‘Hollow, meaningless’: World media reacts to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s docu-series

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s bombshell docu-series has sparked mixed reactions from the world’s media.

Just 24 hours since its premiere on Netflix, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s bombshell docu-series has sparked mixed reactions from the world’s media.

The first three episodes of Harry & Meghan dropped on Thursday night. News of the show appeared on the front pages of newspapers across Europe, America and Australia.

Many of the media outlets reported that the series was “explosive” and has “the world talking and the royal family bracing for the worst.”

“There’s no turning back for anyone”, Germany’s Bild newspaper wrote, while America’s NBC said the Sussexes had “renewed [their] clash with British Royals”.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s bombshell docu-series has sparked mixed reactions from the world’s media. Picture: Netflix

Germany's Bild newspaper wrote “There's no turning back for anyone”. Picture: Bild

However, not everyone was impressed with the program.

France’s Le Figaro labelled Harry & Meghan as “hollow”, “meaningless’’ and said it contains “no startling revelations”.

The publication noted that Harry and Meghan are willing to share everything about themselves despite previous statements that they want a life away from the media.

“We expected startling revelations. It is not so,’ the outlet’s Madame magazine said, adding that: “After watching the first episode, we remain perplexed.”

It continued: “At the beginning of the year 2020, they said to leave the royal family to live away from the media … But no, they are the ones who share everything now.

“Meghan and Harry complain that their story is slipping away from them, that the media is scrutinising their every move, and on the other hand, they are just fuelling the media hype.

“The release of the documentary so dreaded by Buckingham is on the front page of all the [British] tabloids this Thursday. And that, Meghan and Harry have understood well. They are playing with fire - at the risk of burning their wings.”

The Irish Independent labelled the series “controversial”. Picture: The Irish Independent

Italian newspaper Corriere wrote that Harry & Meghan “launches a harsh j’accuse against the press and the impossibility of leading a normal existence within the Windsors” but “contains no new revelations”.

“It seems centred more on the relationship between the two protagonists and on intimate moments in their history,’’ the paper added.

The Irish Times called the show a “gloopy and sometimes unwatchable plunge into Planet Sussex’ that is ‘largely a rehash of what we already know”.

“The Sussexes tell us what a terrible time they’ve had and we sit there and bask in the blinding glow of their mutual appreciation,” the outlet added.

“The result [is] a pre-Christmas bacchanalia of navel-gazing that will make you glad there are other things to watch on Netflix and, more importantly, that we in this country aren’t lumbered with a royal family.”

Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf wrote: “The first three episodes offer little news but mainly paint an even more concrete picture of what Harry and Meghan have already complained about.”

Pointing out that Harry & Meghan was released exactly three months after Queen Elizabeth II’s death, the New Zealand Herald said the “timing couldn’t be worse” for the Royal Family.

The Irish Independent labelled the series “controversial” while Norwegian site VG called it as a “TV bomb”.

Norwegian site VG called the series as a “TV bomb”. Picture: VG

Harry & Meghan is a six-part Netflix series directed by Oscar-nominee Liz Garbus. It is the flagship offering in the couple’s rumoured $183 million multi-year content deal with the streaming giant.

It’s a project that has been in the works for months, with two trailers being released in the past two weeks, both making headlines around the world.

Since its launch, the show has sparked controversy for the use of “fake” and “misleading” photos which have been exposed in detail, including one paparazzi picture taken from the Harry Potter premiere in 2011.

The next and final three will drop in one week on December 15.