Prince Harry and Meghan Markle appear in the trailer for an ABC News special marking Disneyland’s 70th anniversary, The Happiest Story on Earth: 70 Years of Disneyland, which is scheduled to air Sunday.
The trailer features the Montecito-based couple alongside performers and filmmakers including Neil Patrick Harris, Jamie Lee Curtis and Jon Favreau. In clips released ahead of the broadcast, Harry and Markle discuss what the park means to them and their children, Archie and Lilibet; the duke also names Space Mountain as a favourite ride.
The appearance follows a family trip to Disneyland in June, when the couple celebrated their daughter Lilibet’s fourth birthday. Meghan Markle shared a video montage of the two-day visit showing rides such as Dumbo the Flying Elephant and the Cars attraction, moments with Disney characters including Elsa from Frozen, and family snapshots taken on Space Mountain. The clips also included images of a Little Mermaid–themed birthday cake and a table piled with corndogs and pickles.
Producers say the ABC News special will trace Disneyland’s history and examine what lies ahead for the park. The program’s roster of participants includes entertainers and filmmakers who have been associated with Disney projects over the years; the trailer intercuts archival footage with contemporary reflections from guests and families.
The television appearance comes amid a busy period for the Sussexes. Prince Harry made a four-day trip to the U.K. in September during which he met King Charles at Clarence House for the first time in 19 months. Harry later described the monarch as "doing well" and spoke at an Invictus Games reception in London, where he appeared relaxed and spoke with sponsors and ministers. Harry told reporters he had travelled to the event after a private tea with his father.
In interviews surrounding his recent travels, Harry defended his memoir and accompanying media projects, saying they were about accountability rather than revenge and that his "conscience is clear." The duke’s book, Spare, and subsequent televised interviews have been widely discussed for their frank accounts of rifts within the royal family.
Meghan has used her social channels to mark Harry’s return to Montecito, sharing posts on the As Ever platform that highlighted her rosé and other products. A spokesperson for the duke said he had enjoyed being back in the U.K. and supporting causes important to him; his engagements there included an event linked to the Diana Award.
The Disneyland special positions the couple within a broader roster of public figures reflecting on the park’s cultural impact over seven decades, while also underscoring how family moments at the "Happiest Place on Earth" have become part of the couple’s public narrative. ABC’s broadcast will be followed by discussions in media outlets about Disney’s legacy and how its past shapes current entertainment and family traditions.