Harry spills on 'dirty game' in Netflix doc trailer

It wouldn't be a documentary series about the royal family without a dose of drama. 

The second trailer for the upcoming Netflix six-part documentary series, "Harry & Meghan," suggests that's exactly what viewers will get.

The trailer opens with Meghan's entry into the royal family and her treatment by the public as "a royal rock star."

Then "everything" changed, says the trailer, which goes on to link Meghan's experience with that of Prince Harry's mother, Princess Diana, who died in a car crash in 1997 and suffered emotionally as a part of the royal family. 

"It's a dirty game," says Prince Harry. "The pain and suffering of women marrying into this institution, this feeding frenzy..." states Harry, while we see an image of his mother, Princess Diana.

Harry also alludes to the ranks of members of the royal family. "There's a hierarchy of the family. You know there's leaking, but there's also planting of stories." 

This trailer paints a grim picture of the couple who stepped back as senior members of the British royal family in 2020. It also also brings up the issue of race, featuring a commentator saying, "It's about hatred. It's about race." 

"There was a war against Meghan to suit other people's agendas," another commentator says.

The new Netflix series comes with a warning that it deals with "discrimination."

Meanwhile, Harry's brother, Prince William has told British media that he plans to strike back at any false accusations that may arise against the royal family in the bombshell documentary.

Former royals unafraid to speak out

The tone of the second trailer is different than the first for the six-part documentary series produced by Netflix. 

The first trailer, released last week, was dramatically edited, accompanied by sentimental music, and moves at a fast pace.

Both trailers make it clear that that Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, are not afraid anymore to publicly talk about their feelings.

In the first trailer, launched last week, the couple elaborates on why they wanted to make this six-part docuseries. They want to reveal the "other side of their high-profile love story."

Harry describes himself as a caring family man, stating: "No one sees what's happening behind closed doors." 

The trailer shows never-before-seen photographs of the couple. Some are candid, but oftentimes Meghan is also seen crying, wiping tears from her face or throwing her head in her hands. Harry says, "I had to do everything I could to protect my family."

'Hear the story from us'

With these statements, the couple alludes to their dramatic departure from the British royal family and the experiences that led to this decision. "When the stakes are this high, doesn't it make more sense to hear the story from us?" says Meghan at the end of the melodramatic initial trailer.

When Harry and Meghan opened up about their relationship with the other royals in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, it plunged the institution into its biggest crisis of recent times. They had accused the royal palace of racism and lack of support.

Meghan under pressure

"I just didn't want to be alive anymore," the duchess told Winfrey, adding that she "just didn't see a solution" to the barrage of negative reports about her. She would ask her husband and the palace for help, but was scared because "this was real, this was not some abstract idea." The pressure on her during her time at the palace was enormous, the former actress said in the televised interview.

The Netflix docuseries will premiere in two parts, with the first three episodes debuting on December 8, and the last three on December 15. 

Harry is also preparing for the release of his autobiography in January.

This article was originally written in German. It was updated on December 6 after the release of the second trailer for the series.