In a new Netflix documentary series released on Thursday, Prince Harry lambasted the media for scrutinizing his relationship with Meghan Markle and criticized the British royal family for failing to protect her and her mother, Diana.
The family prepared for a possible backlash in the first three episodes of the six-part Harry & Meghan series, and while much of it hasn’t happened, they have always been accused of “unconscious” racial bias and for not helping Meghan or Diana after her divorce. of Harry’s father, the current King Charles III.
“To see another woman in my life that I love go through this childhood [persekiojimo] frenzy is hard,” Harry said, adding that it reminded him of a “hunter and prey” situation.
Speaking of his mother, who died in a car accident in Paris in 1997, Harry, 38, said: “When she got divorced, when she left this institution, she was left alone… She was completely vulnerable to it .”
Meghan also said the family were unable to resist negative press reports about her.
“It was awful, but I continued to take that position of not commenting,” she said.
The racial factor
Meghan’s husband said the family ignored the racist tone of the press reports.
“As with many family members, everything she went through, they had to go through it too.” You could say it was almost a sort of “initiation” rite, he says. “I said the difference in this case is a race factor.”
Harry also said there was “massive unconscious bias” in the family.
The documentary series mentions the racist pin worn by the wife of Prince Michael of Kent at an event Meghan attended in 2017.
Harry reiterated his shame at being photographed wearing a Nazi uniform at a masquerade party in 2005, calling it “probably one of the biggest mistakes of my life”.
“war”
The documentary reveals the events that led the couple to give up royal life in 2020 and move to the United States.
Several British newspapers wrote that the couple had declared “war” on the royal family. The family itself said Thursday that none of its members have been approached to comment on the documentary series.
The early parts tell of the couple’s budding romance and their attempt to keep it a secret.
“When I first met M I was terrified that she would be rejected by the media, the same media that had rejected so many other people for me,” Harry said.
“I knew the only way to make it work was to stay quiet for as long as possible,” he said.
Early episodes also focus heavily on Harry’s difficult childhood and teenage years, often accompanied by the paparazzi.
He revealed that he found solace in his frequent trips to Africa.
“I have a second family there, a group of friends who literally raised me,” he said.
Harry also seemed to refer to older brother William and his wife Catherine: “Many family members, especially men, may be tempted or enticed to marry someone who fits the pattern.”
The last three installments of the series will be released on December 15.
Fan opinions diverge
Royal Family fans outside Buckingham Palace disagreed on whether Harry and Meghan should do this series.
“It’s just not right. Harry was so close to his brother and now he’s cut himself off from the family,” said Mary Rose, 68, of Worksop.
But nurse Fflur Jones, 26, from Wales, said: “I think they are really brave for what they have done.”
In the central English city of Nottingham, where Harry and Meghan first visited as a royal couple in 2017, 29-year-old Alex Smith was unimpressed.
“I think it’s more her. I think Harry… is under the sole,” she said.
Last week, during William’s first visit to the United States as heir to the throne, Netflix released the first trailer for the series. This prompted accusations of sabotage.
The timing could hardly have been worse for William as Buckingham Palace fired a longtime courtier, one of the godmothers’ heirs to the throne, after clips of his racist conversation with a black Briton surfaced .
For some, the incident confirmed claims by 41-year-old mixed-race Meghan that racism at the royal palace was one of the reasons for her and Harry’s departure.
The documentary series comes three months after the death of Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and a month before the release of his long-awaited memoir Spare.
Source: The Delfi
