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Netflix's hit docuseries Harry & Meghan should discuss members of the royal family as frankly in part two as it did Meghan Markle's family in part one, royal commentator Kristen Meinzer has told Newsweek's The Royal Report podcast.
Speaking with chief royal correspondent Jack Royston, Meinzer unpacked the revelations of the docuseries' opening episodes and looked forward to the "fireworks" that could lie ahead for the monarchy in the closing parts.
The six-episode limited series Harry & Meghan forms part of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's multimillion-dollar content creation deal signed with streaming giant Netflix in 2020, following the couple stepping down as working royals and moving to the U.S.
The show is billed as an "unprecedented and in-depth documentary series," and the first three episodes were released on December 8. These explored the origins of the royal couple's romance, as well as Meghan's treatment by the media since their relationship became public.
One key aspect explored in the first part was Meghan's family and background. For the first time, Doria Ragland, Meghan's mom, was interviewed, and the duchess discussed her estrangement from father Thomas Markle and relationship with half-sister Samantha Markle.
Episode three ended, in the timeline of their relationship, just before their May 2018 wedding, and so bombshell details about Harry's family did not feature in any largescale way. This is expected to change in the second batch of episodes, which are released on Thursday.
"Part one did have some subtle digs here and there," Royston said. "You know, that stuff about unconscious bias I'm sure would have gone down badly at the palace, but needless to say, it's not got the fireworks and the bombshells that I think we're probably going to get in part two, not least of all because we haven't reached that stage in the timeline yet."
"I know that I am bracing for that. I think the world is bracing for that," said Meinzer.
The commentator said there could be similar bombshell revelations to those delivered by the pair in their landmark 2021 interview with TV veteran Oprah Winfrey, during which members of the royal family and the monarchy-at-large were not spared.
"Is there going to be another moment like in the Oprah interview where Meghan names names, where Harry names names, where we have a moment like, 'no, it was Kate that made me cry, not the other way around?' Are we going to have moments like that?" said Meinzer. She added that not to explore Harry's family connections in the same way as Meghan's would not be fair or balanced.
"They did not hold back talking about Meghan's family in the first three episodes," Meinzer said. "I just feel like, out of fairness, we have to get to Harry's family in the next set of episodes for it to be even coverage, right?"
Netflix released the trailer for the second part of the series on Thursday, which features both Harry and Meghan discussing the couple's troubled years leading to their eventual separation from the monarchy in 2020.
One scene of the trailer shows Harry telling viewers: "They were happy to lie to protect my brother but were never willing to tell the truth to protect us."
Though the "they" is unidentified in the trailer, the audio is played over a photograph of Buckingham Palace, leading some to speculate that this could mean the royal family or household. An alternative interpretation is that the prince was referring to the British tabloid media.
Later in the podcast, Royston spoke of his belief that the final three episodes will "100 percent" focus more on the royal family and their relationships with Meghan and Harry.
"I think there are still going to be fireworks," he said. "There are still going to be conversations about the relationship with William and Kate that have been saved over for that part two."
The final release of episodes will be made globally on December 15, a day that holds significance for the royal family as it is when Kate Middleton, now the Princess of Wales, will host her Christmas carol service in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey in London.
Prince William, King Charles and Queen Camilla are all confirmed to be attending the event, which will be recorded and broadcast in the U.K. on Christmas Eve.
To date, Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace spokespeople have offered no comment on the Harry & Meghan Netflix series or the claims made therein.
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