Meghan and Harry say 'we never said Megxit was about privacy' trends now

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry today denied they quit royal duties and emigrated to the US because they wanted privacy as they justified their Netflix documentary charting the most intimate moments of their courtship and marriage.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have shared dozens of new pictures, as well as footage, of themselves and their children Archie and Lilibet at home, photographs from their first dates and even footage of Harry proposing which Meghan apparently 'live-streamed' to a friend.

The couple even handed over 15 hours of personal video they had recorded in the early months of 2020, according to director Liz Garbus, who dodged questions about how much control the Sussexes had over the shows, calling the completed series a ‘collaboration’.

Experts have claimed that their decision to give up their royal duties was a sign they wanted to live more privately. Harry himself said that Megxit, he hoped, would lead him and his family 'into what I hope will be a quieter life' and the couple have launched several high profile privacy court cases in the UK.

But their spokesman Ashley Hansen has ridiculed the suggestion that Megxit was ever about privacy, and told The New York Times: 'Their statement announcing their decision to step back mentions nothing of privacy and reiterates their desire to continue their roles and public duties.

'Any suggestion otherwise speaks to a key point of this series. They are choosing to share their story, on their terms, and yet the tabloid media has created an entirely untrue narrative that permeates press coverage and public opinion. The facts are right in front of them'.

The new Netflix series raises questions over when they first planned to make a documentary.

Harry's introductory monologue in episode one was him staring down his mobile phone lens from Heathrow Airport's VIP Windsor Suite as the couple ended of their royal duties in March 2020 and emigrated to North America.

Director Liz Garbus, who took over from documentarian Garrett Bradley who left the project, said: 'You're right there with Harry in the Windsor Suite processing the fact that he's leaving the royal family for the first time in his life.

'Then there was another clip with Meghan at home, alone, fresh out of the shower, her hair in a towel, no makeup, processing on her end what their life might actually be like.

'It's very personal and raw and powerful, and it made me appreciate the incredible weight that went into their decision. It also affirmed the choice I had made about wanting to unravel how this historic break came to be.'

The row over privacy will no doubt be debated again when Harry's memoir 'Spare' is released in January.

During a speech given in London just hours after Megxit was announce in January 2020, Harry addressed a charity event where he said that he had taken the decision for his family so they could 'take a step forward into what I hope will be a quieter life'.

Before Megxit, major events were dominated by privacy rows.

In May 2019, when Archie was born, they delayed the announcement so they had the chance to 'celebrate privately as a new family.' The Queen's former spokesman Dickie Arbiter said at the time: 'The birth of Archie was a complete disaster. The secrecy made a mockery of the whole thing'.

Meghan told Oprah in 2021: 'I think everyone has a basic right to privacy. Basic. We're not talking about anything that anybody else wouldn't expect'. But she denied that Megxit was about privacy itself, pointing to their statement that talked about financial independence from the royals so they could 'embark on the next chapter in our lives'.

It emerged that the couple had started filming themselves and giving interviews as far back as March 2020, and continued until August this year, just weeks before the Queen's death. 

A source said: 'This was all being filmed while both the Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen – Harry's grandparents – were suffering from serious ill-health and in the last few months of their lives.

'They even came over to mark Her Majesty's Jubilee while colluding with the filmmakers, without telling her what they were doing.

'That's shameful and cowardly. There are a lot of people who are glad the late Queen is not here to see it.'

The pair, whose limited series was released on the streaming giant at 8am this morning in the UK, self-shot a number of intimate 'video diaries' for the show.

But the timing of them suggest the plan for some kind

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