Social media and news sites are all over the British royal family this week, as usual, with intrigue and scandal.
A racism scandal threatened to overshadow Prince William and wife Kate’s visit to the United States, and the release of a bombshell trailer for the Netflix docuseries about Prince Harry and his wife Meghan is competing with media coverage for William and Kate’s US visit.
Some even say that the release of the Netflix teaser at this time is a coordinated scheme by Harry and Meghan to take the attention away from Prince William and Kate Middleton, although Netflix itself determines when the trailer is released, not the royal couple.
Netflix released the trailer for the highly anticipated docuseries entitled “Harry and Meghan” on Thursday while the Prince and Princess of Wales were in Boston for the Earth Shot Prize, an award given annually to five winners for their incredible achievements concerning the environment.
The trailer features numerous pictures of the couple that have not been seen in the past, including a clip from one of Meghan’s confessionals, where she asks the audience if it makes more sense to hear the couple’s story from their own perspective, and sheds a lot of tears.
A journalist and a friend of Meghan, Omid Scobie, hinted in a tweet on Thursday that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would overshadow Prince William and Kate’s visit. The tweet said that if December 2 is Prince William’s Superbowl, referring to the Earth Shot Prize ceremony that was held on Friday, December 2, then Harry and Meghan’s trailer is like the halftime show.
Hugo Vickers, a friend of the royal family, told media that he was not surprised about the timing of the Netflix trailer and hinted at the competition between Princes Harry and William. He called the docuseries “pretentious.”
Media coverage of Prince William and Kate’s visit was not detailed, and many of their activities, including a visit to a green technology incubator, were not even focused on, since most media coverage centered on gossip that has been brewing over the couple’s visit to the US.
There is also a racism scandal regarding Prince William’s 83-year-old godmother, Lady Susan Hussey, who was also Queen Elizabeth II’s lady-in-waiting. She had to resign from her duties after a black guest accused her of making racist comments and interrogating her.
The New York Post, a frequent reporter of British royal intrigue, wrote that William and Kate’s visit was off to a rocky start, and the Times magazine focused on the booing that Prince William and Kate received on their arrival at the Boston Celtics game.
Some sources, however, dismissed the idea that Harry and Meghan plotted to overshadow their relatives, acknowledging that the couple had no part in the decision to release the trailer on Thursday, and that it was an executive decision made by Netflix.
The docuseries, to be released on December 8, will give an insight into Harry and Meghan’s problems while in Great Britain and what led them to quit their royal duties and move to the US.