There’s not a lot about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s lives many of us can relate to. Most of us will never have to deal with the world’s paparazzi, or bow to our own grandmothers.
But there’s one scene in their new Netflix docuseries, titled Harry & Meghan, that’s left us going: “Yep, that sounds about right.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex both speak about being children of divorced parents, with Harry revealing they both share an ambition not to “repeat the same mistakes” their parents made.
“There’s so much I think from anyone’s childhood that you bring with you into the present, especially when you’re the product of divorce,” Meghan says.
Harry adds: “I think most kids who are the product of divorced parents have a lot in common, not matter what your background is.
“Being pulled from one place to another, or maybe your parents are competitive, or you’re in one place longer than you want to be, or another place less than you want to be. There’s all sorts of pieces to that.”
Prince Charles and Princess Diana formally divorced in 1996 when Harry was eight years old, while Meghan’s parents, Doria Ragland and Thomas Markle, split in 1987 when she was six.
In episode two of the Netflix series, Meghan even recalls a poem that she wrote about her family when she was 12, which she still remembers word for word today:
“Two houses, two homes
Two kitchens, two phones
Two couches where I lay
Two places that I stay
Moving, moving here and there
From Monday to Friday, I’m everywhere
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that bad
But often times it makes me sad.
I want to live that nuclear life
With a happy dad and his loving wife
A picket fence, a shaggy dog
A fire place, with a burning log
But it’s not real, it’s just a dream
I cannot cry or even scream.
So here I sit with cat number three
Life would be easy if there were two of me.”
Elsewhere in the documentary, Meghan reveals her (somewhat awkward) first meeting with Kate and William and reveals that her mum was often mistaken as her nanny growing up. Harry speaks about blocking out early memories of Diana.
The first three episodes of Netflix’s series, Harry & Meghan, directed by Liz Garbus, were released on Thursday (December 8). The last three episodes in the series will be released on December 15.