Former England rugby international Matt Dawson has revealed he performed a complete U-turn on his opinion of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after watching their headline-grabbing Netflix documentary.
From Scepticism to Understanding
The ex-scrum-half, who earned 77 caps for his country, was among the millions who tuned in when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex released their tell-all series in 2022. Speaking to the Express at the time, Dawson admitted his initial expectations were far from positive.
"In the first 10 minutes I was thinking, 'Oh no, this is like a woe is me type doc,'" he confessed. However, his perspective shifted dramatically thanks to one pivotal comment from Meghan Markle.
The Line That Changed Everything
The crucial moment came when Meghan stated: "The past six years of my life, books are written about our story from people who I don’t know. Doesn’t it make more sense to hear our story from us?"
For Dawson, that rhetorical question was a powerful catalyst. It triggered him to reassess his stance, leading him to believe the couple deserved their chance to narrate their own experiences.
"I just thought, do you know what, in their environment and where everyone is going to have a view of Harry... I sort of thought, 'Ok, go with it,'" Dawson explained.
Hearing It "From the Horse's Mouth"
Dawson, now 53, argued that the public's innate curiosity about the Royal Family made the documentary a valuable exercise. He emphasised the importance of receiving information directly from the source.
"We all want to know what they are like, so why don’t we just get to see what they are like?" he said. "We are getting those little nuggets that we wouldn’t have known before, so it has definitely served its purpose."
He concluded with a pragmatic view: "We are getting told from the horse's mouth, so let’s embrace it and take it on board."
The documentary was released in December 2022, shortly after Harry and Meghan stepped back from their roles as senior working royals. It provided an intimate, and often divisive, look at their courtship, marriage, and struggles within the institution.
Matt Dawson enjoyed a storied rugby career, winning the Heineken Cup in 2000 and the Premiership with Northampton Saints in 1999 and later with London Wasps in 2005. He was inducted into the Premiership Rugby Hall of Fame in 2019.
