Meeting on Insta, curtseying to the queen: Five sweet moments from ‘Harry & Meghan’

The first part of Prince Harry and Meghan’s highly anticipated Netflix docuseries has aired, and as predicted it is causing a major stir.

Three of six episodes aired on the streaming giant on Thursday, and far from being another attack on the royal family, it chronicled the journey by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as a couple, and navigating their way through the intrusive and “biased” British media.

In the documentary Harry said the British royal family had dismissed race-related hounding of Meghan by the media as a rite of passage, and the couple delivered a fierce attack on the tabloid press.

While there have been positive and negative reactions to the first three episodes, there were also touching moments in the series.

Here are five sweet moments.

WHEN HARRY MET MEGHAN

The first episode kicked off with the story of how Harry and Meghan met in 2016.

According to Harry, they met over Instagram when he spotted his future wife in a friend’s Snapchat video. In the sweet video, Meghan was captured with a doggy filter.

After a series of exchanges, they went on their first date, which was off to a disastrous start when Harry arrived 30 minutes late. Despite this, Meghan described Harry as “so refreshingly fun”, adding they “were childlike together”. The couple dated secretly for a few months that year before news of their romance broke in the media.

SHARED PASSION FOR ACTIVISM

Another touching moment was the couple talking about their shared passion for activism and philanthropy.

Harry shared how doing charity work in Africa helped shape his life after his chaotic teen years while the duchess detailed her activism from a young age, triggered by an impassioned letter she wrote to P&G over a sexist advert. Viewers saw how her love for philanthropy developed. 

“I wasn’t trying to find the great indie film that was going to get me an Oscar, no. I just wanted to go and volunteer,” she said.

Harry said this part of her helped him realise she was the one.

“When it came to Meghan that was, I guess, the case of finding a needle in a haystack,” he said.

CAMEO FROM MEGHAN’S FAMILY

Viewers were in for a surprise when Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland and her niece  Ashleigh Hale made their debuts in the series.

For years Meghan’s family had taken to the media to trash their famous relative since her involvement with Harry.

For the first time her mother shared details of her daughter’s early life and the impact the media intrusion has had on their lives.

Hale, who is Meghan’s half sister and Samantha Markle’s estranged daughter, gave a glimpse into their close relationship.

Viewers also got a view of Harry’s cousin, Princess Eugenie, through photos shared of their time together.

The royal family declined to comment, according to Netflix.

RAISING MIXED RACE CHILDREN

Another precious moment from the docuseries was the couple taking about how they were raising their children, Archie and Lilibet. The tots appeared in the series, with a tender moment occurring when the couple showed Archie a picture of his paternal grandmother, the late Princess Diana.

Speaking about his children’s mixed heritage, Harry said that he is “proud”.

“When my kids grow up and look back at this moment and turn to me and say ‘what did you do in this moment?’ I want to be able to give them an answer.

“What’s most important for the two of us is to make sure we don’t repeat the same mistakes that perhaps our parents made,” the couple said.

MEETING THE QUEEN AND FAMILY RECEPTION

Probably one of the funniest and perhaps controversial moments in the first three episodes came when Meghan spoke about her meeting with the royal family and how she had to learn how to curtsey to the queen. She showed off her first attempt while Harry watched with raised eyebrows.

She said some members of the family made her feel welcome when they first met during the couple’s engagement.

“They were surprised. Maybe surprised that a ginger could land such a beautiful woman, such an intelligent woman, but the fact that I was dating an American actress was probably what clouded their judgement more than anything else at the beginning,” Harry revealed.

On meeting the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Catherine, Meghan said: “When Will and Kate came over and I met her for the first time, they came over for dinner. I remember I was in ripped jeans and barefoot. I was a hugger. I’ve always been a hugger. I didn’t realise that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.”

- Additional reporting by Reuters