Harry and Meghan's team defends Netflix trailer stock footage: 'It's not meant to be literal'

The Netflix trailer shows numerous scenes of paparazzi and press photographers out of context - Netflix
The Netflix trailer shows numerous scenes of paparazzi and press photographers out of context - Netflix
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The use of stock footage and photographs in television trailers is “standard practice” when making documentaries, allies of the Duke and Duchess have said, as they defend their Netflix documentary against accusations of misinformation.

The trailer, in which the Duke compared the treatment of his wife to that of Diana, Princess of Wales, shows numerous scenes of paparazzi and press photographers out of context, in situations where the Royal family were not even present.

One photograph of a crowd of photographers was taken at a Harry Potter film premiere, with other footage taken from outside a Katie Price court case and of Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen being photographed in America.

A source familiar with the making of the Netflix documentary confirmed that the Duke and Duchess did not have editorial control of the trailer themselves, but said the choice of footage was “standard practice in documentary and trailer production”.

"You use stock images to tell a story,” they said. “It's not meant to be literal in a trailer."

Among the Duke of Sussex's new jobs is a role at the Aspen Institute’s new Commission on Information Disorder, which fights against online and media misinformation.

The documentary, entitled Harry & Meghan and due to be aired on Netflix on Thursday, will see the Duke and Duchess describe the challenges they believe made it impossible for them to remain in the Royal family or Britain.

It is expected to focus heavily on the role of the media, with a direct comparison between the treatment of the Duchess of Sussex and her late mother-in-law Diana, Princess of Wales.

The trailer sees Prince Harry condemn the “pain and suffering” of women marrying into the Royal family, over footage including the then-Kate Middleton being swarmed by photographers while she was dating Prince William.

Over a photograph of the Royal family at Trooping the Colour in 2019, which has been framed to make it look as if the Cambridge family were in the centre rather than the late Queen, Prince Harry says: “There’s a hierarchy of the family.

“There’s leaking, but there’s also planting of stories. It’s a dirty game.”

Netflix has confirmed volume one will launch on December 8 – exactly three months after the death of Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II – with the second volume to be released on December 15.