The unbelievable narcissism of Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary

‘Why did you want to make this documentary?’ That is the question – over portentous piano chords – that begins the trailer for the next instalment in the apparently endless Sussex saga, Harry and Meghan. The answers that the viewer might supply: publicity-seeking on a grand scale; unbelievable narcissism– are not uttered. Instead, over stylised black and white photographs of the duo kissing, being crazily in love and every inch the perfect couple, Harry replies, with becoming grimness, ‘No one sees what’s happening behind closed doors.’ Cue pictures of Meghan apparently in tears looking at her phone; the Royal Family aloof and cold; and a million photographers, their cameras thrust priapically aloft. Oh, the drama.

For those of us who were beginning to tire of the Harry and Meghan saga, this much-ballyhooed Netflix documentary represents a significant play for our attention. It has been much teased and discussed, not least because it was suggested that its broadcast date was to be delayed, due to concerns that its content was too incendiary in the wake of the Queen’s death.