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ABC News
ABC News
National
Rebecca Armitage in Washington DC

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's trailer for their new Netflix documentary just dropped. Here's what we learned

Netflix has released its trailer for the much-anticipated, six-part documentary series on Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. 

The 59-second video features several intimate photos of the couple in various stages of their relationship, including their wedding reception and Meghan's pregnancy. 

Harry, who is fifth in line to the throne, stepped back from his duties as a senior working royal two years ago, and vowed to become financially independent.

They now live in California with their son Archie and their daughter Lilibet.

Since their exit, rumours have swirled of a rift between the couple and Harry's royal relatives in the UK. 

The Netflix trailer was released just as Harry's brother Prince William and his wife Catherine began a tour of the US. 

Here's everything we learned from the clip. 

'I had to do everything I could to protect my family' 

Netflix says the series will explore the "clandestine days of their early courtship" when Meghan was still working as an actress in the US. 

But the streaming giant also promises it will address head-on "the challenges that led to them feeling forced to step back from their full-time roles in the institution". 

At one point in the clip, Prince Harry explains his decision to leave. 

"I had to do everything I could to protect my family," he says. 

The video then shows a black-and-white image of Meghan, in which she appears to be crying while speaking on the phone. 

The documentary comes 18 months after the couple gave a bombshell interview to Oprah Winfrey about their experiences as working royals. 

In the interview, which was watched by 17 million viewers in the US alone, Harry and Meghan claimed she had been the victim of institutional racism.

They said bullying from the British tabloids and a lack of empathy from their relatives left Meghan contemplating suicide. 

In the Netflix trailer, Meghan outlines her decision to speak out again.

"When the stakes are this high, doesn't it make more sense to hear our story from us?" she says. 

The rumoured beef between Harry and William 

The trailer does not directly address reports that relations between Prince Harry and his older brother William have been strained since the Duke of Sussex left the UK.

But it does include one memorable photo taken of Harry and Meghan, in which they sit stony-faced behind the Prince and Princess of Wales. 

The picture was taken several months after they announced plans to step back as senior royals. 

They returned briefly to the UK to attend the annual Commonwealth service at Westminster Abbey, but beyond a brief acknowledgement, they did not publicly interact with their family. 

"No-one sees what's happening behind closed doors," Harry says as the photo appears. 

The timing of the trailer's release is sure to raise a few eyebrows in the UK. 

Prince William and Kate are in Boston this week to attend the Earthshot Prize ceremony, which rewards entrepreneurs who are working on breakthrough climate solutions.

The trip was yesterday overshadowed when William's godmother Lady Susan Hussey stepped down from her honorary role at Buckingham Palace.

Lady Hussey apologised after repeatedly asking a black woman attending at a function at the palace to explain her ethnic origins. 

"Racism has no place in our society," Prince William said through a spokesman. 

The Royal family has been in damage control since Harry and Meghan claimed that an unidentified relative voiced concerns about the skin tone of their then-unborn son, Archie. 

“We’re very much not a racist family," William said to a reporter days after the Oprah interview was broadcast. 

The doco is just the beginning for Prince Harry

Netflix hasn't confirmed a release date yet, but US media is reporting that the first episode will become available on December 8. 

"The series does more than illuminate one couple's love story, it paints a picture of our world and how we treat each other," Netflix says. 

But there are plenty more opportunities for the couple to air their grievances in the coming weeks. 

They are expected to travel to New York on December 6 to accept the prestigious Robert F Kennedy Human Rights award for fighting racial injustice. 

And Prince Harry's highly anticipated memoir, titled Spare, is to be published in January.

His publisher Penguin Random House says Harry takes readers "immediately back to one of the most searing images of the 20th century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother's coffin as the world watched in sorrow — and horror".

"With its raw, unflinching honesty, Spare is a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief." 

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