10 Biggest Bombshells from Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Emotional Documentary
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle gave fans a rare glimpse of their royal lives in the ITV documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey — including both the happiness and the hardships.
From their 5-month-old son Archie “finding his voice” in Africa to dealing with painful memories of Princess Diana’s death, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex got candid about their battles behind the scenes.
ITV News at Ten anchor Tom Bradby set out to make a documentary of the couple as they toured Africa, but the film turned into a candid insight into the struggles of royal life.
“The reality I found was just a couple that seemed a bit bruised and vulnerable,” Bradby said during an interview on Good Morning America Wednesday, ahead of the U.S. airing of the documentary that debuted on Sunday in the U.K. “That was the story I found.”
Here are the 10 biggest bombshells from Harry and Meghan’s revealing documentary, which airs Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.
1. Prince Harry Fears the Repercussions of the Constant Media Attention
“Look, part of this job and part of any job, like everybody, means putting on a brave face and turning a cheek to a lot of the stuff. But again, for me and for my wife, of course, there’s a lot of stuff that hurts — especially when the majority of it is untrue,” Harry said of the recent media scrutiny.
“But all we need to do is focus on being real, focus on being the people we are and standing up for what we believe in. I will not be bullied into carrying a game that killed my mum,” he added.
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2. Meghan Believes Keeping a ‘Stiff Upper Lip’ Can Be ‘Damaging’
“I really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a ‘stiff upper lip.’ I really tried, but I think that what that does internally is probably really damaging,” the Duchess of Sussex said of how she’s dealing with tabloid rumors and lack of privacy.
Meghan went on to tell Bradby that she would understand the scrutiny if it seemed warranted.
“I never thought that this would be easy, but I thought it would be fair. And that’s the part that’s really hard to reconcile,” she said.
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3. Prince Harry Addressed Rumored Rift Between Him and Prince William
Speaking about the pressures of their jobs in the royal family, Harry said, “Inevitably stuff happens. But we’re brothers, we’ll always be brothers. We’re certainly on different paths at the moment. I’ll always be there for him and as I know, he’ll always be there for me. We don’t see each other as much as we used to because we’re so busy but I love him dearly.”
The royal added, “The majority of stuff is created out of nothing. As brothers, we have good days and we have bad days.”
4. Meghan Admitted She ‘Naively’ Brushed Off Friends’ Warnings About U.K. Tabloids
“It’s hard. I don’t think anybody can understand that, but in all fairness, I had no idea,” the royal mom said of the relentless attacks from tabloids. “Which probably sounds difficult to understand here, but when I first met my now-husband my friends were really happy because I was so happy.”
Meghan added, “But my British friends said to me, ‘I’m sure he’s great but you shouldn’t do it because the British tabloids will destroy your life.’ And I very naively — I’m an American we don’t have that there — said, ‘What are you talking about? That doesn’t make any sense! I’m not in tabloids!’ I didn’t get it. So, it’s been… yeah, it’s been complicated.”
5. Prince Harry Addressed Rumors They Were Moving to Africa
“I don’t know where we could live in Africa at the moment,” he said. “We just came from Cape Town, that would be an amazing place to base ourselves, of course, it would. But with all the problems that are going on there, I just don’t see how we’d be able to really make as much difference as we’d want to without the issues and the judgment of how we would be with those surroundings.”
The royal father of one added, “It’s a very hard place to live when you know what’s going on. And then you’re sort of, again, slightly disconnected from it.”
6. Meghan Opened Up About Stress of Being a New Mom
The Duchess of Sussex shared the struggle of being a new mother in the spotlight.
“Any woman, especially when they’re pregnant, you’re really vulnerable, and so that was made really challenging. And then when you have a newborn, you know. And especially as a woman, it’s a lot,” she said. “So you add this on top of just trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed. It’s um…yeah. I guess, also thank you for asking because not many people have asked if I’m okay, but it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.
Bradby asked if it “would be fair” to say that she���s “not really okay, as in it’s really been a struggle?” to which Meghan responds, “Yes.”
7. Archie ‘Clearly Loves Africa’
While Prince Harry‘s love for Africa is well known, the proud father revealed that his son is already fond of the area as well. The Duke of Sussex shared that Archie was “making more noise” than ever before during their recent royal tour.
“He clearly loves Africa as well because he’s been happy looking out the window,” Harry revealed. “He found his voice here. He was bouncing up and down and making more noise than he’s ever made before.”
Proud mom Meghan added, “We thought he was happy before. He’s the happiest here. He’s been so happy the past two days.”
8. Prince Harry Shares the ‘Worst Reminder’ Mom Princess Diana
Harry talked about the death of his mother, Princess Diana, while being back in a place that was so close to her heart, saying it’s a “wound that festers.”
“I think being part of this family — in this role, in this job — every single time I see a camera, every single time I hear a click, every single time I see a flash, it takes me straight back,” he said. “In that respect, it’s the worst reminder of her life as opposed to the best.”
“Being here now 22 years later trying to finish what she started will be incredibly emotional. But everything that I do reminds me of her,” he continued. “But as I said — with the role, with the job and sort of the pressures that come with that — I get reminded of the bad stuff.”
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9. Meghan Opened Up About Her Biracial Identity
The royal mom hopes people will one day come to understand and focus on the love she and Harry share for one another.
“I would hope that people, the world, will get to the point where they just see us as a couple who’s in love, because I don’t wake up every day and identify as being anything other than who I’ve always been,” she told Bradby when asked about her decision to speak about her race on tour, when she was visiting Africa “as a woman of color.” “It’s just, I’m Meghan and I’ve married this incredible man and this to me is just part of our love story.”
“But for me, when I made the choice to add those words into the speech, it was really at the last minute, and I said to Harry, ‘What do you think if I add this in? I don’t know. It just felt right.’ And he very kindly and supportively said, ‘If that’s what feels right, then that’s what you should say.’ Because it’s true,” she continued. “Before I was part of this family, that’s how I identified, with people and connection, as a mother now, as a wife now, but just as a woman of color, which has been brought to the forefront in a more prominent way.”
10. Meghan Shared Her Nickname for Harry
The Duchess of Sussex shared her simple nickname for her husband while recalling her conversations about ongoing tabloid rumors with Prince Harry. “I have said for a long time to H, that’s what I call him, ‘It’s not enough to just survive something. That’s not the point of life. You have got to thrive. You have got to feel happy,’ ” she said.
Harry and Meghan: An African Journey debuts Wednesday, Oct. 23. at 10 p.m. on ABC.
