Inside The Drama Behind Meghan Markle & Prince Harry's Engagement Interview

Back in December 2022, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Netflix docuseries broke records with the release of its first three episodes, providing a never-before-seen look into the lives of the controversial royals. In this way, the "Meghan & Harry" documentary saw many surprising revelations, including Markle's allegation that the duo's 2017 engagement interview with BBC was an "orchestrated reality show."

Long-time followers know that the timeline of Meghan Markle's drama with the royal family is complicated, with the engagement interview seemingly serving as an example of Meghan and Harry's real-life experiences being suppressed by either the royal family or the media prior to their UK exit. However, BBC journalist and interviewer Mishal Husain has provided her own perspective on the situation, countering Markle's assertions about the inauthenticity of the exchange.

"When the Duchess of Sussex said that my engagement interview with her and Harry was an 'orchestrated reality show,' I didn't know what to make of it," Husain told Saga Magazine. "It was two people who were full of joy in each other and life" (via Newsweek). In this way, just like many aspects of their royal life, Meghan and Harry's engagement interview has garnered its fair share of drama.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's engagement announcement in November 2017 was followed swiftly by a press photoshoot and BBC interview. The royal couple was questioned by Mishal Husain at Kensington Palace, with the two opening up about the details of their relationship. "The fact that I fell in love with Meghan so incredibly quickly was a sort of confirmation to me that everything, all the stars were aligned," Harry admitted.

Fast forward to 2022, and the duke and duchess took to Netflix's "Meghan & Harry" to reveal the truth about their controversial departure from the royal family. In the docuseries, Meghan and Harry asserted that their BBC interview wasn't a good representation of their experiences. "It was, you know, rehearsed," Markle said. "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's all in that same moment."

The twenty-minute conversation saw the duo comment on everything from what Princess Diana would've thought of the relationship to the public's reaction to Meghan's ethnicity, but it apparently wasn't the royal couple's truth. "We weren't allowed to tell our story because they didn't want [our story]," the former "Suits" actor said. While this was Meghan's attempt to clear the air about an infamous interview, it actually ended up causing quite a stir.

In their Netflix docuseries, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry don't specify who was behind the inauthentic engagement interview, but BBC journalists have remarked on the potential slight. Back in 2022, Mishal Husain commented on the assertion while co-hosting BBC's "Today" radio show. "We know recollections may vary on this particular subject but my recollection is very much 'asked to do an interview and do said interview,'" she said (via Variety). The response cheekily parrots the language used by Queen Elizabeth in her response to Meghan and Harry's infamous Oprah interview.

Later, during BBC Radio 4's "World at One" show, Husain recounted her memory of the engagement interview. "I remember it as being a day that was full of joy, where the major focus for everyone who was there from the BBC team was to make sure that Harry and Meghan, the two people at the heart of it, felt as comfortable as possible because this was their day," she said. Husain wasn't the only one to doubt Meghan and Harry's assertion, as former BBC director general Lord Tony Hall stated that the allegations were "simply untrue." While it's unclear if Meghan and Harry intended to shade BBC in their statements, the network and journalists clearly didn't appreciate the implication.