🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
Members of the British public couldn't get enough of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's eponymous Netflix docuseries upon its release on Thursday, viewing figures and ratings have shown.
Harry & Meghan debuted its first three episodes on the streaming giant's global platforms last week, ahead of a final three to be released on December 15.
The show, which gives viewers an unprecedented insight into the lives of the former working royals, featured exclusive interviews with family and friends, as well as the couple's own testimony detailing the difficulties they faced as a couple in Britain.
On release day the series topped Netflix's charts in both the U.K. and the U.S.
This position slipped to number two in the U.S. over the following days, whereas it maintained the number one spot in the U.K. over the weekend.
Figures compiled by independent ratings analyzer BARB showed that in the U.K. 2.4 million viewers tuned into the show's first episode on television sets on release day (not including phone or tablet streams), which was more than double those that watched season five of The Crown's first episode last month.
Numbers showed that the series brought in Netflix's biggest viewing numbers in a single day since BARB began collecting data in October. This comes despite a panning by U.K. critics who denounced the show as an "assault" on the legacy of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Many critics cited Netflix's reported investment of $100 million in Harry and Meghan as content creators in their putdowns of the show.
"If I were Netflix, I'd want my money back. Because there was nothing "bombshell" or even very new here," wrote Carol Midgley of The Times. "It was beautifully shot but it was repetitive, whingy and boring."
Lucy Mangan of The Guardian formed a similar conclusion, if less bluntly made. She said: "In the end—what are we left with? Exactly the same story we always knew, told in the way we would expect to hear it from the people who are telling it. Those who don't care won't watch. Those who do care—which is to say are voyeuristically invested in the real-life soap opera—will still read into it anything they want to and doubtless confirm all their previous ideas."
It was not just the U.K. critics who took aim at the show's first three episodes. A number of their Stateside cohort equally identified points of issue.
Daniel D'Addario of Variety, the outlet that featured a glossy interview with Meghan in October, wrote that the couple "surprise us yet again, with just how narrow their vision of their fame is, how pinched and unimaginative their presence on the world stage has become."
Though the series has been criticized, there have equally been positive reviews.
Jesse Thompson for Britain's The Independent gave the show four stars, writing:
"What has always felt most upsetting about Megxit is the sense of missed opportunity. Here, we're reminded of the excitement around Meghan joining the family, the hope that the pair's marriage signposted a more modern, inclusive Britain."
The BARB viewership analysis of British viewers shows that there remains intense interest surrounding Harry and Meghan, and what exactly led to their decision to step away completely from the monarchy and the country that Harry was born into.
If the show's first three episodes set the scene of the couple's relationship, their meeting, dating and engagement, the final three installments look likely to cover the more difficult years, including the circumstances in 2019 that led Meghan to consider taking her own life while pregnant with her son Archie.
With these due for release on December 15, closely followed by the release of Harry's memoir less than one month later on January 10, royal watchers on both sides of the Atlantic have plenty more to hear from the royal couple.
Harry & Meghan episodes 1-3 are available to stream now only on Netflix. Episodes 4-6 will be released globally on December 15.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "988" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more