All communication is cut between Prince Harry and his father, King Charles III, and more broadly the royal family. The documentary “Harry & Meghan” broadcast this Thursday, December 8, 2022 could aggravate tensions between the two camps.
[Mis à jour le 8 décembre 2022 à 6h34] At odds with the British royal family, Prince Harry should not return to the good graces of the Crown. The release of the documentary “Harry & Meghan”, named after the main protagonists and producers of the mini-series broadcast on Netflix on December 8, 2022, should on the contrary further distance the two camps. Promising to deliver “the whole story”, – or rather its version – in the trailer for the documentary, Prince Harry gives the impression of having revelations to make behind the scenes of the Firm and on the disagreements between him , his wife and the rest of the members of the monarchy.
Prince Harry should not taint the memory of the late Elizabeth II, his grandmother to whom he was very close, according to the journalist at the magazine Point of viewMarion Prudhomme contacted by The Parisian. On the other hand, it is not impossible that King Charles III, father of the former Duke of Sussex, or the couple formed by William and Kate Middleton, Prince and Princess of Wales, are targeted by accusations, even indirectly. The break has been consummated since 2020 between the youngest prince married to American actress Meghan Markle and the active members of the Firm. Even the death of Queen Elizabeth II failed to bring the two princely brothers or Prince Harry closer to his father.
More exchange between Prince Harry and King Charles III
Harry and his father, King Charles III, were seen together in September 2022 at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in London. No gesture of affection had appeared during the ceremonies and according to the testimonies of certain members of the staff of the royal family, the exchanges were not more numerous behind the scenes. Before the death of the queen, the last interview between the father and his son dates back to 2020, before the exile of the prince and his wife in California. This departure had also signed the renunciation of the couple to their royal obligations. However, this withdrawal is also what prompted the monarch to refuse to invite his son during the last reception at Buckingham Palace – in the presence of many heads of state including Emmanuel Macron and Joe Biden – according to the Telegram. A forced absence which did not seem to affect Prince Harry, unlike the absence of embroidery inscribing the initials of the late Queen Elizabeth II on the shoulder pads of his military uniform during the vigil around the coffin of the sovereign, according to the Times. Charles III had exceptionally authorized his youngest son, deprived of his titles, to wear the uniform without however granting him all the honors.
The conduct of King Charles III seems dictated more by royal protocol than by a feeling of animosity towards his son. According to the British tabloid The Mirror, the monarch is tired of disputes and family resentment although saddened by the accusations of his son and his daughter-in-law against the royal family. However, if new revelations painting a critical portrait of the Crown are broadcast in the documentary “Harry & Meghan”, the sovereign could not condone such actions, any more than Prince William who said he was ready to defy protocol to respond. to possible lying statements by his brother.
The death of Diana at the heart of the family estrangement?
Prince Harry has always been described as close to his mother, Lady Diana. And her death in 1997 under the Alma bridge in Paris remains a painful memory for the former Duke of Sussex. The disappearance of Lady Di had also complicated the relationship of the younger son with his father and it could be that recent mentions of his mother by Harry have added to the tensions already present within the royal family. An excerpt from the trailer for the documentary ‘Harry & Meghan’ shows Harry comparing ‘the pain and suffering of women who marry into this institution, this growing frenzy’ in reference to his mother’s fate and that of Meghan Markle within of the Firm.
A comparison that could prove unfortunate, the memory of Lady Diana being a most delicate subject for the Windsors and given the very conflicting relations of Meghan Markle with the Crown. In the eyes of the British people, the parallel between Lady Diana and Meghan Markle is also likely to be unwelcome. Because “there is a certain fatigue in public opinion vis-à-vis the Sussexes (…) Their popularity rating has fallen very low”, explains Marc Roche, specialist in British royalty and author of the book “The Borgias in Buckingham “, in the columns of the Parisian. And to add that Prince Harry “does not measure the disenchantment of the British”. However, Lady Diana is still an untouchable personality in England.