The second instalment is officially here.
Netflix's six-part documentary series, Harry and Meghan has been dominating group chats and news bulletins for the last week – and for good reason.
It was billed as "the other side" of perhaps the world's most high-profile love story, promising to lift the lid on why Meghan Markle and Prince Harry decided to leave the monarchy and all the drama that occurred as a result.
And in the first three episodes launched last week, we were privy to plenty of juicy details – including a *very* interesting recount of the first curtsy Meghan did for the late Queen, Meghan's strained relationship with her half-sister and father, and even Harry talking about one of the "biggest mistakes" of his life.
You can read Mamamia's part one recap here: 'I see the texts, and I squeal.' A very honest recap of Netflix's Harry and Meghan.
Directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker Liz Garbus, the docuseries has feature interviews with the Sussexes, their friends, colleagues, and a handful of choice commentators, as well as footage and photographs captured by the couple themselves.
The final three episodes are now available for the world to see, and they predominantly focus on what happened after Meghan and Harry married and left the British monarchy. And let's just say that plenty happened...
Watch the trailer for the second instalment of Harry & Meghan. Post continues below.
From accusations of "institutional gaslighting" and "being fed to the wolves", the Sussexes explained that they are recounting their experience not to drag up old conflicts. Rather, they said: "To move to the next chapter, you gotta finish the first chapter."
So now after lots of binge-watching, here are the 18 biggest takeaways from the final three episodes of Harry and Meghan.
1. Meghan recounted the moment she asked Charles to walk her down the aisle.
On the day of her wedding, Meghan said she was "very calm" and all she wanted to do was play the iconic song 'Going to the Chapel of Love'.
Meghan said she knew the crowds for her wedding would be pretty decently sized, but she didn’t anticipate just how many people would line the streets.
"I just remember thinking just take a big breath and keep going," she recounted.
"Harry's dad is very charming. And I said to him, I've lost my dad in this. So him as my father-in-law was really important to me. So I asked him to walk me down the aisle, and he said yes. The whole thing was surreal."
As for the gospel choir that they chose, Harry and Meghan said they didn't have any pushback from the royal family on that decision.
And at the reception, they cut the cake with a sword, Elton John performed (which Meghan’s mother Doria particularly loved). They also had 'Land of 1000 Dances' as their first dance song.
2. They labelled Australia as the 'tipping point' for their downfall in the royal family.
"Australia was a real turning point, because they were so popular with the public, that the internals at the palace were incredibly threatened by that," one of their friends said in the docuseries.
Harry said the first time they realised things were not good was when they received a copy of The Telegraph newspaper in late 2018 which had Meghan on the front.
It was a photo from an event where all the royals were present – but Meghan was the one on the cover. Harry then alluded to the fact that this in turn frustrated the senior royal staff, who didn’t think Meghan deserved the coverage.
"All of a sudden these tabloid stories started to appear, criticising Meghan for every little thing. The bump, the avocados."
And it was the connotation and tone of the articles that deeply upset Meghan - much of which were fueling the 'angry black woman' trope and stereotypes.
3. Doria spoke of her heartbreak when she was told that Meghan was dealing with suicidal thoughts.
"I remember her telling me that, she wanted to take her own life. That really broke my heart, because I knew that it was bad, but to just constantly be picked at by these vultures that she would actually think of not wanting to be here – that’s not an easy one for a mum to hear," Doria said, while wiping away tears.
"[It hurt] that I can't protect her, H [Harry] can't protect her."
4. Meghan said the press tried to "ruin" her baby shower in New York.
Meghan said her girlfriends surprised her with a baby shower in New York – because they wanted to celebrate her, particularly after the terrible time with the press.
But, ironically, it was the press coverage following the baby shower – which focused on the extravagance of it all – that was devastating for Meghan.
"It was so wrong. These independent, strong, successful women choose to use their own money and it’s not taxpayer money, to throw a party for their friend, from a play of love – why are you taking such a beautiful moment and trying to ruin it?" Meghan said in the docuseries.
5. Meghan and Harry said they were "abused" for not sharing their newborn son with the world.
In the run-up to Archie's birth, reporters weren't yet aware if Meghan was or wasn't going to appear on the steps after giving birth – as is usual royal protocol.
In the end, Meghan said her doctors advised her not to do the royal baby photoshoot on the steps of the hospital straight after giving birth. Instead, she waited two days and did a media op with the press inside the palace, holding her baby but not revealing his name.
Because of this series of decisions, Harry and Meghan said they were immediately vilified.
"The amount of abuse we got for not wanting to serve our child up on a silver platter was incredible," Harry said.
6. Meghan and Harry said they were "fed to the wolves" soon after the South African royal documentary went to air.
Harry and Meghan's royal tour of South Africa was made into a documentary in 2019. When the journalist heading the documentary asked Meghan if she was okay, her response sparked headlines.
"Thank you for asking because not many people have asked if I'm okay, but it's a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes," Meghan said at the time in the documentary.
Reflecting on that moment, Meghan said she was grateful to be asked what she thought was one of the first kind questions she had received since becoming a member of the royal family.
And Harry said this moment in time reminded him very much of his mother Diana – who herself admitted that royal life had deeply impacted her mental health. But the UK press weren't as empathetic.
"The fallout was bonkers. Every single front page in the UK was very different to the general public's opinion," Harry said.
As Meghan said: "I did everything I could to make them proud, to be part of the family. Then the bubble burst. I realised that I wasn't just being thrown to the wolves, I was being fed to the wolves."
7. Meghan said her letter to her father never actually made it to him.
Meghan said it was suggested by the Prince of Wales (now King Charles) and the late Queen for her to send a letter to her dad, amid Tom Markle's excessive and "embarrassing" media interviews.
Meghan said her private letter was never opened by her dad, as the person who received the letter used a false confirmation signature.
She said the parts that were blacked out in media leaks were the parts where she explained to her dad that the media was manipulating him.
"We have to draw the line, we have to take legal action," Meghan told the royal institution. She and Harry then had to make the decision on their own to pursue legal action against the media outlets who stole and published the letter.
8. The path to them leaving the monarchy was very messy.
Harry said they devised a plan to leave the monarchy to some degree after being hounded by paparazzi during their 2019 stay in Canada for Christmas.
"In 2018, we had even talked about moving to New Zealand. Beginning of 2019, we talked about moving to South Africa," Harry said.
Meghan also explained that she was keen to do more with the Commonwealth, saying: "There's an asset in having a woman of colour when you have 50+ Commonwealth countries and the majority of which are people of colour.
"They have missed an enormous opportunity with my wife and how far that would go globally," Harry said about the impact of their departure from the royal family for the Commonwealth.
But communications and negotiations broke down, and it was confirmed Harry and Meghan would be stepping down altogether from royal duties.
Harry said it was the senior royal staff and the 'institution' itself who forbade him from speaking to his grandmother, the Queen, the week the announcement was made.
"She told me that she had no plans for the week. I rang her and said 'I've been told that you're busy' and she goes yes 'I didn't know that I'm busy but I've been told I'm busy," Harry recounted.
As Meghan said: "They're blocking you [Harry] from seeing the Queen, but really what they're doing is blocking a grandson from seeing his grandmother."
9. Prince Harry was given five options at 'The Sandringham Summit' and alleged his brother "screamed and shouted" at him.
Meghan and Harry had been trying to have a meeting with palace officials for quite some time, before and after the statement was made confirming they would be stepping down.
It wasn't until Meghan went for a brief trip to Canada to collect their son Archie, that Harry was informed that a meeting was taking place – without Meghan.
"Imagine a conversation, a roundtable discussion about the future of your life when the stakes were this high, and you as the mum and the wife, and the target in many regards, aren't invited to have a seat at the table."
Harry alleged it was deliberately planned like this so that Meghan wouldn't be in the room.
The meeting took place at Sandringham, and according to him, it went terribly. He was given five options: one being all in with no change and five being all out. Harry said he chose option three in the meeting – half in, half out.
But he said option five was forced upon him.
Then he said the line that will likely go down in history as the biggest takeaway of this whole drama: "It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that simply weren't true, and to have my grandmother quietly sit there and take it all in.
"The saddest part of it was this wedge created between myself and my brother so that he's now on the institution's side."
10. Harry confirmed that it was he who decided to leave – not Meghan.
Harry said the reports that William had bullied Harry and Meghan out of the royal family were true. He even said that a joint statement from him and William was released without Harry’s knowledge or permission, saying the reports were "false" and "offensive".
It was at this point that Harry said "we need to get out of here".
And Harry said he was the one who made the decision to move to America – not Meghan. So the 'Megxit' term was in fact completely incorrect.
11. Meghan said the hate online fueled terrifying death threats.
Meghan said one of her security team received a message that said: "Meghan just needs to die. Someone needs to kill her. Maybe it should be me?"
She said that was a recent message sent to her in mid-2022. It was at this point in the docuseries that Meghan became quite emotional.
"It's because of people creating hate. I'm a mum, it's my real life, you see it [the hate] and go 'you're making people want to kill me.' It's not just some story. You are making me scared. Are my babies safe? You've created it for what? Because you're bored or because it sells your papers."
It's at this point in the documentary that the pair are filmed doing a guided meditation, which left Meghan heavily upset.
12. Tyler Perry was their saving grace.
At the end of March 2020, Harry and Meghan's security was pulled. And that scared them, as they had little time to find a viable solution. So they headed to Los Angeles where there were more gated communities and greater chances at getting security.
When they arrived, American actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry offered to help them. And they had never met.
And the friendship was so lasting, that Tyler Perry is now Lilibet's godfather.
"We had 13 suitcases and he said, 'stay as long as you need to'," Harry recounted. And Harry and Meghan then stayed at Tyler Perry's house for quite some time during the height of COVID-19, and said it was bliss to have the press not know where they were.
Then six weeks into their stay, the press found out. And Meghan and Harry said it was disturbing how heavily they were bombarded – with paparazzi trying to break in and helicopters patrolling the skies.
13. Harry alleged Meghan miscarried because of Daily Mail's treatment.
"I've always felt as though this was a fight worth fighting for," Harry said about their lawsuit against the Mail, which they later won.
The day that Harry and Meghan moved into their new home at Santa Barbara, Meghan miscarried.
"I was pregnant, I wasn't sleeping. The first morning we woke up in our new home is when I miscarried," Meghan said.
Harry then said he believes his wife suffered a miscarriage "because of what the Mail did, bearing in mind the stress".
14. Harry and Meghan share more details about their Oprah interview.
"We were here for a year until we actually did it, and sitting down with Oprah was a reaction to what had happened that year," Harry said.
And as we know, once the Oprah interview was announced, the palace released a statement at the same time, saying they were investigating allegations of bullying against Meghan while she was at the palace.
"I can't think what my mother went through all those years ago by herself. To see this institutional gaslighting that happens is extraordinary. If you speak truth to power, that’s how they respond," Harry shared.
They then explained that the Oprah interview was less about setting the record straight, and more about filling in the blanks that other people were filling in for them.
"It's like living through a soap opera, where everyone else views you as entertainment."
15. Meghan and Beyoncé are friends.
Now for a bit of light amid lots of shade – Meghan counts Beyoncé as a friend.
For the docuseries, there's footage of Meghan and Harry looking at the coverage online the morning after the Oprah interview went to air.
And Meghan said: "Beyoncé texted 'just checking in'. I still can't believe she knows who I am. She said she wants me to feel safe and protected, she admires and respects my bravery, and vulnerability and thinks I was selected to break generational curses that needed to be healed."
16. "H got a text from his brother."
This was another major point in the final episode of Harry and Meghan – the moment when Harry received a text from his brother, Prince William, soon after the Oprah interview aired.
"I wish I knew what to do," Harry said about reading the text.
The couple did not share the contents of that text message with the audience.
17. As for Meghan, her dad and her remain estranged. But she and her niece have reconnected.
Ashleigh came back into Meghan's life at the end of 2021, and Meghan said she reached out to her niece via text.
Ashleigh said: "I was there at Christmas. I missed so much of Archie's life, but I think we immediately found this bond again."
18. Harry's relationships with his family back home remain strained. But he's still close with Princess Eugenie. And he does miss the UK.
"My brother and my father are very much focused on the same misinterpretation of the same situation. I've had to make peace with the fact that I'm never going to get genuine accountability or a genuine apology," Harry said. "My wife and I are moving on."
And in the docuseries, there was recent footage of Harry, Eugenie and Archie playing at the beach in Santa Barbara.
"I miss the weird family gatherings when we're all brought together under one roof for certain times of the year, I miss the UK, I miss my friends. And I've lost a few friends in the process as well."
And on their kids, Harry said: "I see a lot of my wife in Archie and I see a lot of my mum in Lili. She's very Spencer-like – the same blue eyes and golden-reddish hair."
Harry said he is settled and content in America now, noting that where he is, would probably have been where his mum would have ended up if she were still alive.
"Home sweet home. We are exactly where we are supposed to be. We've made it to the other side. Love wins."
Read our part one recap: 'I see the texts, and I squeal.' A very honest recap of Netflix's Harry and Meghan.
Read this first-person piece: 'I'm a mixed-race woman. Meghan Markle just nailed how it feels not to 'fit in'.'
Read this opinion: Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton were both vilified for setting a 'trap'. Their stories ended very differently.
Read this opinion: There’s no one more annoying than the most loved-up couple in the family.
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Feature Image: Netflix.
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