Harry & Meghan: Netflix series beats The Crown as viewership ratings announced

‘Tell-all’ docuseries is being released in two batches

The viewing figures for Netflix’s Harry & Meghan have been revealed.

According to the independent ratings body Barb, the first episode of the tell-all royal docuseries was watched by 2.4 million people on TV sets on its launch day (8 December).

The figure marks the biggest one-day audience for any Netflix show since the streaming service began being monitored by Barb in October.

Barb’s figures only take into account people watching the programme on TV sets – not those watching on phones, laptops, or other devices, which could comprise millions more.

The 2.4 million figure is more than double the viewership the first episode of The Crown’s latest season reached on day one (1.1 million).

Episode two of Harry & Meghan attracted 1.5 million viewers, and episode three clocked up a tally of 800,000. Further episodes will be released on Netflix on Thursday 15 December.

Per Barb, Harry & Meghan fell considerably short of the day’s most-watched programmes, BBC News at Six (4.1 million) and subsequent regional news, as well as ITV’s Coronation Street (3.5 million).

In her review of Harry & Meghan, The Independent’s Arts Editor Jessie Thompson wrote: “There are no major revelations here, nothing so incendiary that it will cancel King Charles’s coronation next year; in fact, certain quotes are becoming a bit pat.”

‘Harry & Meghan’ is out on Netflix (Netflix)

The series director spoke out in the wake of Harry & Meghan’s release, saying that he hopes viewers will be “open” to the couple’s story despite any preconceptions.

In the first three episodes, the Duchess of Sussex claimed that Buckingham Palace aides had told her not to invite her niece to her own royal wedding.

She also spoke about warmer memories from her time within the royal family, including her “amazing” first Christmas.

Harry & Meghan is available to stream on Netflix now.