Harry and Meghan's Netflix show 'will go to war
with the public' as well as royals and media - amid claims Duke told friends
after Megxit Brits 'need a lesson': Palace aides say 'constant criticism'
leaves Charles and Camilla 'weary' and William 'appalled'
Royal sources describe promised documentary bombshells
as 'very wearying'
The miniseries takes aim at the media, the palace and
to an extent the public
Royal insiders are unsympathetic, dubbing the show
'Oprah with more crying'
By JAMES
REYNOLDS FOR MAILONLINE and KATE MANSEY FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY
PUBLISHED:
02:18 GMT, 4 December 2022 | UPDATED: 06:07 GMT, 4 December 2022
Meghan and
Harry's upcoming Netflix documentary may criticise the Royal family and even
the public over the way the couple feel they have been treated.
The series
is reportedly due for release on Thursday and royal sources have already
claimed they expect the show would be 'Oprah with more crying.'
But a hint
of what viewers may get to experience also emerged this morning in details of a
conversation Harry had with a friend before the sit-down with the chat show
Queen.
Senior
sources told the Sun he had expected the Royal Family to find the interview
'quite shocking', and that 'those Brits need to learn a lesson.'
Meghan,
Duchess of Sussex (L) and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, pictured at the annual
One Young World Summit at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, September 2022
In the
interview, which drew 17.1mn viewers, Harry and Meghan said the royals had
asked questions about 'how dark' their son would be, and had ignored her pleas
for mental health support.
Buckingham
Palace sources last night said there is mounting frustration and exhaustion at
the barrage of complaints that Harry and Meghan relentlessly and publicly make
about their treatment by the rest of the Royal Family.
A slick
trailer for the six-part programme was released last week, teasing intimate
moments and apparently threatening to reveal further details of the couple's
difficult relationship with the family they stepped away from.
The Prince
and Princess of Wales were 'surprised but not that surprised' that the
advertisement was released during their high-profile visit to the US,
threatening to overshadow it, insiders added.
The lavish
trailer, posted online on the second day of William and Kate's visit to Boston,
is the latest broadside in a seemingly never-ending onslaught against 'The
Firm' by the Duke and Duchess.
In a rare
and remarkable intervention, Royal sources described how King Charles and Queen
Camilla are 'not worried but wearied' by the Sussexes' stream of criticism. An
exasperated Palace source emphasised the word 'wearied'.
The Royal
Family made 'magnanimous and very deliberate gestures' to include Prince Harry
as much as possible in the late Queen's funeral in September – including asking
him to wear his military uniform during a key vigil – but they are now being
repaid with near-constant outbursts, it is claimed.
Palace
insiders highlighted the irony of the many public interviews and television
appearances the Sussexes have carried out while speaking of how they want a new
life away from the public eye. Meghan and Harry, who live in the celebrity
enclave of Montecito, California, criticised Royal life in an interview with
Oprah Winfrey last year.
Since then,
Meghan has released a podcast series while Harry has written a memoir, which is
expected to detail a string of grievances against his family when it is
published next month.
'It is very
wearying,' a palace source repeated.
The
comments came as the Duke and Duchess were yesterday accused of a breach of
protocol by taking a private photographer into Buckingham Palace to take a
picture included in the Netflix trailer.
Another photograph
used in the teaser unflatteringly shows Kate looking stony-faced in Westminster
Abbey during a Commonwealth service, while Meghan sits behind her. It was taken
after a disagreement over the seating plan.
Despite the
timing of the trailer, a Palace source said the Prince and Princess of Wales
are 'sanguine' about the imminent documentary. It is, however, feared that
there is now no way back for the brothers' relationship.
'Typically,
if a member of the Royal Family has a high-profile foreign trip then no one
else back home would seek to disrupt the message of that trip,' an insider
added.
The Waleses
attended a star- studded gala on Friday night to promote William's Earthshot
Prize, seemingly determined to ensure the Netflix series should not overshadow
their work. The Prince Of Wales had a 30-minute conversation with President Joe
Biden, with the pair sharing 'warm memories' of the late Queen and a discussion
about how Mr Biden could support Earthshot, which awards £1 million grants to
five planet-saving projects every year.
Royal aides
discovered only in recent days that Mr Biden, by chance, was in Boston at the
same time as the Royal couple.
For the
three-day visit, Kate wore smartly tailored trouser suits and demure
high-necked dresses.
'The
Princess is very professional,' one insider said. 'The wardrobe for the visit
says it all. It's all very businesslike.' At Friday's award ceremony, guests
were asked to dress 'sustainably' so Kate rented a Solace London emerald dress
from fashion platform Hurr, which prices it at £74 a night. She accessorised it
with her late mother-in-law Princess Diana's emerald choker.
The Prince
Of Wales had a 30-minute conversation with President Joe Biden during the
Waleses' trip to Boston this week
The King
has been keen to show his support for the Sussexes. In his first address to the
nation after ascending the throne, he said: 'I want to express my love for
Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas.'
Yet Harry's
new media projects appear to have caused more hurt and dismay to his family
than they have previously cared to admit.
He and
Meghan will be feted by the US liberal establishment for supposedly overcoming
institutional racism in the Royal Family at a lavish ceremony in New York on
Tuesday, just two days before the Netflix series is expected to air.
They will
receive the so-called Ripple of Hope Award from Kerry Kennedy, a human rights
activist and daughter of Robert Kennedy, the US attorney-general assassinated
in 1968.
Ms Kennedy
has already compared the Sussexes' actions to her father's fight against
apartheid and praised their 'moral courage'.
Relations
may be further soured when Harry's memoir, Spare, is published on January 10,
promising the Duke's first-hand account of his upbringing and decision to quit
Royal duties.
The Royal
Family also had to deal with a race row last week after the late Queen's
lady-in-waiting asked a black guest at Buckingham Palace: 'Where are you really
from?' Lady Susan Hussey volunteered to step down and is said to be 'profoundly
sorry' about the debacle.
Prince
William was about to board a plane to Boston when the news broke, but he spoke
to his press secretary and agreed that his office could respond – even
including the word 'racism' in the statement.
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