Prince Harry, Meghan Markle’s team defend Netflix trailer using stock footage

The Sussexes’ pals have brushed off complaints about stock footage in their Netflix trailer saying, “it’s not meant to be literal”.

A grab from Harry and Meghan docuseries trailer, released by Netflix. Picture: Netflix

People behind Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have come forward to say using stock images and footage is “standard practice” when making documentaries.

The comments follow the royal pair coming under fire after viewers realised that imagery used in the trailer for Netflix series Harry & Meghan, to suggest the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were bombarded by press, was actually snapped at a Harry Potter premiere that took place years before they even met, The New York Post’s Page Six reported.

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Teh trailer for Netflix’s Harry & Meghan has been criticised for using footage that was nothing to do with the couple to suggests they were being hounded. Picture: Netflix.

Since then it’s emerged several video excerpts and photos used in the trailer were used out of context to suggest they were being hounded or had nothing to do with the Sussexes at all.

One trailer segment showed scores of bustling media as Harry narrated, “I was terrified, I didn’t want history to repeat itself”.

But that footage was filmed outside a court case where British model Katie Price was appearing. Neither Meghan nor Harry were present.

This image used in the trailer was actually from a 2011 Harry Potter premiere in London before Harry had even met Meghan. Picture: Netflix

Yet those close to the documentary have insisted it’s perfectly fine to use completely unrelated imagery to attempt to prove a point.

“You use stock images to tell a story,” a source familiar with the project told Britain’sThe Telegraph newspaper. “It’s not meant to be literal in a trailer.”

The documentary is expected to be damaging to the Royal Family. Picture: Netflix

The source also added that Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, had no editorial control of the trailer but said the choice of footage was “standard practice in documentary and trailer production”.

Spokespeople for the Sussexes and Netflix didn’t immediately return Page Six’s request for comment.

British royal correspondent Robert Jobson on Monday accused the couple of faking the dramatic footage and clarified that one of the more serious moments photographed in the trailer was actually taken during a highly controlled, press-approved event.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, arrive at the 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award Gala at the Hilton Midtown in New York on December 6, 2022. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

“This photograph used by Netflix and Harry and Meghan to suggest intrusion by the press is a complete travesty,” Mr Jobson tweeted.

“It was taken from a accredited pool at Archbishop Tutu’s residence in Cape Town. Only three people were in the accredited position. [Harry and Megan] agreed the position. I was there.”

This photograph used by @Netflix and Harry and Meghan to suggest intrusion by the press is a complete travesty. It was taken from a accredited pool at Archbishop Tutu’s residence in Cape Town. Only 3 people were in the accredited position. H & M agreed the position. I was there. pic.twitter.com/nvjznlloLF

— Robert Jobson (@theroyaleditor) December 5, 2022

In the first two trailers, the couple describe royal life as a “dirty game” and use footage of Princess Diana and Kate Middleton being hounded by photographers while they talk about “the pain and suffering of women marrying into this institution.”

Harry & Meghan will release its first three episodes on Thursday, December 8. The next three will stream on December 15.

This article appeared in The New York Post and is reproduced with permission.