“Going to fall asleep to Prince Harry’s interview on Kimmel…sweet dreams” is not the first text I thought I would receive from my mom when I got back from winter break. Even when we went to London a few years ago, the Royal Family’s history didn’t interest us in the slightest. I was under the impression that they were just royalty, with no problems whatsoever that could relate to me.
But then it happened. I was in my boyfriend’s basement doing arts and crafts and scrolling through Netflix. I’m sure he regrets the moment he let me pick our show because when I randomly chose the docuseries Harry and Meghan, I didn’t know I would be choosing an intense infatuation with the Royal Family and all of the separate stories each member has. From that point on, I prohibited talking while the TV was on, even rewinding when I felt he wasn’t paying close enough attention. I have now recommended this show to everyone I know, started The Crown and followed all of the royals on Instagram. But why did this show speak to me so loudly if I had never been interested in the royals before?
It boils down to the way Harry and Meghan presented their lives. For the first time, they seemed like normal people with normal problems. They started the narrative with the beginnings and early stages of their long-distance relationship (something I could relate to) and talked about the problems everyone faces in their day-to-day dating lives. They showed goofy pictures they had both taken on Facetime and it was so evident the joy and naivety they felt when their relationship was still a secret. It can be difficult to imagine public figures and celebrities giddily in love because a lot of the time the public objectifies them or puts them on an impossible pedestal. When Harry and Meghan talked about the love they have for each other and for their children, friends and close family members, it was the first time I was able to really witness such people so intimately.
I also felt like I was the Duchess of Sussex at multiple points during this docuseries. They just kept everything so real, and I realized that discrimination, family problems and mental health issues affect everyone the same — it doesn’t matter if you’re a UCLA student or the literal prince of England. I may never know how it feels to be bullied by the British tabloids, but I know how it feels to uncover nasty texts between two ex-friends. I didn’t have to move to Canada and California to escape the paparazzi, but I did move a similar distance away from everything I’ve ever known to go to school. These everyday situations do not seem comparable at first glance, but the vulnerability of Meghan in the docuseries interviews so clearly mirrored the vulnerability I’ve felt in talking through similar situations with my mom.
Now I need to know more. I want to know every royal’s story and what they have had to withstand. It is so easy to imagine that celebrities aren’t normal people and hate them for feeling emotions and making choices that distract them from providing us with entertainment. But, this docuseries was completely eye-opening in the opposite way. I think that celebrities, including the Royal Family, can also be relatable. They show that no matter how much you have or how talented and successful you are, we all are going through similar issues.