Harry and Meghan's Netflix series proves some of their claims weren't true

This morning, the first three episodes of the much anticipated Harry & Meghan Netflix docuseries were released and the show has already got the whole world talking.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a series of claims about their life in the royal family in a bid to give "the other side of their high-profile love story", which they are said to have been paid over $88m for by the streaming giant.

Last week, they put out teaser clips of the series which showed Meghan in tears and the couple saying that they wanted to give their side of 'the story'.

Netflix viewers even had difficulty accessing the app today to tune in to the bombshell series, with many taking to Twitter to say it had crashed.

During the first episode, Harry said: "No one knows the full truth. We know the full truth. The institution knows the full truth. And the media know the full truth because they've been in on it."

But now that half of the series has been released, we take a look at the claims the couple have made which appear to be inaccurate to what they have said previously.

1. Meghan had no idea who Prince Harry was - Not true

Shortly after their engagement, the pair sat down with the BBC for an interview, where Meghan said she didn't really know anything about Harry due to living in America.

She claimed: "Because I'm from the States, you don't grow up with the same understanding of the royal family. And so while I now understand very clearly there's a global interest there, I didn't know much about him."

However, in the first episode of the 'Harry & Meghan', the Duchess tells the camera about the time that her friend first told her that someone in the royal family had their sights set on her, writes The Mirror.

A mutual friend told the actress that "Prince Haz" was "dying to meet" her, and Meghan says she replied: "Who's that?"

Also in the same episode, producers of the series show Meghan and Harry a clip of an interview of Meghan, one year before she met Harry.

In the interview, Meghan is asked a series of 'this or that' questions and the interviewer asks Meghan 'Prince William or Prince Harry?'.

Meghan initially shrugs at the interviewer, before she then eventually chooses Prince Harry.

The interview is from October 2015, and Harry goes on to say that it would have been less than a year before they met. Meghan laughs and says: "Honey I'm sorry. Of course I choose you."

2. Meghan says she didn't do any research into Prince Harry - Not true

The former Suits actress has previously said that, before she went on a first date with Prince Harry, she didn't do any research into him or his life.

Last year, when the couple sat down to take part in a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan again reiterated that she didn't know much about the Royal Family.

She revealed that she knew nothing about any of the royal family and was only taught 'royal protocol' and how to curtsy by Sarah Ferguson - only moments before meeting Harry's grandmother.

Also in their docuseries, the mum-of-two still insists that she didn't Google Harry before they met and didn't look at stories on the internet.

But, she did admit that she had a glance at his Instagram page, saying that it was the "best barometer" to judge him.

Meghan said: "I asked if I could see his feed, When people ask 'did you google him?' I say 'no'.

She added: "But that's your homework. Let me see what they're about in their feed. Not what someone else says about them. What they are putting out themselves."

Meghan then goes on to say that she really admired his "beautiful photography, environmental shots and his trip to Africa", so it does seem that she did look into her date after all.

3. The couple met on a blind date - Not true

During their BBC interview after they got engaged back in 2018, the happy couple said that their romance began after they were set up on a blind date by a friend.

Harry said: "We were introduced, actually, by a mutual friend - we'll protect her privacy - but it was literally through her and we met once and then twice, back to back, two dates in London last July, beginning of July, and then it was about three, maybe four weeks later that I managed to persuade her to join me in Botswana."

Meghan said: "Yes, it was definitely a set-up - it was a blind date."

At the time, Harry added: "It was a blind date for sure."

But now the pair are saying that it was actually on Instagram and they had looked at each others snaps on the social media platform prior to their date.

Harry tells producers: "Meghan and I met over Instagram. I was scrolling through my feed and someone who was a friend had a video of the two of them, it was like Snapchat."

Harry admitted that they had sent over various flirty texts prior to meeting and they were shown on the Netflix instalment.

Harry writes: "So come on - what u doing tomorrow night? Hope you're having fun over there!"

Meghan replies: "Heading back to soho. I have a dinner tomorrow at 8 but can do drinks tomorrow night. Would that work? Maybe 6?"

Harry responds: "You're ON!"

The pair also FaceTimed each other prior to their first date at 76 Dean Street in Soho.

The idea of a 'blind-date' gives the impression that they didn't know anything about one another prior to meeting, which doesn't seem to be the case here.

4. Meghan didn't have any say in the couple's engagement - Not true

During the third instalment of the series, Meghan speaks about the time they got engaged and how it was an "orchestrated reality show".

Looking back on the 2018 BBC interview, Meghan tells producers: "It was rehearsed. We did the thing outside with the press, we went right inside, took the coat off and did the interview. It was all in the same moment."

She adds: "My point is we weren't allowed to tell pour story because they didn't allow it."

At the time, the pair were interviewed by BBC journalist Mishal Husainm - who has disputed what Meghan said.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4 this morning, she said: "My recollection is definitely very much, asked to do an interview, and do said interview."

She added: "We know recollections may vary on this particular subject but my recollection is definitely very much, asked to do an interview, and do said interview."

5. The pair had to get engaged in the UK - Not true

Talking about their romance, Prince Harry said in the series that he was forced to ask Meghan to marry him in the UK.

He claims that he had to go to his grandmother, the Queen, for her approval to pop the question to Meghan, which he did whilst the pair were roasting a chicken for dinner.

He said: "I wanted to do it earlier but because I wanted to ask permission from my grandmother, I couldn't do it outside of the UK."

He also said that he had a magnum of champagne for the occasion.

He said: "I did pop a bottle of champagne while she was greasing the chicken and that kind of slightly gave the game away cos she was like 'You don't drink champagne. What’s the occasion?' I was like 'I just have it around'."

The Queen granted her formal permission to Harry to marry the Suits actress.

The letter from the Queen said: "I declare My Consent to a Contract of Matrimony between My Most Dearly Beloved Grandson Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales and Rachel Meghan Markle, which Consent I am causing to be signified under the Great Seal and to be entered in the Books of the Privy Council."

So while that part of the story is definitely true, it seems odd that Harry would be banned from doing it outside of the UK when his brother, Prince William, asked Princess Kate to marry him during a trip to South Africa.

6. Meghan says she rarely wore bright clothes in the UK to blend into background - Not true

In the third episode, Meghan says she wears neutral clothing whilst in the UK and didn't wear anything bright and colourful.

She said that she didn't want to clash outfits with the late Queen. She said: "When I was in the UK I rarely wore colour, I wore a lot of muted tones. I also wore it so I could just blend in," says Meghan. "I'm not trying to stand out here. I don't want to embarrass the family."

However, in various different photographs, Meghan can be seen donning bright outfits that are green, red and yellow.

The next three episodes will be released on Netflix next Thursday at 8am.

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