The biggest moments from Harry and Meghan's Netflix documentary

The first three episodes of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's documentary, Harry & Meghan, landed on Netflix last week, with the remaining episodes airing yesterday - and series and has already been watched by millions across the globe. 

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex released the show on the popular streaming service, where they have discussed everything from how they met and the early days of their relationship, to the difficulties they faced from the media and paparazzi while living in the UK as working royals. 

The couple, who stepped back from royal life in early 2020, moved to California, US where they now live with their two children, Archie and Lilibet. 

While their now-infamous tell-all interview with Oprah spurred endless headlines back in 2021, it is the first time that Harry and Meghan have been able to tell their story themselves, and share details of their love, life and experiences in their own words. 

Of course, the documentary has the world talking. The Sussexes have shared details about their wedding, what was really going on behind closed doors and the build up to (and subsequent fall outs from) their decision to leave the monarchy behind.

Now that the full series is available to watch on Netflix, here are some of the biggest moments from the show which has already proved record breaking - debuting with 81.55 million hours viewed (the highest view hours of any documentary title in its first week) and reaching more than 28 million households in the first four days. 

What really happened on Harry and Meghan's first date

Harry and Meghan briefly spoke about how they met during their BBC engagement interview in 2017, mentioning that they were introduced by a mutual friend. 

But during the documentary, they go into detail about how they ended up on a fateful drinks date at Soho House in London. 

Harry spotted a video of Meghan on a mutual friend's Instagram account, and asked for them to be introduced. Meghan had a look at Harry's social media profile and was impressed by his photography shots, so shortly afterwards they set up a drink in the capital - although it didn't quite go to plan. 

The Prince was stuck in traffic and running late, but Meghan thought that he was just playing it cool - until he turned up 'red and sweaty'. 

She said: 'So I was like, ‘Oh is this what he does? Got it. Like this I’m not doing, I’m not gonna sit (and wait for him).'

However, once he arrived she realised that he had been telling the truth and they quickly set up a second date. 

They spent a week in Botswana after just two dates

Due to their hectic schedules, after their first two dates the couple remained in contact over FaceTime calls and messages - but when they both had the same week off, Harry invited Meghan with him to Botswana and the pair camped out together for a week, getting to know each other away from their respective hometowns and the potential for the story to leak to the papers. 

Harry said: 'I was astonished that she said 'yes'. This woman, that I've really met twice, she's coming to Botswana and we're gonna be living in a tent for five days!'

Meghan added: 'So I get there, this is the first time I've seen him in a month. Very awkward at first like, oh God, do we, do we kiss? Do we? And I just remember he handed me a chicken sandwich!'

See, even Princes do awkward things. Adorable. 

They had a 'last shot' party night before their relationship went public

After secretly dating for months and managing to keep the news out of the headlines, they were informed by Harry's press team that the papers had found out and were ready to publish a story the next day.

Knowing that within 24 hours their love story would become public property - and unsure about how their lives would change once it did - they decided to go to a party with Harry's cousin, Princess Eugenie, and her now-husband Jack Brooksbank, as a 'last shot' hurrah. 

Harry said he was able to wear fancy dress as it was a Halloween party, so they could go out without being snapped. 

He said: 'We went to this Halloween party together, where we could be completely dressed up and no one would know. Bandana and goggles, great costume.'

Meghan said about their final night under the radar: 'We thought well, this could be our last shot to just go out and have fun. 

'We'd been so petrified of when it would break, H trying to prepare me for what that be like knowing what he had experienced in the past.'

Harry recalls media frenzy during childhood holidays

Alongside footage of a young Harry with his brother, Prince Harry, and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, the Duke of Sussex explains that family holidays were usually accompanied by a high level of media involvement, with photographers constantly trying to get pictures of them, and his late mother, Princess Diana, even having to step in to stop one pap from recording them from a distance as they ate lunch on a skiing trip. 

He said: 'Rarely do we have a holiday without someone with a camera, you know, jumping out of a bush or something. Within the family, within the system, the advice that's always given is, 'Don't react, don't feed into it.' 

'There was always public pressure with its fair share of drama, stress, and also tears, and witnessing those tears. You could always see it on my mum's face, and I guess those are the moments when I thought, "Hang on, what am I? Who am I? What am I part of?"'

Meghan faced 'disgusting and credible' plots against her

During the first three episodes, Harry and Meghan detail the abuse and harassment the Duchess has faced over the last five years, with the Prince claiming that the royal family were reluctant to protect his now-wife in the early stages of their relationship. 

As well as Meghan claiming her own neighbours set up live feed cameras to try and record footage of her at her Toronto home, Harry says that the advice from the palace - particularly regarding racist headlines in the press and paparazzi stalking - was: 'Don't say anything.'

Harry explains: 'So, it was almost like a rite of passage, and some of the members of the royal family were like: ‘My wife had to go through that, so why should your girlfriend be treated any differently? Why should you get special treatment? Why should she be protected?’” 

Senior Police Chief Neil Basu told Channel 4 last week that the Duchess faced 'disgusting and credible' threats against her during her time as a working royal. 

He said: 'If you’d seen the stuff that was written and you were receiving it … the kind of rhetoric that’s online, if you don’t know what I know, you would feel under threat all of the time.

'We had teams of people investigating it. People have been prosecuted for those threats.'

When the news broke of their relationship, Harry released a rare statement via Kensington Palace - the first public move to try and set a boundary between themselves and the press. 

The Duchess recalls seeing social media abuse and death threats

In the newer episodes, Meghan recalls seeing social media abuse and threats which left her fearing for her safety. 

She said: 'I was going through the manual for our security team at home, and one of the pages I happened to flip to it was about online monitoring and it said, "If you see a tweet like this, please report it to the head of security immediately."

'It just said: "Meghan just needs to die. Someone needs to kill her. Maybe it should be me." And it's just like, okay. That's like what's actually out in the world because of people creating hate.'

Getting visibly upset, she continues: 'And I'm a mum. That's my real life. And that's the piece when you see it and go, "You are making people want to kill me."

'It's not just a tabloid. It's not just some story. You are making me scared. 

'That night, to be looking up and down my hallway like, "Are we safe? Are the doors locked? Is security on?" That's real. Are my babies safe? 

'And you've created it for what? Because you're bored? Because it sells your papers? Or it makes you feel better about your own life? It's real what you're doing. And that's the piece I don't think people fully understand.'

Harry details 'terrifying' meeting with William, Charles and the Queen after announcing shock exit 

Back in January 2020 when Harry and Meghan shared the now infamous Instagram post announcing that they were taking a step back from royal duties, the world was - to put it mildly - shocked. 

There were claims that the Sussexes had 'blindsided' the Queen with the news, and when the Palace publicly responded they confirmed that the couple would no longer be working royals. 

However, in the documentary the Prince denies that the Palace were unaware of their plans and details what was happening behind the scenes, what led to that moment, and his experience at the supposed 'Sandringham summit' when he met with Prince William, then-Prince Charles and the Queen for crisis talks. 

Harry says that he emailed his father three times to outline their plans, and claims that the crisis talks were only organised once Meghan had returned to Canada. 

Discussing the meeting, Harry said: 'I went in with the same proposal that we’d already made publicly, but once I got there I was given five options – one being all in, no change, five being all out.

'I chose option three in the meeting – half in, half out. Have our own jobs but also work in support of the Queen.

'It became very clear very quickly that goal was not up for discussion or debate. It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that just simply weren’t true. And my grandmother, you know, quietly sit there and take it all in.

'But you have to understand that, from the family’s perspective, especially from hers, there are ways of doing things and her ultimate, sort of, mission, goal, responsibility is the institution.'

The couple had made plans to move to New Zealand, South Africa and Canada before settling in the US

While Harry and Meghan are now settled in Montecito, California, the pair had initially hoped to move away from the UK to live in a Commonwealth country. 

Initially, they had discussed relocating to New Zealand, and when that fell through they made plans to go to South Africa. However, that plan was also scuppered when details of the proposal were leaked to the press. 

Harry explained: 'We thought it would be good to give ourselves some breathing space, but also we were really passionate about continuing our work throughout the Commonwealth, to support the Queen.'

Regarding a move to South Africa, Meghan said: 'The job is a lot of cause-driven work. So I thought, "Well, this is great."

'There's an asset in having a woman of colour when you have 50 plus Commonwealth countries, the majority of which are people of colour.'

Although the Queen, Charles and William's offices signed off on the move, when it became public knowledge it was no longer possible. 

'Then it was leaked to The Times newspaper,' Harry said.

'Then that whole plan was then scrapped because it's now become a public debate. Once plans like that become public debates, nine times out of 10, it's gonna fail.'

Their next option was Canada, but again, once the plans were made public it shut down any hope of a relocation there. 

Discussing their desire to leave the UK, Harry explains: 'By the time I was speaking to my father from Canada, the family and their people knew that we were trying to find a different way of working for a minimum of two years.'

Meghan struggled with formalities within the royal family 

The Duchess spoke about how royal family formalities were a shock to her in the beginning, noting that as a tactile person she was thrown off when she realised that Brits found her hugging 'jarring'. 

She said: 'When Will and Kate came over... for dinner, I remember I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot. Like, I was a hugger, always been a hugger, I didn't realise that that is jarring for a lot of Brits.'

Meghan also quickly realised that every move she made in public would be scrutinised, but that the formalities continued behind closed doors too, adding: 'I guess I'd start to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside, carried through on the inside.

'There is a forward-facing way of being and then you close the door and you relax now. But that formality carries over on both sides. And that was surprising to me.'

She also found the experience of having to curtesy to the Queen 'surreal', when Harry assumed she would know how to and him adding: 'How do you explain that to people? How do you explain that you bow to your grandmother? 

'And that you will need to curtsy, especially to an American? Like, that's weird!'

Harry claims Palace offices 'leaked' details of their relocation proposals 

Harry has alleged that offices within the Palace were responsible for key information getting to the press.

He claims that Charles asked for his proposal to move to Canada to be put into writing, and while he said he 'would rather not because of what happened last time' the now King was insistent, saying: 'I can't do anything unless you put it in writing.'

However, the Prince alleges that he sent three emails to his father, telling the interviewer: '[I] sent him emails on the 1st and the 2nd and 3rd of January. And in one of those, I'd mentioned in one of those, if this wasn't going to work out, then we would be willing to relinquish our Sussex titles if need be. So that was the plan.'

Later on, Harry said: 'We found out that this story [about relocating to Canada] was coming out — somehow the tabloids knew about this proposal.'

Meghan added: 'His dad said, "Put it in writing." And he did and five days later it was on the front page of the newspaper.'

Significantly, Harry made the following allegations: 'It became clear that the institution leaked the fact that we were going to move back to Canada and the key piece of that story that made me aware that the contents of the letter between me and my father had been leaked was that we were willing to relinquish our Sussex titles. 

'That was the giveaway. I was like, "Wow, like our story, our life literally got taken from underneath us."'

Meghan shares what led to the breakdown of her relationship with her father

Just before Harry and Meghan's wedding in May 2018, the newspapers ran a number of stories about the Duchess' relationship with her father, Thomas Markle. 

As paparazzi photos of him circulated the internet, Meghan said she had tried to reach out to him before learning that he had been taken to hospital. 

Royal fans will remember that Charles walked her down the aisle, and that Thomas was notably not present. 

At the time, the couple didn't comment on any of the stories being written about the situation - but Meghan has now addressed the headlines written about her and her dad. 

She says that as her father continued to talk to the media about her, the Queen and Charles advised her to write him a letter. 

'I reached out to her Majesty and said this is what's going on, what do you want me to do? I want to...Whatever advice you have,' Meghan says.

'But ultimately it was suggested by the Queen and the Prince of Wales that I write my dad a letter and I had gone to great lengths to get that letter to my dad discreetly.'

The letter said: 'Please allow us to live our lives in peace. Please stop lying, please stop creating so much pain, please stop exploiting my relationship with my husband.'

Knowing it could be intercepted, she sent it to her business manager in LA to forward on to her dad, but the delivery signature 'wasn't her dad's handwriting'. 

Excerpts of the letter were then leaked to the papers and published, leading to a lawsuit between the Sussexes and Associated Newspapers. 

They shared sweet details and photos from their wedding

Meghan admitted she was surprisingly 'calm' on the morning of her wedding, despite the fact that millions of people around the world would be tuning in to watch her say 'I do'. 

In fact, she had a very simple request while she was getting ready - and it actually sounds pretty dreamy. 

She said: 'All I wanted was a mimosa and a croissant and play the song Going to the Chapel and that's what I did. It was so great.'

'I went into this really calm space, I don't know how I was so calm. I look back and I think, how was I so calm?'

It had previously been reported that Idris Elba DJ'd for the couple, and they revealed that their first dance was to Land of 1000 Dances. Meghan also laughed as she revealed that at one point she couldn't find her mum Doria because she had gone off to watch Elton John perform. Amazing. 

Harry and Meghan praised Charles for all of his help with their big day

Although much has been made of their comments about other members of the royal family, Harry and Meghan had nothing but praise for Charles when it came to helping them organise their wedding. 

They revealed that the now King was responsible for helping them find the orchestra and gospel choir.

Harry said: 'My father helped us choose an orchestra, which made all the difference."

Discussing the gospel choir, he added: 'There wasn’t too much pushback on that… Everyone was like, "Gospel choir, what a wonderful idea. That’s great!"

'And again, more help from my dad on that one.'

Meghan also spoke about Charles walking her down the aisle, commenting: 'Harry's dad is very charming and I said to him, "I've lost my dad in this."

'So him as my father-in-law is very important to me. So I asked him to walk me down the aisle, and he said "yes."'

Harry denies signing off on statement refuting claims that William 'bullied' them out of the family

When the trailer for the second instalment was released, there was one quote from the Duke of Sussex which got everybody talking. 

In the clip, Harry can be heard saying: 'They were happy to lie to protect my brother and yet for three years they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us.'

Many questioned who, and what, he was referring to, and in the final three episodes it emerges that he is talking about a statement that the Palace released following the Sussexes royal exit. 

Days after they announced they were stepping back from royal duties, a spokesperson for William and Harry released a statement reading: 'Despite clear denials, a false story ran in a UK newspaper today speculating about the relationship between The Duke of Sussex and The Duke of Cambridge. 

'For brothers who care so deeply about the issues surrounding mental health, the use of inflammatory language in this way is offensive and potentially harmful.'

However, Harry denies signing off on any joint statement between himself and William, saying: 'I got in the car after the meeting.

'I was told about a joint statement that had been put out in my name and in my brother's name, squashing the story about him bullying us out of the family. I couldn't believe it, no one had asked me. 

'No one had asked my permission to put my name to a statement like that. I rang M and I told her, and she burst into floods of tears because within four hours they were happy to lie to protect my brother and yet for three years they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us.'