Prince Harry and Meghan Markle: Aussies don’t believe Sussexes wild doco claims

A survey has revealed Aussies massively distrust the claims the Sussexes made in their bombshell Netflix docuseries. Have your say.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Picture: AFP

Australians overwhelmingly do not believe the wild claims Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made in their controversial Netflix docuseries, a survey as found.

More than 3500 News Corp readers responded to a poll asking: ‘Do you believe Harry and Meghan‘s claims about their royal life in their Netflix series?’.

A staggering 89 per cent of respondents said no, meanwhile just 7 per cent said they did believe the couple and a further 4 per cent were unsure.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in the new docuseries, Harry & Meghan. Picture: AFP

A second poll asked readers if they would watch the couple’s Netflix docuseries.

Of the almost 3000 replies, only five per cent indicated they would, compared to 86 per cent responding with “No, I loathe them”, and a further nine per cent unsure.

Have your say in our polls below.

If comes as body language Dr Louise Mahler, gives us a specific insight into the Sussexes’ controversial Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan.

From Meghan Markle’s “lack of believability” to Prince Harry’s open wounds over the death of his mother, the late Princess Diana, here’s what you might have missed in the first three episodes.

HARRY & MEGHAN EPISODE ONE

“My initial thoughts were ‘poor sad Harry,’” Dr Mahler says.

“When Harry talks of ‘personal account’, he seems to associate that with ‘truth’ as though this is an absolute concept, which only heightens a picture of his naivety.
“What is clear and reinforced as truth is that Prince Harry is his mother’s son; that separation from the ‘family’ in Africa was the making of him as a ‘man’; that the royal family are ‘bad’ and ‘wrong’; that Meghan needs to be free and that he must protect her as his mother protected him.

In the series Prince Harry says he feels he had to “protect” Meghan Markle as his mother protected him. Picture: Getty Images

‘IN A TOTAL STATE’

“From the beginning Harry appears in a total state: fingers contorting around each other, licking dry lips in panic and asking ‘how did we end up here’, the line, in its intonation sounded rehearsed. Meghan is as ever the performer with her leg up and her hair in towel, speaking with long pauses – who does that?

A body language expert has said that Prince Harry appeared to be “in a state” when being interviewed for the series. Picture: Netflix

“The reality may be more about a young man who is sexually besotted by this beauty and clearly heartbroken by his mother’s death. His voice breaks when he speaks of his late mother: ‘It was too much,’ he says as his voice breaks and his throat closes.”

“The episode also shows that Harry is proud of the name he earnt in Africa – ‘warrior’ – and that he lives by that mantra.

“Meghan speaks in a regularly manufactured breathy voice, showing that she is excited by the fame. We hear this tone again as she whispers the story of the rustling outside the tent she shares with Harry in Botswana, as her voice dramatically shifts to say, ‘I believed him’ and the actress emerges again.

A body language expert has said that Meghan Markle is putting on a performance in Netflix’s Meghan & Harry. Picture: Netflix.

‘LACK OF BELIEVABILITY’

“She comes across as attempting to be a woman who depicts herself as Diana, however Meghan is very different to the women who went before her,” Dr Mahler says.

“The is a constant lack of believability as Meghan speaks. Towards the end of episode one, she speaks of the experience being ‘so overwhelming’ yet shows no emotion whatsoever. “When she talks of how she and Harry ‘really liked each other’, her eyes are closed as though she is forcing a sense if emotion. She seems to be forcing again as she speaks about Harry saying he ‘will keep me safe.’

The couple is interviewed in Meghan & Harry. Picture: Netflix

“There is a constant sense of the invented as Meghan speaks with a feigned breathiness as she says things like, ‘I don’t know what to say’ when she very much does.

“Harry comes across as genuine, like when he talks about when they met and how he quickly fell in love, whereas Meghan talks of when they met and how ‘fun’ and refreshing it was. She then rubs her nose, which is a sign of deceit,” explains Dr Mahler.

“A key moment was in the telling of the start of their union, which is a relationship of a narcissist and her victim. He was late; she had rules and was going to leave.

Meghan Markle has revealed Prince Harry was late to their first date. Picture: Netflix

“Next time, she was late, but she a had a reason – she had to have a shower. If you listen to Harry’s broaching of the memory, there is much trepidation. Yet Meghan shows no humour about it.

“When Harry talks of making decisions with his head or heart he says his ‘heart is from his mother’ and that he is his ‘mother’s son’.

“When he speaks of the family, he grits his teeth as he is asked, ‘What am I part of?’, Harry is wearing two hats of grief – one for his mother and another for the royal family.

Meghan Markle said that she thought having to curtsy to the Queen was “a joke”. Picture: Getty Images

“The issues with the family do seem to predate Meghan as Harry talks of being forced into smiling and answering questions, which is clear he never saw as fair. He sees his mother in Meghan – someone who speaks her truth, yet he cannot see that, unlike Diana, Meghan is desperate to be the centre of attention.

“Overall episode one is an attempt to frame a perfect romance next to the backdrop of the tragic loss of Diana; to frame Meghan in the Diana role and Harry as her protector, but sadly for Meghan, as hard she may try, she is no Diana.

Prince Harry said he married for “love”, suggesting other members of the royal family have not. Picture: Netflix

EPISODE TWO: MEGHAN IN A WHOLE NEW LIGHT

“Episode two is the Meghan the world has been waiting to see. Her happiness with her father; her own natural gestures and voice.

“It was lovely to see her as a young girl and what wonderful endearing footage,” says Dr Mahler.

“But when Meghan spoke of formality of royal life that surrounded Kate and William, you can feel that she doesn’t connect to them. You can also sense the disrespect when she said that she thought it ‘was a joke’ to courtesy the Queen, although that can also be put down to her being young and immature.

The series included never before seen photos of the famous family. Picture: Netflix

“In this episode, Harry’s sense of humour shines through as he takes great joy and pride in calling himself a ‘ginger’.

“Throughout Meghan showed an ease of body language and her pics showed a fun and vibrant young woman – someone who loves life and is well-liked.

“Seeing footage of her speak in 2015 was eye-opening – I had never heard her sound like that previously, with a relaxed face, gestures and a voice that is far different to how she is today.

The series shows Meghan Markle in a “new light”, says body language expert Louise Mahler. Picture: Netflix

“At the engagement, her face changes, her gestures become tight, her elbow is pulled tight into her body and she starts brushing her hair away from her face.

“The relaxed, beautiful smile is no longer there. Her teeth are showing but there’s no eye smile. Meghan’s life in the harsh royal spotlight was no fairytale, it has taken a toll, which has changed Meghan and Harry forever – all very sad.”

EPISODE THREE: ‘WOKE ROYALS’

“I would describe this as the nothing-to-see-here episode. It basically sets up that they are a ‘woke’ couple existing in an unconsciously biased family.
“The entire episode is more a reflection on Britain and a monarchy linked to colonialism and slavery. Harry and Meghan want the world to know that it’s history they find highly offensive – yet it is likely the British who will take greater offence to the linkage,” says Dr Mahler.

“Showing the tenses of a controlled environment and showing how they despised it through their muted tones.”

Royal life did not sit well with Meghan Markle. Picture: Getty Images

FAMILY TIES

“The discussion around Meghan’s father and the couple not inviting Meghan’s niece, Ashleigh, to the wedding came across very poorly.

“Meghan’s niece [daughter of Markel’s estranged half-sister, Samantha] came across as broken, yet to Meghan and Harry it was business and as for the father, while you can understand the anger in the lead up the wedding and disruption he was causing, more compassion would have shown a softer side – at the end of it all we are left wondering whether Harry and Meghan suffer unconscious bias towards Meghan’s family – which they seem to tale no responsibility for.

“At the end of it all, the series finishes with, ‘No one know the whole truth. We know the truth’. There is no truth, it’s another narrative controlled for the audience they want to reach.

“It makes me wonder what the Queen would think – no doubt she would be sad that it has come this and the dirty laundry has been exposed, but perhaps she may also think, why could he not have met a nice girl like our own Princess Mary – someone who would not have helped cause the family so much pain.”

Originally published as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle: Aussies don’t believe Sussexes wild doco claims