Incendiary trailer for Prince Harry and Meghan Netflix documentary shared for first time

One-minute trailer shows Duke and Duchess of Sussex speaking about why they wanted to film the documentary

A bombshell teaser for Prince Harry and wife Meghan’s £88 million docuseries was released on Thursday, showing the duchess holding her head in her hands as the duke says “no one sees what goes on behind closed doors”.

The one-minute Netflix trailer, which features never-before-seen photographs of the couple, shows the duchess wiping away tears.

They are asked: “Why did you want to make this documentary?”

Prince Harry replies: “No one sees what's happening behind closed doors … I had to do everything I could to protect my family”.

Meghan says: “When the stakes were this high, doesn't it make more sense to hear our story from us?”

Since Prince Harry and Meghan stepped down from royal duties two years ago and moved to California, they have delivered stinging criticism of the British monarchy, including allegations of racism, which has led to a rift with the rest of the family, most notably with Prince Harry's father, King Charles III, and his elder brother, Prince William.

The last time Prince Harry and Meghan opened up about their relationship with other members of the royal family in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, it plunged the institution into its biggest crisis of recent times.

The timing of the trailer and the documentary could hardly be better for Netflix, with Prince William and his wife Kate currently in Boston, and Buckingham Palace dealing with a racism row involving the prince's godmother.

The trailer’s release comes during a three-day trip to the US for the Prince and Princess of Wales, which had been billed as a “Super Bowl” moment.

Royal watchers said Prince Harry and Meghan had already threatened to overshadow their visit by attending an event honouring them for speaking out about racism in the royal family.

Omid Scobie, a journalist with close ties to the Sussexes, said the highly anticipated show will share "the other side of their love story and the challenges they faced".

But Scobie said as he shared the trailer on Twitter that "if tomorrow is Prince William's Super Bowl, then here's your halftime show".

A new scandal erupted on Wednesday after it surfaced that Prince William’s godmother had repeatedly asked a black British woman where she was “really from” during an event at Buckingham Palace.

Prince Harry and Meghan Duchess of Sussex through the years — in pictures

The trailer includes scenes of the Sussexes kissing while Meghan sits on a kitchen island, dancing together as newly-weds, cuddling in a photo booth and the duchess cradling her stomach while pregnant.

Billed as a Netflix Global Event, the “unprecedented and in-depth documentary series” is expected to air on December 8.

During the six-episode series, the couple will “share the other side of their high-profile love story”, Netflix said.

Netflix said the show “explores the clandestine days of their early courtship and the challenges that led to them feeling forced to step back from their full-time roles in the institution”.

Meghan, among other revelations, has previously spoken about how she thought about committing suicide and experienced racism from an unnamed member of the royal family.

There were several “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he was born”, Meghan had said.

A picture of Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, who is now three, with his mother Meghan and grandmother Doria Ragland, was released in the media this week after being shared by an academic who is reportedly writing a book on racism and the British monarchy.

Archie is shown sitting on his mother's lap in the image shared by Duchess Harris, who specialises in American studies and feminism.

It was accompanied by the caption: “I would love to invite you to be a part of my next book project: Racism and the British Monarchy: A Meghan Markle Reader. Co-Edited by Duchess Harris and Julie Schwietert Collazo.”

The image has since been deleted from the site.

The couple’s coming documentary features commentary from friends and family, most of whom have never spoken publicly before about what they witnessed, according to Netflix, and historians who discuss the current state of the British Commonwealth and the royal family's relationship with the press.

It adds: “The series does more than illuminate one couple's love story — it paints a picture of our world and how we treat each other.”

The director is Liz Garbus, a two-time Academy Award nominee and an Emmy winner.