door Duchess of Sussex has spoken about the cynicism some sectors of the media had towards her in the lead up to the royal wedding and how “Australia was a real turning point”.
The second installation Harry & Meganthe couple’s docu-series for Netflix has aired, with episode four beginning with the royal wedding in May, 2018 and including parts of their visit to Australia.
Prince Harry compared the huge interest in Meghan to how his late mother Diana was adored by royal fans Down Under.
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their wedding day. (netflix)
But that adoration made Prince Charles jealous and led to tensions between he and his wife through the course of their 14-year marriage.
Prince Harry and Meghan then spoke about how their popularity in Australia was starting to make Prince William and Kate jealous, leading to the start of a character assassination in the media.
Meghan’s friend Lucy Fraser said she thought the Australia tour was a turning point because they were so popular with the public.
Prior to things taking a turn for the worse, the episode showed glowing shots of the couple preparing for their wedding.
Meghan described her amazement at the public interest royal weddings and her fondness for King Charles who she called “charming”.
It starts with shots of the late Queen Elizabeth’s wedding to Prince Philip, before showing vision of Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton.
Meghan then spoke about riding in the car to St George’s Chapel with her mother Doria Ragland and seeing the thousands of people lining the streets of Windsor.
“What is going on? Look at all these people?” she said, remembering that moment.
Prince Harry, however, spoke in slightly less glowing terms about the attention.
He said: “There was the expectation to have a public wedding, he’s Diana’s boy?”
The duchess revealed Prince Harry chose the song she walked down the aisle to.
Speaking about her father Thomas Markle not being there to accompany her to the front of the chapel, Meghan said she asked King Charles to step in.
“Harry’s dad is very charming,” she said.
“I’ve lost my dad in this, so him as my father in law was really important to me… so I asked him to walk me down the aisle and he said yes.”
King Charles helped the couple to choose an orchestra which “made all the difference” Prince Harry said.
The couple went on to speak about their brief time living in Nottingham Cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace.
They described the cottage as being small and not what the public would imagine for a royal couple.
Later in the episode, Meghan spoke about her first engagement with Queen Elizabeth in Cheshire where she was given the privilege of riding on the royal train.
She recalled, again, how the Queen put a blanket over her knees to make sure they were both warm on the journey.
They then spoke about visiting Australia and announcing their first pregnancy on the eve of the tour.
”I’d always wanted to be a mum,” Meghan said, revealing they started writing a journal as soon as they found out they were pregnant with baby Archie.
“That was a really rigorous tour to do, being pregnant,” Meghan said.
Soon after that tour, the couple started receiving the brunt of negative media attention.
One incident they referred to was Meghan being on the front page of a newspaper after attending the Festival of Remembrance, with only a small photo of the Queen on the bottom of the page and the headline “Meghan’s tribute to the fallen”.
“Oh my god,” Meghan said, adding, “It wasn’t my fault.”
Harry said: “I know. And my mum felt the same.”
Prince Harry then drew comparisons to the mental toll the negative publicity was having on Meghan and his mother.
“No one sees what is happening behind closed doors,” Prince Harry said.
He recalled his mother being “in tears” in the car on the way to royal engagements.
Prince Harry said Meghan needed “so much more than I was able to give”.
Meghan then repeated a claim made to Oprah that she “wasn’t allowed to” seek help for her mental health struggles.
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