Bragging rights for Prince Harry, Meghan Markle following this new record

Prince Harry-Meghan Markle: The couple hit back at criticism over their sharing of personal video clips and photographs in the documentary.

Harry & Meghan, Netflix’s documentary series about Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, racked up more viewing time on the streaming service than any other documentary during its first week, the company said.

Prince Harry-Meghan Markle: Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award. (Reuters)

The first three episodes of the documentary recorded 81.55 million viewing hours around the world after its debut last Thursday, Netflix said, “the highest view hours of any documentary title in a premiere week”. More than 28 million households watched at least part of the series, the company said.

The documentary was the second-most watched English-language series on Netflix globally between December 5 and 11 and was the No 1 English-language series during the week in Britain, and No 2 in Australia and the US. It made Netflix’s television top 10 in 85 countries.

In the first three episodes, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made a series of disclosures, with Meghan recalling her first death threat and Harry talking about wearing disguises to their dates amid huge media attention.

The couple also hit back at criticism over their sharing of personal video clips and photographs in the documentary.

“The Duke and Duchess have never cited privacy as the reason for stepping back,” the couple’s global press secretary said, adding, “This distorted narrative was intended to trap the couple into silence … 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.”