Meghan Markle is clever at 'marketing herself, ditching Harry in the background': Neil Sean
Royal commentator Neil Sean joins 'Fox & Friends' to discuss Netflix's release of a new documentary detailing Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle’s alleged hardships while living with the British royal family.
An image used to show Prince Harry and Meghan Markle being hounded by paparazzi turned out to be an old snap from the London premiere of "Harry Potter" – which was taken years before the couple met.
In the trailer for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s upcoming Netflix docuseries "Harry and Meghan," rows of photographers are seen snapping away before the British prince says, "I had to do everything I could to protect my family."
The Sun reported that the photographers were really pointing their cameras at the all-star cast of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two" in Trafalgar Square, London. The event took place in 2011, which is five years before the prince and the former American actress met in 2016.
Doug Seeburg, a photographer for The Sun, is in the image. He told the outlet that there were no members of the British royal family at the engagement.
PRINCE HARRY AND MEGHAN MARKLE TALK RACE IN NEW NETFLIX TRAILER: 'IT'S A DIRTY GAME'
"I remember going to the premiere," he told the outlet. "It was a huge event. Crowds and crowds of fans had turned out in the rain and camped overnight to see the actors. There were no members of the royal family there."
"In the Netflix trailer it’s implied the photographers, including me, were trying to get a shot of the royal couple – but that’s nonsense," he shared. "For a picture from that premiere to turn up in this trailer about Harry and Meghan seems like lazy picture research."
A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as well as Netflix, didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, told Fox News Digital that the Sussexes should expect their story to be heavily scrutinized by the British press.
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The photo in question was taken at the London premiere for ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two’ in Trafalgar Square, London. (Chris Jobs / Alamy)
"Because Harry and Meghan are currently a source of morbid fascination, the global media are quick to pick holes in everything they are doing," she explained. "The British press dug out a series of photos of John Lennon and Yoko Ono all ‘loved up,’ which were almost identical to the poses adopted by Harry and Meghan. Then the Harry Potter premiere photos of a wall of photographers pointing their cameras were nothing to do with the Sussexes, who didn’t meet until five years later."
"It undermines the validity of what Harry and Meghan are trying to say and makes them the object of ridicule," Seward continued. "When you appear to be threatening a British institution, you have to be completely sure you have your facts right, or you will be buried."
The shot in question was used in the Netflix trailer for "Harry and Megan." (Netflix)
Kinsey Schofield, royal expert and host of the "To Di For" podcast, told Fox News Digital she was "appalled."
"Why are they doing it? Because Harry and Meghan have no tangible proof to fit their narrative so they have to rely on stock images and video," she claimed. "They lose all credibility and it is completely irresponsible on Netflix's part when the people that Harry and Meghan are attacking cannot fight back... I think Harry and Meghan are opening themselves up to an even bigger audience and this reality series is going to backfire and blow up in their faces. They look entitled, delusional and dishonest."
"This is precisely the lack of detail you have in the ex-royals known as Meghan and Harry," added royal expert Neil Sean. "The picture is a stock picture, which could now cost them a lot of money, which they will have to pay, or Netflix will. Sources close to Harry and Meghan claim they would not have known. But really, they signed off the trailer. They have the final word on everything. They never asked at what event was there all that pap excitement?"
The second trailer for the upcoming docuseries dropped on Monday – and the former senior royals are not holding back when discussing the suffering they experienced at the hands of their extended family and the greater monarchy.
In one scene, Harry, 38, can be heard saying over a montage of video, "There's a hierarchy of the family. You know, there’s leaking, but also they're also planting of stories."
The former American actress, 41, boldly claims, "I realized, ‘They’re never gonna protect you.'"
The couple famously stepped away from their duties as senior royals in 2020, moving to California to raise their son Archie and later, daughter Lilibet.
Oprah Winfrey interviewed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for a special in 2021 where they revealed their struggles with royal life. (Harpo Productions/Joe Pugliese via Getty Images)
In March 2021, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex opened up about their relationship with the royal family in an explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey. The couple alleged that there was talk about their son Archie's skin color among the inner family circle. After that interview, Oprah shared that Harry had made it clear neither his grandmother nor grandfather was the source of said comments.
Throughout the trailer of the new documentary, disparaging headlines and paparazzi coverage of Markle are shown, while one commentator adds, "It's about hatred, it's about race."
At one point, the prince simply states "It's a dirty game."
He later alludes to an eerie similarity in the treatment of his wife and his late mother, Princess Diana.
Prince Harry alludes to similarities in the treatment of his wife Meghan Markle and late mother Princess Diana. (Bettmann/Karwai Tang)
"The pain and suffering of women marrying into this institution, this feeding frenzy," Harry says ominously, compounded by a statement later in the trailer, where he says, "I was terrified. I didn't want history to repeat itself."
Volume I of the program will be released on Dec. 8 while Volume II will come out Dec. 15.
Fox News Digital's Caroline Thayer contributed to this report.
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