Meghan Markle shown in tears in first look at new Netflix royal documentary

The first trailer for Harry and Meghan's highly anticipated documentary series for Netflix has arrived with viewers given their first glimpse of what they can expect from the six-part series.

It begins with a series of candid photos, where the couple seem happy, but as it progresses the mood shifts.

Towards the end of the teaser trailer, Meghan is seen sitting next to Harry wiping tears from her eyes. This isn't the only moment during which we see Meghan looking tense in the brief teaser. In one shot, the duchess holds her head in her hand while sitting crosslegged on an armchair.

In another, she talks to Harry through a car window, whilst looking tearful.

Watch: Harry and Meghan trailer

Also included is a photo of Meghan at Queen Elizabeth's state funeral, earlier this year. Her expression is fixed and tense. Photos of the duchess at the monarch's funeral were widely circulated at the time, particularly one in which she was seen wiping away tears.

Meghan has spoken candidly about her mental health struggles in the past and it appears this series will address these difficulties – or at least some of them – head on.

During an interview with Tom Bradby in 2019, she opened up about what it was like living in such a bright spotlight.

"It's not enough, right, to survive, that's not the point of live, you've got to thrive, to be happy. I really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a stiff upper lip [...] I've tried, I've really tried. But I think that what that does internally is probably really damaging".

Meghan added that she never thought marrying into the Royal Family would be "easy" but that she "thought it would be fair". That she hadn't perceived it to be fair she said she "found hard to reconcile".

She also spoke about how her pregnancy with Archie had been a "vulnerable" time. Meghan also thanked Bradby for asking if she was okay, "not many people have asked if I'm okay," she added. When Bradby pressed her, she agreed she had been struggling with life in the public eye.

Later, in 2021, Meghan further opened up during the couple's interview with Oprah about the difficulties she had been privately facing whilst a working royal.

"I was really ashamed to say it at the time," Meghan said, "and ashamed to have to admit it to Harry especially because I know how much loss he's suffered.

"But I knew if I didn't say it, I would do it, and I just didn't want to be alive anymore".

She also admitted that she had asked the royal "institution" for help and told them she needed to "go somewhere and was told by the institution that [she] couldn't, that it wouldn't be good" for the royals.

Prince Harry has also been open about his own mental health struggles. The duke took part in an eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy session for the Apple TV series, The Me You Can't See.

He undertook the therapy session to help process the trauma of his mother's early death. He explained that London is a trigger for him and has been undertaking therapy for several years.

In his own 2019 interview with Tom Bradby, Harry admitted that "every single time" he hears a camera click and or sees its flash, "it takes [him] straight back" to his mother's death. He said the press photographers were "the worst reminder of her death" and called his grief a "wound that festers".

It remains to be seen what Meghan and Harry will disclose about the challenges they have faced that have brought the couple to tears, but it is clear that many in Buckingham Palace will be watching closely to see if the Sussexes hold the royal household accountable.