A blow to Harry and Meghan

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are the focus of a new documentary titled Harry: The Lost Prince, which airs on Germany’s ZDF channel on the evening of December 3 (local time).

The show focuses on Harry and Meghan’s new life after leaving the British royal family, as well as their efforts to build their image as philanthropists and inspirational figures.

Harry and Meghan are the central characters in a German documentary about the British Royal Family. Photo: Getty Images.

According to the Daily Mail , before the documentary was shown to millions of viewers in Germany, the British newspaper’s reporter had a chance to preview it and commented that it was a new blow to the estranged royal couple.

In the film, director Ulrike Grunewald interviews a series of people who have connections or knowledge about the Sussexes and the royal family.

One of them was veteran Ben McBean, who lost his left arm and had his right leg amputated above the knee after a landmine explosion in Afghanistan in 2008 and was on the same flight home from the Asian country as Harry.

Mr McBean was unhappy with the way the red-haired prince portrayed family matters in his memoir Spare and the Netflix documentary. He said that sibling disagreements and arguments are common in most families and do not need to be exposed to the world.

“When he was whining about his family and saying something about his brother pushing him or something, I was just like, ‘Dude, stop saying that.’ You and your brother have a little fight, but family is family. You know that right?” the veteran said.

Journalist Jack Royston, host of the royal podcast The Royal Report , has criticized Harry and Meghan for stepping back from royal duties, but still using their titles to make money.

To make his point, Royston mentioned Harry’s wish to work part-time for the royal family, which was rejected by the late Queen Elizabeth. In a hypothetical scenario, if the Queen had actually agreed, Harry and Meghan could have run their own commercial projects, made money from Hollywood while representing the royal family. According to experts, the Sussexes’ ability to use the monarchy as a platform to serve their own careers borders on corruption and the royal family would pay a heavy price.

“The way Harry and Meghan left the royal family, dropping bombs on Harry’s relatives, it did a lot of damage to their reputation. It had a huge impact on their ability to make the world a better place because so many people didn’t want to listen to them,” Royston added.

Meanwhile, royal biographer Angela Levin said the scandal-hit couple were frustrated at not getting what they wanted – “half in, half out” of the royal family.

“The late Queen said that it was not feasible and she did not want her grandson to use his position in the royal family to make money,” the author explained.

After stepping down as senior members of the British Royal Family in early 2020, the Sussexes were heavily criticized by the German media. In September 2023, the couple’s reputation in the European country skyrocketed thanks to the organization of the Invictus Games, a sporting event for wounded and sick soldiers, in the city of Dusseldorf.

However, that level of sympathy may have reversed after the airing of Harry: The Lost Prince, which revealed that the event was funded by the German Ministry of Defense, with a donation of 40 million euros ($42 million).

Royston said it was a huge sum and was coming from taxpayers’ money. He also raised the prospect of public funds in the UK having to support the Olympics scheduled to be held in Birmingham in 2027.

Royston also described Harry and Meghan as now part of the American elite, a reality that further distances them from the royal family.

Accusation of hypocrisy

Several other interviewees accused Harry and Meghan of hypocrisy in projecting an image as charitable activists but behaving inappropriately.

“If you go to countries like Nigeria, Colombia – which have a lot of socio-economic problems, have some of the poorest communities in the world – and show up wearing designer clothes worth tens of thousands of pounds, it really doesn’t send the right message,” royal correspondent Russel Myers said.

Richard Mineards, a neighbor of the couple in Montecito, California, said Meghan was not the type to fit in with the community. She lived a private life in a luxurious mansion, not connecting much with the ordinary people around her.

“Harry is a bit of a community activist, because he’s quite cheerful. But Meghan doesn’t seem to be around and people don’t see her,” Mr Mineards said.

As for Dai Davies, former Director of the Royal Protection Department and Commander of the Metropolitan Police Corps (UK), he did not appreciate Harry’s story of destroying Taliban insurgents in his memoir.

“In Spare , he reveals that he killed a number of Taliban fighters. I think that was completely unwise, because I know, as he does, that the Taliban and many other groups have put a bounty on his head. I think that price is still valid. That could give him a basis to say, ‘I need security’. If you open your mouth as much as he did – that book is not only about that but it reveals all sorts of secrets, it’s no surprise that some people might see you as a target,” Mr Davies stressed.

Davies also accused Harry of not interacting much with civilians on his overseas trips.

“In Colombia, although there are many very rich people, the vast majority, 85% or 90%, are very poor. What I noticed on my trips was that he was mixing with the upper class, but not really connecting with ordinary people, except in carefully arranged areas. People who were presented as ‘ordinary people’ were not. As far as I could see, these were carefully orchestrated campaigns… I was quite objective in looking at the evidence and the evidence I saw was that it was all about Harry and Meghan. It had nothing to do with the real reasons given for going to those places,” he explained.