New Harry & Meghan trailer teases more tension amid social media uproar
Los Gatos, California - Volume Two of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Netflix docuseries is set to drop this Thursday, and the latest trailer shows that things are going to get more intense.
The first volume of the couple's new show dropped last week and mostly played it safe, with no direct attacks on any members of the royal family and a primary focus on the couple's respective upbringings and the early days of their romance.
With the next volume covering the couple's exit from their royal duties, it's safe to say that will not be the case any longer.
In the new trailer released Monday, the Duke of Sussex calls out his family's unwillingness to protect him and his new family with Meghan.
"They were happy to lie to protect my brother, but they were never willing to tell the truth about us," Harry said in the teaser.
Meghan also described feeling a significant lack of protection from the family. "I wasn't being thrown to the wolves; I was being fed to the wolves."
The clip also hints at Harry and Meghan's allegations that the palace has played an active role in spreading false stories to the media about them.
As the docuseries approaches the more tense topics of the couple's relationship with the royals, social media is running rampant with divisive reactions.
Meghan Markle's curtsy sparks backlash from British media
The critiques of the first part of Harry & Meghan have been largely scathing, with viewers from the UK among those angriest at the sentiment of the docuseries.
One particular moment from the show has gone viral, in which Meghan recounted her first meeting with Harry's grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The Duchess of Sussex reflected on how little she knew about royal family customs when she first met them.
When Harry asked her if she knew how to curtsy before her first meeting with the queen, Meghan admitted she thought he was joking. She then reenacted a bit of an over-enthusiastic curtsy, which some perceived as "disrespectful to the monarchy."
British media outlets were quick to slam Meghan's behavior in the clip, with conservative commentator Nile Gardiner going so far as to brand the moment "appalling" and an "embarrassment" to both the royal family and the US.
"Meghan is burning bridges on both sides of the Atlantic," he wrote in a string of tweets bashing the doc.
Viewers have noted that Harry appears uncomfortable as Meghan recreates her curtsy, but one can assume that if Harry were truly embarrassed by her actions, he and producers would have had it cut from the series.
Of course, the Queen's death in September makes the moment appear in poor taste more now than it would have been before. But as the pair's supporters have pointed out, Meghan was attempting to mock herself with the joke, not the royal family or its traditions.
Though there are many fans who have sung their praise for the couple and the docuseries, the disparaging commentary continuing to be waged against Meghan by a significant portion of the media – especially in the UK – only goes to show that perhaps the couple made the right decision with their royal resignation.
The extreme reactions to such a brief moment suggest that the upcoming Volume Two may ignite far more backlash aimed at the couple.
Cover photo: Chris Jackson / POOL / AFP