Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s highly-anticipated Netflix series drops on Thursday, over two years after the royals signed a major deal with the streaming giant.
Called Harry & Meghan, the series ― directed by Oscar-nominated director Liz Garbus ― will be divided into six episodes. The first three episodes will go live at 8am UK time on Thursday, while the following three episodes will air on December 15.
Much like the couple’s interview with Oprah Winfrey last year, no one has seen advanced screeners of the show, so it’s unclear exactly what bombshells lie ahead.
Scroll below for what we know so far:
When does the series air?
The series airs in two batches. The first three episodes will be released on Netflix on December 8, and the last three episodes will air on December 15.
While much attention was paid to the timing of the first teaser dropping for the Netflix series ― which was released on the second day of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s trip to Boston ― December 15 will also be a meaningful date for the royal family.
King Charles III, Queen Camilla and Prince William will all gather together on December 15 for Kate Middleton’s Royal Carols: Together At Christmas programme at Westminster Abbey. Buckingham Palace said on Tuesday that the service will be dedicated to the late Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September.
What is Harry & Meghan actually about?
In a statement released by Netflix, the streaming giant says that the docuseries will explore “the other side” of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s “high-profile love story”.
It promises to give audiences a look at their struggles within the monarchy, ultimately leading to the couple stepping back as working members of the royal family in March 2020 and moving to North America.
The series will also interview experts about the British monarchy and the royal family’s relationship with the media and promises to include “commentary from friends and family, most of whom have never spoken publicly before about what they witnessed”. That could mean we hear from Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, who has never spoken to the press.
What have we seen so far?
Netflix has released a teaser and an official trailer for the series. “Why did you want to make this documentary?” a voice asks in the teaser.
“No one sees what happens behind closed doors,” Harry answers, as never-before-seen, personal photos of the pair flash on the screen. “I had to do everything I could to protect my family.”
The duchess adds, “When the stakes are this high, doesn’t it make sense to hear our story from us?”
In the official trailer, released on Monday, Harry talks about the leaking and planting of stories in the media, calling it a “dirty game”.
At the end of the clip, he declares, “No one knows the full truth. We know the full truth.”
Have Meghan and Harry said anything about the show so far?
In an interview with Variety in October, the duchess said: “It’s nice to be able to trust someone with our story — a seasoned director whose work I’ve long admired,” in reference to Garbus. She couched her comments by saying, “even if it means it may not be the way we would have told it”.
Meghan said: “But that’s not why we’re telling it. We’re trusting our story to someone else, and that means it will go through their lens.”
She also added that the experience has been “interesting” as Prince Harry “has never worked in this industry before”.
“For me, having worked on Suits, it’s so amazing to be around so much creative energy and to see how people work together and share their own points of view,” Meghan continued. “That’s been really fun.”
Has the royal family said anything about the docuseries?
Not officially, but that could all change on Thursday when the first three episodes are released. After Meghan and Harry’s interview with Oprah, it took Buckingham Palace nearly two days to issue a response to claims made in the interview.
