Former Duke and Duchess of Sussex have redefined their narrative and shed light on why they made the surprising decision to separate themselves from the palace. Their documentary-series “Harry and Meghan” was released on Netflix at the end of last year. The series follows their journey from the beginning of their love story to their current life away from the media and the crown. 

The 6-episode miniseries take viewers through their struggles as a part of the royal family and what influenced their decision to leave. Prince Harry shares his memories of Princess Diana’s struggles with the British media. Harry saw his mother’s difficulties first hand and wanted to ensure his own family did not experience the same. 

Mostly due to her biracial-identity, Meghan Markle received backlash from British tabloids and other media outlets when she became associated with the crown. Along with blatant, horrible racism towards her and her mother, they also repeatedly condemned Markle for things as simple as holding her stomach while pregnant. The series shows side-by-side headlines of the ones criticizing Markle and others complementing Princess Kate for doing the same thing years earlier, showing the hypocrisy of media criticism. 

But, they don’t only focus on the hardships of life under the crown. The limited series also shares the good times that the Duke and Duchess spent with the royal family and especially Queen Elizabeth II. It also includes the story of how the two met. After finding each other on instagram, they met for dinner and their bond quickly began to strengthen. One episode focuses specifically on their wedding and its happy fanfare.

Ultimately, Prince Harry’s choice to leave his royal name came after lots of difficult decision making and a great deal of argument with his own family. It seems the negative media attention and lack of familial reaction to it became too much for the two to bear. 

While the series already gave viewers a new window into the former royals’ lives, the prince had more to share. His memoir, “Spare,” was released on Jan. 10, as a part of his four-book deal with Penguin Random House. 

The book shares more intimate details of the former Duke’s life, with stories from his childhood and teenage years. Prince Harry starts the book at the time of his mother’s death, and relays his memories of growing up without her. 

He shares his feelings of inadequacy and constant comparison to his brother William, the heir to the throne. He always felt that his father favored William and looked down upon him as the “spare” son. This caused a gap between the brothers that only widened as time went on.

The memoir also highlights the effects of the British media on Harry’s early life, paralleling the way that the series does for his adult years. He focuses especially on the way the royal family themselves played a role in their media attention. For example, Harry claims his father told media outlets about the duke’s scandals to hide stories that could come out about himself. The royal family also refused to say anything when something personal about Harry or Meghan were leaked to the newspapers. Through these examples he explains his core reason for pulling back from his family and his country: He chose to prioritize his own children in a way that he felt his father had never done.