Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s bombshell Netflix documentary series has dropped today – and in the third episode the Duchess of Sussex claimed she didn’t know what a royal walkabout was before going on her first.
‘I never saw pictures or videos of a walkabout. Like, what’s a walkabout?,’ said the US-born duchess, 41.
Harry explained: ‘I could talk her through as much as I knew from my own experience of what I’d seen. The piece I really didn’t know about was the style, right, and what a woman needed, how they needed to dress and all that.’
Meghan added that before her first walkabout in Nottingham, her zip broke on her ensemble and had to be safety pinned, to which Harry said: ‘The whole thing was just ridiculous.’
The duke recalled: ‘Everybody was just so excited and pleased and happy. And I think people looked at it and went, “Wow, what a breath of fresh air”.’
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Netflix bombshell Netflix documentary series has dropped today – and in the third episode the Duchess of Sussex claimed she didn’t know what a royal walkabout was before going on her first
The pair visit a Terrence Higgins Trust World AIDS Day Charity Fair in Nottingham in December 2017
Meghan recalled: ‘No, you’d be there with the scissors like, “Guys, be ready. We have five minutes”. Okay. And I was like, “Should I wear these earrings? Are these a British designer? I just ordered these online. Is this good? Wait, my tag’s on. Cut the tag”.’
‘And then the zip breaks,’ revealed Harry, before his wife explained: ‘And he’s like “Okay babe, safety pin. Just safety pin it.”… “Ready?” “Yeah” “Okay”. We just sort of went with it.’
The couple reportedly tried to push back their documentary to 2023 despite the streaming giant paying them a rumoured $100million (£88million) for the fly-on-the-wall series.
There have been mixed reports, with the Sussexes reportedly ‘at odds’ with Netflix production staff because the ‘panicked’ couple want to make ‘such extensive edits’ that the team believe the project could be ‘shelved indefinitely’.
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 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
This image released by Netflix shows promotional art for the documentary Harry & Meghan
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made an appearance at the Ripple of Hope Awards in New Yorkon Tuesday
Senior royals are said to be bracing for the worst and will be prepared to address any unfounded accusations in the documentary.
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 this 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.’
Members of the Sussexes’ now defunct household are said to be ‘seething with rage’ over trailers for the six-part documentary
The couple have claimed they had no protection from the palace and that aides actively leaked and ‘planted stories’ against them as part of a ‘dirty game’
It is understood that Netflix offered a right of reply to senior royals 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 released.
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.’
It comes after the Sussexes faced an awkward grilling from journalists about their explosive documentary in New York on Tuesday.
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”.’
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’.
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