Harry & Meghan: Royal expert says the couple is ‘misunderstood’, deserves to be heard

After much controversy leading up to the release of Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan, the six-episode series is now live on the streaming platform with the other half set to premiere on December 15. There have been a slew of opinions pouring in from royal experts, journalists and Twitterati with some accusing the couple of being opportunists for milking their exit for views while others are asking rather pertinent questions from the Royal family about their mistreatment of The Duke & Duchess of Sussex. “There’s a hierarchy in the family. There’s leaking and also planting of stories”, says Harry at one point in the documentary hinting at the PR for the Royals trying to damage control and cover up the bombshell allegations made by the outgoing Royal couple in their Oprah interview. Vocal critics of Meghan and Harry like British broadcaster Piers Morgan and some royal experts close to the monarchy are criticizing the couple left, right and centre for releasing a Netflix documentary. Firstpost exclusively spoke to a royal expert to know from them, their views on the documentary and the allegations made by Meghan and Harry.

‘Harry and Meghan are misunderstood’

Mok O’Keeffe, Royal Expert and Leadership Fellow at St George’s House, London has closely followed the monarchy and commented on Royal matters before. Mok, whose Instagram @GayAristo shows him exploring the Windsor castle, says “They [Harry and Meghan] are human beings who feel misunderstood”. The expert makes an important point – Harry and Meghan are not the first Royals to share their story with the public. “Many members of royalty have written or been involved with the media to tell their story. Our own King made a vanity documentary with David Dimbleby. And the royal PR departments have close links to journalists to seed stories”. Mok also empathizes with Harry and Meghan’s predicament and he feels that it is important to watch the full documentary series before forming an opinion on them. “They are receiving horrendous criticism for something that many members of the royal family have done before. Let’s hear what they have to say, before we act as judge and jury. And maybe that’s the problem. We already have a negative view of Meghan (and now Harry)”, Mok adds.

Suspicious Timing of the trailer release

Many have criticised Harry and Meghan for choosing to drop the trailer of the documentary strategically so that it coincides with Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Boston visit which would put the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in a difficult spot. Many experts including Piers Morgan feel that the timing is suspicious – it seemed that the couple wanted to sabotage the visit. When asked about the same, Mok said “I think that the timing was deliberate by Netflix for maximum impact. And it would certainly have been embarrassing for the Prince and Princess of Wales. But I don’t believe that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would have had any control over the publication date”.

Comparison between Meghan and Princess Diana

In the trailer for the documentary, Harry says ‘I don’t want history to repeat itself’. It was a reference to his late mother Princess Diana‘s tragic end. This was accompanied with footage of Diana being hounded by paparazzi. But is the comparison fair? Mok feels both Meghan and Diana have been maligned by the media and it is important to hear their side of the story. “I think that there is some comparison to be made between MM and Diana, Princess of Wales. Both women have felt damaged by the connection with the royal family and have both blamed and courted the media, which is dangerous and you can lose control of the narrative”, he says.

The Royal Palace begins damage control

As the bombshell revelations are now going viral, it is obvious that Buckingham Palace is in damage control mode. Will the Crown survive the bombshell allegations being made against it? Mok says “The Crown is an institution with 1000’s of years of history. Characters come and go but the institution will remain”. When asked if the palace will comment on the allegations and send out clarifications, Mok said “I think that the old rules of ‘no comment’ may not apply here. Whilst I don’t believe that members of the royal family will address specific details, I am sure we will hear from ‘friends of’”.

Harry & Meghan is streaming now on Netflix.

Deepansh Duggal is an entertainment, pop-culture and trends writer based in New Delhi. He specializes in op-eds based on the socio-political and gender issues in the world of entertainment and showbiz. He also writes explainers and occasionally reviews shows in the OTT space. He tweets at @Deepansh75. 

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