Meghan Markle makes brief cameos in Prince’s Harry’s Netflix series about Invictus Games

Meghan Markle only appears briefly in Prince Harry’s new Netflix series The Heart of Invictus in scenes where she supports the duke, it emerged today.

The Duke of Sussex, 38, has finally released his Invictus Games documentary about Netflix this morningas the latest project in the Sussexes’ £80 million deal with the streaming giant.

Harry is the executive producer and the show is part of the Sussexes’ deal with Netflix – with the main output so far being last year’s controversial Harry & Meghan documentary, which included a series of swipes at members of the royal family. contained.

However, the Duchess, 42, appears very little in the five-episode series – only occasionally appearing in the background of scenes to offer Harry commentary and support.

The release comes as the couple prepares for their first performance together since attending the Women in Vision Award in New York in May.

The Duchess only appears on camera in four of the episodes of the five-part docuseries.

During the first episode of the series, Meghan can be seen joining Harry at the November 2021 Salute to Freedom Gala in New York.

The couple can be seen arriving at the event, with the Duke confiding in the Duchess about how nervous he is for an upcoming speech.

He tells her, “We haven’t done this in a while,” while Meghan replies, “I know.”

Harry continues, “My heart is like digidigadigadiga.”

Later, in the fourth episode, the couple sit down to discuss the Invictus Games in The Hague.

The couple discuss how the day’s events are “tense” and tough and they get a chance to meet the Ukrainian team.

Meanwhile, there are also photos of the couple backstage at the games taking part in a group therapy session, before arriving for the opening ceremony where Meghan called the crowd “incredible.”

Meghan can also be seen speaking at the opening ceremony of the Games to introduce Harry on stage, in footage broadcast live at the time.

She said, “Thank you so much for your services and thanks to all the friends and family who are here and have supported you along the way.

Because this is service, this is devotion, and this is the Invictus family.

“Please welcome my incredible husband, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex.”

Harry then thanked his wife for the introduction and continued, “Thank you my dear.”

In another episode, the Duke of Sussex prepares his speech in The Hague, holding several scraps of scruffy paper – as he jokes, this is ‘how not to give a speech’.

While Harry laughs slightly nervously, Meghan stands next to him in a crisp white suit and smiles – while the couple’s adviser, James Holt, goes over the Duke’s notes.

James jokes to Harry, “At least you can read your writing!”

Meanwhile, the duke, watching the speech, says, “How on earth do I pronounce that?” while pointing to a name in the text.

James and Meghan, unsure themselves, come to Harry’s aid as James says he will check the name: General Onno Eichelsheim.

General Eichelsheim is in the Royal Netherlands Air Force and is the current Chief of Defense of the Netherlands, who is thanked in his speech by the Duke of Sussex for helping to put together the Invictus Games 2022.

Harry continues to mispronounce the name while James says he’ll go check the correct pronunciation.

Meghan then appears to write the name in her phone and play it to check the pronunciation of the name.

She keeps repeating the statement aloud to help her husband, and plays the automation again, laughing, saying, “One more time.”

In the next scene, Harry gives his speech and reaches the name he has difficulty pronouncing. He pauses and takes a deep breath before doing so, which causes a laugh from the audience.

He then pronounces the name perfectly as a beaming Meghan looks on proudly.

And the Duchess doesn’t appear in any of the episodes at all – despite the Invictus Games being an important milestone for the couple in their relationship.

The Invictus Games was where the couple chose to make their first public appearance together nearly five years ago.

Meghan made her first appearance in an official engagement that Harry attended on September 24, 2017, when she attended the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games in Toronto, Canada, though the couple sat about 18 seats apart.

The next day, the pair emerged hand in hand to make their first official public appearance together in wheelchair tennis.

Until this year, the royal couple was known for putting on a united front, including during the inflammatory interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.

Harry was also in the audience with New York schoolchildren when Meghan promoted her book The Bench.

But when Harry released his explosive memoir Spare, which blasted his family and revealed that he had killed 25 Taliban fighters, Meghan was conspicuously absent from any promotion or interviews.

She would have stayed away because she was accused of “trying to steal the limelight” – but “media savvy” Meghan may also have expressed mild concerns about whether the book was the right move, an insider told the Telegraph.

The source said, “Is this the way she would have approached things? Possibly not. But she will always support him and would never have gotten involved in promoting such a personal project. This was about his own life, his journey and his own perspective.’

The publication of the book coincided with Harry’s popularity falling to an all-time low following the fallout from his memoirs – both in the US and Britain.

A source close to the couple said Meghan was “more wary” about the deeply personal memoir than the prince, adding that she may have expressed “gentle concerns”.

It has also been argued that “truth bombs” revealed in Harry’s book could have “serious consequences” for his wife Meghan’s political ambitions.

The gig comes amid a rough patch for the couple, with pundits saying Prince Harry is “starting to lose his star power” and has become a “lightning rod for negative PR.”

The Invictus documentary is under pressure to become a viewing success after the couple’s other lucrative media deal with Spotify ended in June after one season of Meghan’s podcast Archetypes. Netflix unveiled the first trailer for the series on August 16.

Following news that the Sussexes’ Spotify deal had been canceled in June, rumors circulated that the couple’s Netflix deal could suffer the same fate.

But the streaming platform subsequently spoke out in support of the couple, with a Netflix spokesperson saying on June 27: “The bond with Archewell Productions is one we deeply appreciate. Our exciting journey with them is not ending soon.’

A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan confirmed on August 24 that the Duchess will be attending the Invictus Games next month with the Duke.

Meghan is expected to miss the opening ceremony, but she will fly to Europe and join Harry shortly after the start of the event, which will see participants from 21 countries – including newly added participants Colombia, Israel and Nigeria.

Before the Invictus Games kick off, Harry travels to Britain to attend a charity awards ceremony on the eve of the first anniversary of the late Queen’s death.

Harry will be celebrating the achievements and resilience of seriously ill young people and their families, supported by the WellChild charity, at the event to be held in London on September 7.