First the airing, then the ire: Brits hit back at Harry and Meghan over documentary

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's documentary has U.K. tabloid papers all riled up after they received a televised dressing-down for their behaviour.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s Netflix documentary isn’t quite the Royal Family hit job that many people were hoping expecting it would be, but that’s not to say it isn’t causing media turmoil overseas.

The first volume of the docuseries launched on the streaming platform Thursday, taking the British media to task for what the Duke and Duchess of Sussex say is racist, intruding and unkind coverage of Markle over the years — and it’s sent many of the tabloid newspapers into overdrive.

Britain’s press did not hold back their outrage Friday, clearly taking umbrage with the televised dressing-down.

While none of the major tabloids used their front pages to address the specific claims levelled at them, some splashed angry headlines attacking the couple and channelling their ire into unflattering screengrabs from the series.

The Daily Mail’s headline accused the couple of an “assault on the queen’s legacy,” and cited palace insiders who claim “it’s as if” the Sussexes “want to bring down the monarchy.”

The series, so far, takes a deep dive into the toxic but symbiotic relationship between the palace and the press. The palace relies on the media to share its messaging, but the tabloid newspapers also feel entitled to publish intimate (and sometimes false) stories about members of the Royal Family, since British taxpayers fund their lives.

This unwritten contract, Harry and Markle explain, often leaves members of the Royal Family feeling as though they have to “perform” for the media — they call it a “we pay, you pose” arrangement.