The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s TV series has arrived! Fans and haters from all over the globe tuned into Netflix on December 8 to watch the platform’s most anticipated docuseries of 2022, Harry & Meghan . Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the debut was so big that the streaming giant crashed due to such high demand on the day, according to the Huffpost. The series has been split into two parts, with the first three episodes airing earlier this week, and the second part due to be released on December 15. Joining the show’s line-up of friends and family members was Markle’s niece, Ashleigh Hale. In the emotional interview she gives to camera, it’s clear to see that she and Markle shared a particularly close bond. But that was apparently interrupted after Markle claimed she was given advice by Buckingham Palace to uninvite Hale from her wedding. Here’s what you need to know about Hale and the dramatic allegations raising eyebrows across the world. Who is she? Hale is the daughter of Meghan’s half-sister Samantha Markle . Samantha has been particularly critical of Meghan in the past, claiming she raised the star, according to British media. She later sued Meghan for defamation, alleging that the duchess had lied about her and her family in a 2021 CBS interview, reported People. Hale, whose age is unknown, said in the docuseries that she was raised with her brother by her paternal grandparents from a young age, and hadn’t seen mum Samantha since she was “six years old”. Who is the richest member of rock band Queen? Net worths, ranked In the Netflix docuseries she says she finally reconnected with her biological mum, Samantha in “around 2007”. Hale says she works as an immigration lawyer. The Meghan Markle bond When Hale reconnected with her biological mother, it opened the door to a connection with Meghan. In the Netflix docuseries, she describes how they used to send long emails “back and forth”. This evolved to text messages and phone calls. She says at one point they were talking several times a week. Speaking about Markle, Hale said “I think she takes on a lot of roles for me, there’s like a sister element, there’s something maternal, she’s a best friend, she’s kind of all the things.” Markle said “we just hit it off”. She said she was starring in Suits at the time and suggested to Hale, “let’s go on vacation”. The show revealed a number of images from their holiday in New Orleans, a trip Hale described as “really special”. Wedding drama But despite the two women’s close bond, the Duchess of Sussex dropped a bombshell on the show when she said that palace aides gave her “guidance” not to invite Hale to her 2018 wedding . The 42-year-old described how she and Harry called Hale from the car and put her on speakerphone, saying the whole experience of telling her was “painful”. Tom Brady’s eldest son could be the next NFL star: meet Jack Moynahan Markle said the communications team assigned to the couple before their wedding was “small”, taking on a lot, and that “they just couldn’t wrap their heads around” the dynamic between her, Samantha and Ashleigh. Markle added that she nevertheless had “compassion” for what they were dealing with. “How do we explain that this half-sister isn’t invited to the wedding, but that the half-sister’s daughter is,” said the actress, attempting to explain the comms’ team’s dilemma. Hale said it’s been “hard” and that she was upset that her biological mother’s actions had impacted her relationship with Meghan. “To know that because of my biological mother that this relationship that’s so important to me was impacted in that way, to feel like because of her it was taken away, it’s been hard.” Ashleigh Hale on Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan Change in relationship Although Hale had seen Markle as something of a sister, mother and best friend rolled into one, she said communication with Markle became less frequent. Hale said she felt Markle’s relationships were being “managed on some level”. Markle said she believed Hale had been put through a lot by the media because of her. Speaking about their relationship, she said she didn’t want Hale’s “life to be plagued with all that drama”. What about Samantha Markle? Although Samantha Markle has publicly taken shots at Meghan, even writing a book The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister , Meghan has stayed largely silent on the matter. In the docuseries, however, she addressed the relationship and lambasted Samantha, saying “I don’t know your middle name. I don’t know your birthday. You’re telling these people you raised me?” Meghan denied that there was any fallout between them, insisting that they weren’t close enough to be able to have one. Silver spoon alert: 10 celebrity ‘nepotism babies’ born into privilege Hale, meanwhile, claims her biological mother felt resentment towards Meghan as her relationship with Harry progressed. She said she stopped talking to her mum, Samantha because there are “some people you just can’t reason with”. Want more stories like this? Follow STYLE on Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and Twitter .