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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix docuseries, titled Harry and Meghan, has dropped in part today – unveiling dramatic revelations about their time in the UK.

Here, Sky News highlights the key admissions made by Harry and Meghan, along with a few more surprises.

Screen Grabs taken from Harry and Meghan  Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan
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Episode 1

Harry and Meghan both appear candid from the off and ready to tell their version of events following their 2016 whirlwind romance.

After completing their final stint of royal engagements in March 2020, the 38-year-old prince says it is “really hard to look back on it now and go ‘what on earth happened’? Like, how did we end up here?'”

Harry and Meghan Netflix series – live updates

Women in the Royal Family

Prince Harry spoke about women in the Royal Family and said he had learnt “the pain and suffering of women marrying into this institution”.

He said: “I remember thinking how can I ever find someone who is willing and capable to be able to withstand all the baggage that comes with being with me.”

Harassment of Princess Diana

Prince Harry says his mother, Princess Diana, was “harassed throughout her life”.

He says: “My mum was harassed throughout her life with my dad, but after they separated, the harassment went to new levels.”

Harry goes on to say that the moment his mother divorced, she was “by herself”.

Screen Grabs taken from Harry and Meghan  Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan
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The royal couple had a ‘guarded’ relationship at the beginning. Pic: Netflix

Meeting on Instagram

Meghan reveals she wasn’t looking for a relationship the summer they met.

“I was really intent on being single, and just having fun all the time,” she says. “I had my career, I had my life, I had my path, uh, and then came H – I mean talk about plot twist.”

Then Harry reveals how they actually met…

“Meghan and I met over Instagram,” he says.

“I was just scrolling through my feed and someone who was a friend had this video of the two of them, like a Snapchat, with dog ears. That was the first thing – I was like ‘who is THAT?'”.

Archie heard speaking on TV for first time

The couple’s son, Archie, is heard speaking on TV for the first time six minutes into the episode.

As Meghan looks at the sunset, she asks Archie how he would describe it.

“It’s beautiful,” he says.

Screen Grabs taken from Harry and Meghan  Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan
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Archie is heard speaking on TV for the first time. Pic: Netflix

Fitting the mould

Harry reveals there was an urge for members of the Royal Family to marry someone who “fit the mould”.

He says: “I think for so many people in the family, especially the men, there could be a temptation or an urge to marry someone who would fit the mould as opposed to someone you are destined to be with.

“The difference between making a decision with your head or your heart.

“And my mum certainly made most of her decisions, if not all of them, from her heart. And I am my mother’s son.”

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Public pressures

How different Prince William and Harry were as children is explored in the first episode, and how the Royal Family reacted to the paparazzi.

Harry describes his childhood as “filled with happiness and laughter”, but added that “the majority of my memories are of being swarmed by paparazzi”.

He also describes how the Royal Family reacted to paparazzi: “Rarely did we have a holiday without someone with a camera jumping out of a bush or something. Within the family, within the system, the advice that’s always given is don’t react.

“Don’t feed into it. There was always public pressure, with its fair share of drama, stress and tears. And witnessing those tears. I could always see it on my mum’s face. And that was when I thought hang on what am I, who am I, what am I part of?”

Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award Gala in New York City, U.S., December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Meghan ‘similar’ to Princess Diana

Speaking about Meghan, Harry says: “So much of how Meghan is, and how she is, is so similar to my mum.

“She has the same compassion, she has the same empathy, she has the same confidence – she has this warmth about her.”

He adds that he accepts “there will be people around the world who fundamentally disagree with what I’ve done and how I’ve done it, but I knew that I had to do everything I could to protect my family”.

“Especially after what happened to my mum. You know I didn’t want history to repeat itself,” he says.

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Harry and Meghan: Key takeaways

Episode 2

Falling in love

Meghan reveals in episode 2 that the beginning of her relationship with Harry was “long distance” and “guarded”.

She says: “Everything was just texts and FaceTimes and we’d just talk for hours and it just felt exciting which is so weird because it wasn’t exciting in the way that people would assume that it would be.”

The former Suits actress describes the start of their romance as “relaxed and easy”.

Screen Grabs taken from Harry and Meghan  Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan
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Meghan says her relationship with Harry was ‘easy’ and ‘relaxed’

She says: “We just got to know each other. Truly, like any other couple when you’re figuring out… What do you like to eat, what do you like to cook? What kind of movies do you like?”

Speaking about the relationship, Harry says: “I got to know her more and more, I was like, ‘I’m really falling in love with this girl’. So in spite of my fear, I just opened my heart to see what’s going to happen.”

Meghan meets William and Kate in ripped jeans

Meghan said she found the Royal Family quite formal upon first meeting them, and revealed she first met Prince William and Kate while wearing a ripped pair of jeans.

She says she has always been a hugger and didn’t realise that was jarring for a lot of British people.

“I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside,” Meghan says.

“That there is a forward-facing way of being and then you close the door and ‘phew I can relax now’ but that formality carries over on both sides. And that was surprising to me.”

Prince Harry says the Queen was the first senior member of the Royal Family who Meghan met.

First death threat

Prince Harry describes the early stages of his relationship as a “combination of car chases, anti-surveillance driving and disguises”.

Meghan describes how she received a death threat while she was in Toronto after the huge surge of media attention she experienced.

She said when she got her first death threat “things changed because I needed to have security”.

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Prince Harry on ‘race element’

Harry revealed that members of the Royal Family questioned why the Duchess of Sussex should be “protected” when the couple raised newspaper headlines about her.

“The direction from the Palace was don’t say anything,” he says, adding that his family would ask why Meghan should receive “special treatment”.

“I said: ‘The difference here is the race element’.”

Meeting the Queen

In episode two, Meghan says she did not know what meeting the Queen would consist of and describes it as “all a bit of a shock”.

The Duchess of Sussex says: “I didn’t realise I was about to meet Queen, on way to a lunch and Harry asked, ‘You know how to curtsey right?'”

FILE - In this Tuesday, July 10, 2018 file photo Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, and Meghan the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry watch a flypast of Royal Air Force aircraft pass over Buckingham Palace in London. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are to no longer use their HRH titles and will repay ..2.4 million of taxpayer's money spent on renovating their Berkshire home, Buckingham Palace announced Saturday, Jan. 18. 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
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Meghan and Harry with the Queen in 2018

She goes on to say: “Now I’m realising this is a big deal, talks about curtseying and meeting the Queen, it was so intense.”

Speaking about introducing Meghan to his family, Harry says: “I remember my family first meeting her and being incredibly impressed, some of them didn’t know quite what to do with themselves.

“I think they were surprised. They were surprised a ginger could land such a beautiful woman, and such an intelligent woman.”

But he says his family’s judgement may have been clouded by the fact Meghan was an American actress, and thought, “this won’t last”.

Episode 3

Engagement interview

In the third episode, Meghan describes her engagement interview as “an orchestrated reality show”.

She said: “It was, you know, rehearsed, so we did the thing out with the press and then we went right inside, took the coat off, sat down and did the interview. So it was all in that same moment.”

The couple announced their engagement in 2017.

Adapting wardrobes

Meghan explains in episode three that she “rarely wore colour” during her time in the UK as she understood you could not wear the same colour as the Queen in a group event.

“But then you also should never be wearing the same colour as one of the other more senior members of the family. So I was like ‘well, what’s a colour that they’ll probably never wear?'”, she says.

Screen Grabs taken from Harry and Meghan  Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan
PIC:NETFLIX
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Meghan and Harry met in 2016. Pic: Netflix

“Camel, beige, white. So I wore a lot of muted tones, but it also was so I could just blend in.

“Like, I’m not trying to stand out here. So there’s no version of me joining this family and trying to not do everything I could to fit in. I don’t want to embarrass the family.”

Unconscious bias in Royal Family

The Duke of Sussex reveals in episode three there is a “huge level of unconscious bias” in the Royal Family, before the documentary refers to when Princess Michael of Kent wore a Blackamoor-style brooch to an event the Duchess of Sussex attended in 2017.

He says: “In this family, sometimes you are part of the problem rather than part of the solution. There is a huge level of unconscious bias.

“The thing with unconscious bias, it is actually no one’s fault. But once it has been pointed out, or identified within yourself you then need to make it right.

“It is education. It is awareness. It is a constant work in progress for everybody, including me.”

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Prince Harry takes aim at family

Nazi uniform ‘biggest mistake of my life’

Harry says wearing a Nazi uniform to a private party was “one of the biggest mistakes of my life” and that he felt “so ashamed afterwards”.

In 2005, Harry made headlines when he was pictured wearing a Nazi uniform with a swastika armband to a fancy dress party.

The pictures was published on the front page of The Sun newspaper under the headline: “Harry the Nazi”.

Clarence House later issued a statement which read: “Prince Harry has apologised for any offence or embarrassment he has caused. He realises it was a poor choice of costume.”

Googling the national anthem

Meghan opens up about her experience joining the Royal Family, the protocols and how she came to learn the British national anthem.

She says: “Joining this family, I knew that there was a protocol for how things were done. And do you remember that old movie The Princess Diaries, with Anne Hathaway?

“There’s no class, and some person who goes ‘sit like this, cross your legs like this, use your fork, don’t do this, curtsey then, wear this kind of hat’. It doesn’t happen”.

When asked how she learned the national anthem she says: “I googled it, and I’d sit, there, and I’d practice and I’d practice”.

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Michelle Trachtenberg: Gossip Girl and Buffy The Vampire Slayer actress dies aged 39

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Michelle Trachtenberg: Gossip Girl and Buffy The Vampire Slayer actress dies aged 39

Gossip Girl and Buffy The Vampire actress Michelle Trachtenberg has died aged 39.

The actress was found dead at her home in New York City after officers responded to a 911 call just after 8am local time this morning.

An investigation into her death has been opened but “criminality is not suspected”, police said.

Trachtenberg was best known for her work as Dawn Summers in Buffy, the younger sister of the title character played by Sarah Michelle Gellar between 2000 and 2003.

(L-R) Sarah Michelle Gellar and Michelle Trachtenberg in Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Pic: Rex/20th Century Fox/Everett/Shutterstock
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Sarah Michelle Gellar and Michelle Trachtenberg in Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Pic: Rex/20th Century Fox/Everett/Shutterstock

Between 2008 and 2012, she played Georgina Sparks on Gossip Girl – the malevolent rival of Blake Lively’s Serena van der Woodsen and Leighton Meester’s Blair Waldorf.

She also starred in the movie 17 Again, where she portrayed daughter Maggie O’Donnell, comedy film Eurotrip and the 2005 teen film Ice Princess.

(L-R) Blake Lively and Michelle Trachtenberg in Gossip Girl. Pic: Rex/CW Network/Everett/Shutterstock
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Blake Lively and Michelle Trachtenberg in Gossip Girl. Pic: Rex/CW Network/Everett/Shutterstock

Trachtenberg thanked Gellar for speaking out against Joss Whedon in 2021, following abuse allegations made against the Buffy showrunner.

“I am brave enough now as a 35-year-old woman to repost this,” she wrote on social media, and alluded to “his not appropriate behaviour” she experienced as a teenage actor.

In response to claims on the set of Buffy, Mr Whedon told Vulture that he was not as “civilised” as he was now and admitted yelling at the cast – but dismissed several other claims.

Meanwhile, her co-star on Gossip Girl Ed Westwick said in an Instagram Story that he was “so sad to hear of the passing of Michelle Trachtenberg sending prayers”.

Ed Westwick's  tribute to Trachtenberg on Instagram. Pic: Instagram/@edwestwick
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Ed Westwick’s tribute to Trachtenberg on Instagram. Pic: Instagram/@edwestwick

Trachtenberg’s first big break into Hollywood came in 1996, starring in the big screen adaptation of Harriet the Spy.

In 2001, she received a Daytime Emmy nomination for hosting Discovery’s Truth or Scare.

Her most recent film appearance came last year when she played the role of Michelle Cody White in Spyral.

Trachtenberg posted on social media in recent months to tell fans she was OK despite concerns that she appeared frail.

She responded to one commenter: “Did you lose a calendar and not realise I’m not 14. I’m 38.”

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Oscars 2025 performers include Wicked stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo

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Oscars 2025 performers include Wicked stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo

Wicked stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are set to perform at this year’s Oscars.

The duo, who starred as Glinda and Elphaba in the film adaptation of the musical last year, have been confirmed as performers at the biggest awards night of the year, having previously denied speculation when quizzed about it.

Also confirmed to be performing at the ceremony, which is taking place in Los Angeles on 2 March, are Doja Cat, Queen Latifah, British singer-songwriter Raye and Lisa of Blackpink – who is currently starring in season three of White Lotus.

There will also be a “special appearance” from the professional choir, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Academy announced on Tuesday.

Raye on stage during the BBC Radio1 Big Weekend at Stockwood Park, Luton. Picture date: Saturday May 25, 2024.
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Raye will also perform at the Oscars in LA. Pic: PA

Photo by: zz/XPX/STAR MAX/IPx 2024 9/28/24 Lisa of Blackpink performing in concert on September 28, 2024 at the Global Citizen Festival in Central Park, Manhattan, New York City. (NYC)
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Lisa of Blackpink will also take to the stage. Pic: AP

In a slight break from tradition, this year’s ceremony will not include live performances of the best original song nominees, which include: El Mal from Emilia Perez, The Journey from The Six Triple Eight, Like a Bird from Sing Sing, Mi Camino from Emilia Perez and Never Too Late from Elton John: Never Too Late.

What each performer will sing or when is unknown, but it is expected that Erivo and Grande will perform at least one song from Wicked.

Defying Gravity spent four weeks in the Top 10 of the UK’s official chart and became a viral sensation.

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Ultimate guide to film awards season

This year’s ceremony could prove to be even bigger for the two actresses, as they are both nominated for awards.

Erivo is nominated for best actress and Grande for best supporting actress, both for their roles in part one of Wicked, which landed the largest opening weekend for a stage musical adaptation.

The second part of the film, Wicked: For Good, will be released in November this year.

Read more:
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Kieran Culkin on A Real Pain: ‘I’d get defensive’
The prison drama based on a true story

Wicked is up against tough competition at this year’s Oscars, with a mixture of films and actors already having claimed prizes at the BAFTAs, Golden Globes and SAG Awards.

It heads into the Oscars with 10 nominations, the same as period drama The Brutalist, while Emilia Perez, a Netflix film starring Zoe Saldana and Karla Sofia Gascon, has broken the record for the most nominated non-English language film in Oscars history with 13 nods.

Watch and follow live coverage of the 97th Oscars on Sky News on Sunday 2 March.

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Woman admits trying to defraud Elvis Presley’s family by auctioning off Graceland

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Woman admits trying to defraud Elvis Presley's family by auctioning off Graceland

A woman has admitted attempting to defraud Elvis Presley’s family by trying to auction off his Graceland mansion and property before a judge halted the mysterious foreclosure sale.

Lisa Jeanine Findley had initially denied charges of mail fraud and aggravated identity theft in relation to the scheme but has now changed her plea in the two-count indictment.

Prosecutors had said Findley, of Kimberling City, Missouri, falsely claimed Presley’s daughter Lisa Marie had borrowed $3.8m (£3m) from a bogus private lender and had pledged Graceland as collateral for the loan before her death in January 2023.

Findley then threatened to sell Graceland to the highest bidder if Presley’s family did not pay a $2.85m (£2.25m) settlement, according to authorities.

She posed as three different people allegedly involved with the fake lender, fabricated loan documents and published a fraudulent foreclosure notice in a Memphis newspaper announcing the auction of Graceland in May 2024, prosecutors said.

A judge stopped the sale after Presley’s granddaughter and Lisa Marie’s daughter, actress Riley Keough, sued.

Experts were baffled by the attempt to sell off one of the most famous pieces of property in the country using names, emails and documents that were quickly suspected to be fake.

More on Elvis Presley

Lisa Jeanine Findley. Pic: NBC News
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Lisa Jeanine Findley. Pic: NBC News

Graceland opened as a museum and tourist attraction in 1982 and draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

A large Presley-themed entertainment complex across the street from the museum is owned by Elvis Presley Enterprises.

Presley, known as the King of Rock and Roll, died in August 1977 at the age of 42

Elvis Presley
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Elvis Presley

Keough, who inherited the trust and ownership of the home after the death of her mother, filed a lawsuit claiming fraud against Findley and a judge halted the proposed auction with an injunction.

Naussany Investments and Private Lending – the bogus lender authorities say Findley created – said Lisa Marie Presley had used Graceland as collateral for the loan, according to the foreclosure sale notice.

The judge said Elvis Presley’s estate could be successful in arguing that a company’s attempt to auction Graceland was fraudulent.

Read more from Sky News:
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Lisa Marie Presley. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Lisa Marie Presley. Pic: Reuters

Ms Keough’s lawsuit alleged that Naussany presented fraudulent documents regarding the loan in September 2023 and that Ms Presley never borrowed money from Naussany.

After the scheme fell apart, Findley tried to make it look like the person responsible was a Nigerian identity thief, prosecutors said.

An email sent on 25 May 2024 to the Associated Press from the same email as the earlier statement said in Spanish that the foreclosure sale attempt was made by a Nigerian fraud ring that targets old and dead people in the US and uses the internet to steal money.

Riley Keough. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Riley Keough. Pic: Reuters

In a statement, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti called the scheme “nonsense” and praised the work of federal authorities.

“Graceland matters so much to so many people around the world – just go to Memphis during Elvis Week and listen to all the different accents and languages of fans who make the pilgrimage,” Mr Skrmetti said.

“All of Tennessee is glad that Graceland remains safely in the possession of Elvis’s heir and that it will remain a celebrated Memphis landmark for generations to come.”

Findley will be sentenced on 18 June and would have faced up to 20 years if convicted, but she is expected to receive less than that under the plea deal.

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