up like a Nazi in 2005, ¡°It was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I felt so ashamed afterward." Harry went on to talk about the issue of race.

¡°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 no one¡¯s fault. But you must make it right once it has been pointed out or identified within yourself. It is education. It is awareness. It is a constant work in progress for everybody, including me.¡±

11. Harry worried that Meghan would suffer the same fate as his late mother, Princess Diana.

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The Duke of Sussex disclosed his concerns for his wife, fearing that she may follow in the footsteps of his late mother, Princess Diana.

By marrying Meghan, he was afraid "history will repeat itself,"

¡°I accept that there will be people around the world who will fundamentally disagree with what I've done and how I've done it, but I knew that I had to do everything I could to protect my family, especially after what happened to my mum,¡± he said.

12. The conflict between Harry and the mainstream press intensifies.

The first episode details Harry and Meghan's romance but also takes a swipe at the British media. Harry acknowledged that the paparazzi had always played a role in his life.

Even though he doesn't remember much about his mother, Princess Diana, from when he was little, he stated, ¡°the majority of my memories are of being swarmed by paparazzi. Rarely did we have a holiday without someone with a camera jumping out of a bush or something.¡±

Meghan and Harry have taken legal action against many British tabloids for invasions of their privacy, and they have long been vocal opponents of the tabloid culture in Britain.

13. When Meghan reported being stalked in Toronto, the police allegedly did nothing to assist.

Harry And Meghan/Netflix

In the second episode, Meghan revealed that before she and Harry became engaged and had a security detail, she went to the police in Toronto to seek help coping with the paparazzi.

¡°I would say to the police: If any other woman in Toronto said to you, ¡®I have six grown men who are sleeping in their cars around my house and following me everywhere that I go, and I feel scared,¡¯ wouldn¡¯t you say that was stalking?¡± she said.

According to Meghan, the police agreed with her assessment but told her, ¡°There¡¯s really nothing we can do because of who you¡¯re dating.¡±

14. Meghan and Harry's Proposal story

Harry And Meghan/Netflix

In November 2017, Harry proposed to Meghan, and they shared personal photos from the proposal on their show. Harry claims he had planned to do it sooner but needed the Queen's consent first. He explained how he bought fifteen candles and placed them on the lawn. Harry is seen getting down on one knee with the ring box in a photo of the proposal. Their dog Guy, who has just been injured, is being petted by both Meghan and her.

15. Harry and Meghan's secret romance and the untold story of their trip to Botswana

Harry And Meghan/Netflix

On their third date, a five-day vacation to Botswana, a month after they first met in London, Meghan and Harry revealed the details of their courtship to the world. "I was astonished that she said 'yes'".

Harry And Meghan/Netflix

Harry said in an episode. "This woman that I've really met twice, she's coming to Botswana, and we're gonna be living in a tent for five days!" As Meghan reminisced on the romantic getaway to Africa, she reflected: "So I get there, this is the first time I've seen him in a month. Very awkward at first like, oh God, do we, do we kiss? Do we? And I just remember he handed me a chicken sandwich!"

Harry And Meghan/Netflix

After that, Harry and Meghan got in a land cruiser and drove around Botswana, a country that was particularly close to Harry's heart because of his decades-long commitment to conservation work there.

Harry And Meghan/Netflix

"We had to get to know each other before the rest of the world, before the media sort of, you know, joined it," Harry added. "We could both just be completely ourselves," added Meghan about their romance in "the bush."

Meghan added, "There's no distraction. There was no cell phone reception. There's no mirror; there's no bathroom. And there was no, how do I look? Thankfully, we really liked each other."

Meghan and Harry resumed their courtship in London and Toronto after returning from Africa, with Harry complying with Meghan's two-week rule that they must see each other at least once every 14 days.

Harry And Meghan/Netflix

On December 15, you may see the series' last three episodes. His tell-all book "Spare," which he calls a "firsthand account of my life that is accurate and wholly truthful," is also set for publication in January.

You can start streaming the first three episodes of 'Harry and Meghan' here.

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