The Most Shocking 'Harry & Meghan' Bombshells

The long-awaited docuseries revealed some seriously shocking truths about the royal family.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's highly anticipated Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan dropped its first three episodes on Dec. 8, 2022, and the Sussexes wasted no time in dropping truth bombs along with it.

Related: How to Watch Harry & Meghan

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle 'Harry & Meghan' Revelations

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle met on Instagram.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle previously said they met on a blind date, which is somewhat true—but they revealed in their Netflix series that they actually communicated on Instagram quite a bit before meeting in person on their first date. The couple were introduced on the platform after Harry saw Markle communicating with a mutual friend via video—with a dog filter partially obscuring her beautiful face!

Related: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Reveal How They Really Met in Netflix Series Harry & Meghan

Prince Harry was late for his first date with Meghan Markle.

Markle said she almost wrote Harry off after he was late to their first date, but that he ended up being so sweet that she stuck around for it. She left after an hour, but made plans to see him again, which he said was "forward and American." She was late for their second date, but it's clear that neither of them minded!

Prince Harry had a list of things he wanted in a woman before meeting Meghan Markle.

When asked what was on the list, he refused to say specifically, but pointed to his wife and said, "This is the list!" She replied, "Good answer."

Related: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Accuse Palace of Racist Remarks About Archie

Prince Harry says the men in the royal family choose their wives with their heads, not their hearts—and that he chose Meghan Markle with his heart.

While discussing the fast pace of his romance with Markle, Harry alluded to his father King Charles' failed marriage to his mother, the late Princess Diana, noting, "I think for so many people in the family, especially to the men, there is a temptation, an urge, to marry someone who would fit the mold, as opposed to somebody you are perhaps destined to be with. The difference between making decisions with your head or your heart. My mum certainly made all her decisions from her heart, and I am my mother's son."

Related: Prince Harry Says Other Men in Royal Family Don't Marry for Love

Prince Harry was terrified that Meghan Markle would leave him if the media found out about them.

Harry recalled the media firestorm that descended upon all of his previous relationships, including that with Chelsy Davy and Cressida Bonas, and said other girls he was interested in didn't want to deal with the stress of being with a royal—which made it so important for him to keep his romance with Markle a secret.

"Every relationship I had, within a matter of weeks or mothers, was splattered across the newspapers," he said, leading to harassment for the ladies and their families. "When I got to meet M, I was terrified she would be driven away by the media, the same media who have driven so many people away from me. I knew the only way this could possibly work was by keeping it quiet for as long as possible."

"Everything was text and FaceTimes, and just talk for hours, and it just felt exciting," Markle said. "Which was weird because it wasn't exciting in the way that I feel most people would assume that it would be. It was long-distance from the beginning. It was just relaxed and easy. In the beginning, our relationship was this guarded little treasure. We just got to know each other, truly, like any other couple."

"I got to know Meghan more and more and I'm really falling in love with this girl," he recalled. "So in spite of my own fear, I just opened my heart to see what was going to happen."

Related: Harry and Meghan Believe ‘Little Accountability Has Been Taken’ by Royal Institution, According to a Source

Prince Harry said Meghan Markle reminds him of his mother Princess Diana.

"So much of what Meghan is and how she is is so similar to my mom," Harry said in Harry & Meghan. "She has the same compassion, she has the same empathy, she has the same confidence. She has this warmth about her."

As such, Harry felt the need to protect his wife more than ever.

"I accept that there will be people around the world who will fundamentally disagree with what I've done and how I've done it, but I knew that I had to do everything I could to protect my family, especially after what happened to my mum. I didn't want history to repeat itself."

Related: Meghan Markle Says Meeting Kate Middleton Was 'Jarring' in Harry & Meghan Netflix Series

Prince Harry said it was important for him to bring Meghan Markle to Africa.

Harry recalled that growing up, e felt more like himself when he was in Africa than when he was at home and hounded by media.

"Lesotho gave me the space, the freedom, to breathe, to live and to grow," he said. "I went to Africa sometimes three months at a time. I have a second family out there, a group of friends who literally brought me up. For me it's always been quite special. So it was absolutely critical to share it with Meg."

He said he was surprised that she agreed to go, noting, "I was astonished that she said yes. This woman that I've only known for two days!"

Related: Meghan Markle Thought Prince Harry Was Joking About Curtsying to Queen Elizabeth II

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said their first meeting in Botswana was awkward.

The couple admitted that their trip to Botswana started out awkwardly., as it was the first time they'd seen each other for a month.

"So I get there, this is the first time I've seen him in a month," Markle recalled. "Very awkward at first like, oh God, do we, do we kiss? Do we? And I just remember he handed me a chicken sandwich!"

Thankfully, it got better, and they quickly held hands, then kissed and felt fine.

"It just felt so right and so normal," Harry said.

"We could both just be completely ourselves. There was no distraction, there was no cellphone reception. There was no mirror, there was no bathroom, there was no, 'How do I look?'" Markle recalled. "Thankfully, we really liked each other!"

Related: Meghan Markle, Niece Slam Half-Sister in Netflix Series

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry had a strict two-week rule.

In the first few months of their relationship, Markle and Prince Harry had a two-week rule: They had to see each other at least once every 14 days.

Related: Prince Harry Says Royal Family Judged Meghan Markle for Being an American Actress

Meghan Markle's mother, Doria Ragland, speaks out for the first time.

Markle's mother, Doria Ragland, spoke out for the first time since the royal romance began. She recalled of meeting Prince Harry, "He's like 6'1," handsome man with red hair, really great manners. He was just really nice, and they looked really happy together. Like he was the one."

She added, "Once it was announced that they were together, it seemed kind of like a novelty."

Prince Harry says the royal family thought bullying in the media was a rite of passage from women who married into the monarchy and didn't understand the racism Meghan Markle faced.

Harry says in Harry & Meghan that while most of the royal wives encountered difficulties with the media, they were all encouraged to essentially keep calm and carry on—but that it was different for Markle. He explained that headlines like Markle being "(almost) straight out of Compton" were racist and that the rest of the monarchy couldn't wrap their heads around what made that different.

Meghan Markle said Kate Middleton and Prince William are 'formal' and were uncomfortable when she hugged them.

"When Will and Kate came over and I had met her for the first time, they came over for dinner," Markle recalled. "I remember I was in ripped jeans and barefoot."

She added emphatically, "Like I was a hugger, always been a hugger! I didn't realize that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits ... I guess I'd start to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside, carried through on the inside."

Related: Meghan Markle Says Kate Middleton Made Her Cry

Prince Harry wanted to propose to Meghan Markle earlier, but had to Queen's permission.

Harry said he wanted to ask Markle to marry him sooner but had to get the Queen's approval first, and as such couldn't propose outside of the U.K.

He says he took out “a bottle of Champagne while she [Markle] was roasting a chicken—and that kind of slightly gave the game away.” He explained, “She was like, ‘You never drink Champagne, what’s the occasion?’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know, I just had it like, lying around.'”

He then went into their yard and set up electric candles, telling Markle not to peek.

Markle quickly and clandestinely called a pal and whispered, "It's actually happening!"

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's engagement interview was rehearsed.

Markle revealed in Harry & Meghan that their BBC engagement interview was rehearsed, calling it an "orchestrated reality show."

Meghan Markle was shocked she had to curtsy to the Queen.

"My grandmother was the first senior member of the family that Meghan met," Harry said in the docuseries. "She had no idea what it all consisted of. So it was a bit of a shock to the system for her."

Markle recalled, "It's surreal. It wasn't like some big moment of like, 'Now you're going to meet my grandmother.' I didn't know I was going to meet her until moments before. We were in the car, and we were going to Royal Lodge for lunch. And he's like, 'Oh my grandmother's here, she's gonna be there after church.' "

She continued, "And I remember we were in the car and we were driving up and he's like 'You know how to curtsy right?' And I just thought it was a joke!"

Meghan Markle hit back at her half-sister's allegations—with defense from her niece.

Meghan hit back at her estranged half-sister Samantha's years of tabloid and TV claims about her being "Princess Pushy"—and enlisted Samantha's own biological daughter Ashleigh to bolster her defense.

"My biological mother, I hadn't seen her since I was six years old, and then in 2007, we reconnected," Ashleigh said. Ashleigh said she and Meghan became close around 2007, when they connected over email, and that Meghan has taken her on vacations and treats her like a little sister.

Meghan said of Samantha, "My half-sister, who I hadn't seen in a decade—and that was only for a day and a half—suddenly, it felt like she was everywhere. I don't know your middle name, I don't know your birthday, and you're telling people that you raised me and you've coined me 'Princess Pushy?'"

"I don't remember seeing her when I was a kid at my dad's house, if and when they would come around. And then the last time that I saw her that I remember is when I was in my early 20s," she added. "I hadn't had a fallout with her—we hadn't had the closeness to be able to have that. And I wanted a sister!"

Luckily she found a sister in Ashleigh!

Unfortunately, she wasn't able to invite Ashleigh to the royal wedding without creating a media firestorm because of Samantha, something that Ashleigh and Meghan both are sad about to this day.

Prince Harry said the royal family judged her for being an American actress.

"I remember my family first meeting her and being incredibly impressed. Some of them didn't quite know what to do with themselves," Harry said with a laugh in the documentary. "I think they were surprised. Maybe surprised that a ginger could land such a beautiful woman and such an intelligent woman."

He added, "But the fact that I was dating an American actress was probably what clouded their judgment more than anything else at the beginning. 'Oh she's an American actress—this won't last.' "

Meghan Markle rarely wore color as a royal.

Meghan said she was so desperate to blend in as a royal and seemingly disappear that she only ever wore neutral and muted colors.

"Most of the time that I was in the U.K., I rarely wore color. There was thought in that," she said. "To my understanding, you could never wear the same color as Her Majesty (Queen Elizabeth II) if there's a group event, but then you also shouldn't be wearing the same color as one of the other more senior members of the family."

Those members are Kate Middleton and Queen Consort Camilla.

"So I was like, 'Well, what's a color that they'll probably never wear?' Camel, beige, white," she continued, as photos flashed of her in a tan wrap coat during her first Sandringham Christmas. "So I wore a lot of muted tones, but it was also so I could just blend in. I'm not trying to stand out here. There was no version of me joining this family and me not doing everything I could to fit in. I don't want to embarrass the family."

Since leaving the royal family, Meghan has sported vibrant shades of blue, green and red, including in her final engagements as a royal.

Related: See Meghan Markle's Style Evolution From Suits Star to Royal to Montecito Superstar

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry detailed Meghan's strained relationship with her father Thomas Markle and him missing their royal wedding.

Harry and Meghan described the events leading up to her father Thomas Markle missing their royal wedding in May 2018.

Meghan and Harry's then-press secretary Jason Knauf was tipped off that staged photos of Thomas looking up Britain and his daughter's engagement were going to come out. He flagged it to Meghan and Harry, and Meghan contacted her father to ask if it was true he took money from tabloids. He told her no but she recalled in Harry & Meghan that she didn't believe him.

"I was absolutely stunned that Tom would become part of this circus. I was sad that the media would run with this," Doria Ragland said. "That he would capitalize—certainly as a parent, that's not what you do. That's not parenting."

Meghan said the "unraveling" happened when her father wouldn't pick up her calls and instead talked to TMZ the week of the royal wedding. She noted that she found out from TMZ that he wasn't attending the wedding. "Then suddenly they were saying he was in the hospital," she recalled, saying she was begging Thomas to pick up the phone.

"Calling, calling, calling, calling, and the world is watching this drama play out," she said, adding that she was just trying to understand what was going on. She said that a text exchange with her father was likely compromised because in a message he called her "Meghan" instead of "Meg."

"It's incredibly sad what happened," Harry said. “She had a father before this, and now she doesn’t have a father. And I shouldered that. If Meg wasn’t with me, then her dad would still be her dad.”

Tyler Perry is Lilibet's godfather.

Tyler Perry, who had never met Harry and Meghan when he offered them use of his $18 million mansion, is Lilibet Diana's godfather. After Lilibet was born, he recalled getting a serious-sounding call from the Sussexes.

"I go, 'Okay, what's going on?' They said, 'Well, we'd like for you to be Lili's godfather,'" Perry recalled in the final episode of the Netflix series. "I go, 'Whoa!' I had to take a minute to take that in. And I thought, 'I'd be honored. I'd absolutely be honored.' "

His one condition: The christening had to be stateside.

Related: Tyler Perry Dishes on Being Lilibet's Godfather

Prince Harry didn't think he handled Meghan Markle's suicidal ideation well.

Prince Harry admitted that when Meghan told him she was considering taking her own life, he didn't handle the revelation the way he wished he would have.

"I was devastated. I knew that she was struggling. We were both struggling, but I never thought that it would get to that stage," he admitted. "And the fact that it got to that stage, I felt angry and ashamed. I didn't deal with it particularly well. I dealt with it as 'institutional Harry' as opposed to 'husband Harry.' And what took over my feelings was my royal role."

He added, "I'd been trained to worry more about what are people gonna think if we don't go to this event, we're gonna be late. Looking back on it now, I hate myself for it. What she needed from me was so much more than I was able to give."

Prince Harry claims King Charles leaked Harry and Meghan Markle's move to Canada.

Before they decided to live in California, Prince Harry and Meghan considered a move to Canada, which Harry discussed with King Charles. Charles requested that Harry put his plan in writing via email, which he did, including the offer to relinquish their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles as needed. Five days later, the Canada plan was in a tabloid, Harry claims.

"It became clear that the institution leaked the fact that we were going to move back to Canada, and the key piece of that story that made me aware that the contents of the letter between me and my father had been leaked was that we were willing to relinquish our Sussex titles," Harry said. "That was the giveaway."

Once the Sussexes' plan to relocate to Canada was leaked to the media, they went back to the drawing board to find another home without public scrutiny.

Prince Harry says Prince William screamed and shouted at him over 'Sussexit.'

Prince Harry said that Prince William berated him during the "Sandringham Summit," which took place days after Harry and Meghan publicly announced they'd step down as senior royals.

"I went in with the same proposal that we'd already made publicly. But once I got there, I was given five options: one being all in no change, five being all out. I chose Option 3 in the meeting: half in, half out; have our own jobs but also work in support of the Queen," Harry said, noting that it became increasingly clear that "that goal was not up for discussion or debate ... It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me, and my father say things that simply weren't true and my grandmother quietly sit there and sort of take it all in."

Prince Harry believes Meghan Markle had a miscarriage because of tabloid reports.

Prince Harry alleged that Meghan's miscarraige was caused by the stress of her legal battle with The Mail on Sunday. Meghan sued the tabloid for publishing portions of a letter she wrote to her father urging him to stop talking to the media.

"I believe my wife suffered a miscarriage because of what the Mail did. I watched the whole thing," Harry said. "Now do we absolutely know that the miscarriage was created caused by that? Of course, we don't. Bearing in mind the stress that caused the lack of sleep and the timing of the pregnancy, how many weeks in she was, I can say from what I saw, that miscarriage was created by what they were trying to do to her."

Next, look back at Harry and Meghan's biggest confessions from their Oprah interview.