No British royal has ever acknowledged the responsibility of their own ancestors so clearly: Prince Harry (38) has in the new Netflix documentary series “Harry
There are signs of a new dispute with the family
In the three episodes released Thursday, Harry and Meghan tell the story of their relationship and breakup with the royal family and Meghan’s father from their own perspective. The interview excerpts are enriched with private mobile phone recordings from family life, statements by companions and experts as well as TV recordings of royal events.
Just a few hours after the release, there were signs of a new dispute with the royal family: The British news agency PA reported, citing royal circles, that neither the palace nor individual members of the royal family had been asked. A notice on Netflix suggests the opposite: “Members of the royal family did not want to comment on the content of this series,” it says in white letters on a black background at the very beginning of the first episode. Statement stands against statement – there were no further comments at first.
Followed by the boulevard
A lot of space in the documentary is again given to the couple’s intolerable persecution by British tabloid media, whose stories are often pure inventions – and sometimes downright malicious – according to their portrayal.
“It is my duty to expose the exploitation and bribery in our media,” says Harry. He draws a line from his childhood experiences with the media hype surrounding his mother Princess Diana to his wife Meghan and laments “the suffering that befalls women who marry into this family”. He was very afraid that history could repeat itself. Diana died in a tragic car accident in the summer of 1997 while fleeing paparazzi. He accuses the palace of having entered into a dirty pact with the media in order to secure its own popularity: “The press pack of royal correspondents is actually just an extended PR arm of the royal family,” says Harry.
However, the allegations of racism are likely to weigh even heavier. Last year, Harry and Meghan (41) accused the palace of racism and lack of support in a sensational interview with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey. Just a few days ago, a longtime lady-in-waiting had to leave the palace after she was noticed at a reception with racist questions.
Prince Harry on one of his biggest mistakes
Now Harry elaborates the problem further: There is a huge amount of unconscious prejudice in the royal family, says the son of King Charles III. – and is also self-critical. He called wearing a Nazi costume to a party in 2005 “one of the biggest mistakes of my life”. The now 38-year-old appeared at a private costume party in a uniform with a swastika armband. Photos of it quickly found their way into the media and triggered a storm of outrage. “I was so embarrassed afterwards, I just wanted to fix it,” he said. After the incident, he met with the chief rabbi in London and in Berlin with Holocaust survivors.
The couple refrains from personal allegations against individual royals – at least in the first three episodes. But in three more episodes, which are due to appear in a week (December 15), as well as in Harry’s autobiography, which will be published in January, this could possibly change.
Netflix: “Harry
