Harry and Meghan Netflix teaser: 1 minute long and still fits Kate

It is barely over a minute long and contains only two lines of dialogue between the pair. But don’t let the beauty of the Athena poster or its palace fool you: the teaser for Netflix’s new Meghan and Harry series has landed like an unexploded bomb in yet another worst week for the British royal family, in a long line of worst weeks.

The timing is so flawless that it’s hard to believe this is just a happy coincidence and not the final drop at the mic. The teaser arrived less than 24 hours after a former First Lady of the Queen, Dame Susan Hussey, was forced to resign from the royal family over her questioning of the founder of a black British charity, Ngozi Fulani, about where she was “really from”.

The teaser, a prequel to the six-part documentary series about the couple that follows later this month, features several moody black-and-white photos of the Montecito Two grouping to music, one photo of a pouting Kate, and two shots of a crying Meghan. It’s pretty clear where this is headed. We’re talking 10 parts love story and 1 part revenge story. The Daily Express has no doubt: “Harry, do you really hate your family so much?” Today’s front page sadly asks.

Their relationship story is admirably condensed into an Instagram reel-length vignette. There Harry and Meghan smile devotionally at each other in the rain! There Harry sings to Meghan with a guitar! Here they are on holidays! There they are again, spontaneously strolling into the kitchen as the photographer happens to snap them!

Cue the pace of change. Oh no, Megan is crying on the phone! And here’s why: Kate throws daggers at the photographer from the church bench!

“No one sees what happens behind closed doors,” Harry chants over a picture of Meghan crying and Kate frowning. He presumably means this metaphorically, as the third person in their marriage appears to be an ever-present photographer. “I had to do everything I could to protect my family,” he says.

William described the comments made by Dame Susan Hussey – who happened to be his godmother – as “deeply unfortunate” and “unacceptable”. You suspect his response to the joke might be less reserved

“When the stakes are high, wouldn’t it make more sense to hear our story from us?” Megan asks rhetorically.

This is vague enough that it could be an indefinite reference to the royal family’s future as an institution. Or it could be that Pop was vocal about recent accusations of racism being leveled at members of William’s next-door family. The new Prince of Wales described the comments made by Hussey – who happens to be his godmother – as “deeply unfortunate” and “unacceptable”. You suspect his response to the joke might be less reserved.

Netflix describes the films as an “unprecedented and in-depth docuseries” that will present “the other side of their high-profile love story…the secret days of their early courtship and the challenges that led them to feel forced to move back from their full-time roles at the Enterprise.”

“With commentary from friends and family, most of whom have never before spoken publicly about what they have seen,” Bian continues, “the series does more than shed light on one couple’s love story: it paints a picture of our world and how we relate to each other.”

Ouch. Reports circulated after the Queen’s death that Harry and Meghan sought to soften some of the documentary’s revelations out of respect for his grandmother. This is starting to sound a lot like wishful thinking.