The palace is said to be "sad" and brother William "pissed off", the press is raging: with the first episodes of their Netflix documentary, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have triggered a wave of outrage in Great Britain. "So painful! Royals 'deeply upset' by Harry's insults," headlined the Daily Express newspaper on Friday.
The Telegraph quoted a royal insider as saying the couple wanted to overthrow the monarchy. An MP from the ruling Conservative Party has called for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to be stripped of their royal titles when they appear to hate the monarchy so much.
The big hits stayed away
The first three episodes of "Harry
"If you saw the trailers and thought, 'Harry
The tabloids were the target of the attacks
The target of the first episodes is clearly the British tabloid, whose Royal correspondent calls Harry the "extended PR arm of the Royal Family". The palace and the press have made a kind of pact with the devil, giving the boulevard almost unlimited power over what and how the royals are reported.
Unsurprisingly, the accused hit back the day after: The "Daily Mail" spoke of a "hatchet" and commented that the couple had "ignited the war of the royals" again. With their statements about the Commonwealth of States, which was criticized in the program as British "Empire 2.0", they would have deeply insulted the legacy of Harry's grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, the "Telegraph" quoted an insider as saying.
Even neutral observers are sure that the door is now closed for the couple, who live in California with children Archie (3) and Lilibet (1). "The documentary makes it more likely that he won't come back," said constitutional lawyer and monarchy observer Craig Prescott from the Welsh University of Bangor to the German Press Agency. Three more episodes will be released next Thursday – then, observers are sure, it will be even more personal. "It's going to be toxic next week," an insider told the Daily Mail newspaper.
Harry's autobiography will be out in January
Harry's older brother Prince William in particular is said to be "pissed off". According to "Mirror", the heir to the throne is particularly upset that Netflix used scenes from his mother Diana's famous BBC interview, in which she told about the affair of her ex-husband Charles, today's king, in 1995. William assumed that the excerpts would never be shown again and that he agreed with his brother. Now he feels cheated.
In addition, William and his wife, Princess Kate, are said to have found statements by Harry, who suggested that the men in the family did not marry for love, "particularly painful". Critics also pointed out that Meghan poked fun at the Queen when she joked about her first meeting with Harry's grandmother and mimicked an over-the-top curtsey. The fact that Harry's autobiography will be published on January 10th, the title of which already suggests the direction of attack, should further burden the royal Christmas.
But not everyone blames Harry. "When Buckingham Palace goes into the dirt, it never looks good," commented royal expert Peter Hunt, looking at the many insider quotes. The Queen has always sat out affairs: "You can see why Charles' mother often preferred dignified silence."
For the royals, the racism debate, which is likely to continue to smolder with Meghan and Harry's documentary, could mean an opportunity, says expert Prescott. It is clear that the Palace needs to evolve and better represent an increasingly diverse United Kingdom. "Maybe this is an opportunity to address the issues that Harry and Meghan are raising."
BBC commentary
