A white lens sees Harry and Meghan as villains – through a Black one, they’ve done Britain a favour

‘Long before the documentary had been seen, much of Britain’s media had agreed that Harry & Meghan was a “one-sided” freak show intent on tearing down the royal family.’ Photograph: Duke and Duchess of Sussex/Netflix/PA

Although it would be hard to reach this conclusion from reading any of the thousands of articles of negative copy the couple have generated, when Prince Harry fell in love with Meghan Markle, the royal family – and Britain more broadly – was gifted manna from soft-power heaven.

As well as her vast, obvious qualities (often demanded by such roles), Meghan also brought something less obvious: Blackness – a quality that could not have been more historically potent, given the circumstances.