In what is being termed as a “royal crisis,” the documentary on Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Africa Tour and in particular its timing has the royals fuming and people are questioning whether Meghan tried to upstage sister-in-law Kate Middleton’s Pakistan tour which was dominating headlines.
According to the Evening Standard, the decision to release the teasers while Kate and William were on their tour in Pakistan has “baffled and infuriated” aides.
One senior figure told the newspaper: “This move has certainly overshadowed the Pakistan visit and what has been achieved here during the last few days, as well as a lot of work by an awful lot of dedicated people here on the ground as well as back home for months.”
The Evening Standard also stated that there is a decades-long unwritten rule that members of the royal family do not overshadow official overseas visits by more senior royals.
It is important to note that the documentary’s presenter Tom Brady is a close friend of the couple’s and even attended their wedding back in 2018.
When Prince William and Kate got married 8 years ago, it was reported that Prince Harry is very close to the couple, particularly his sister-in-law who soon became his closest confidante. William and Kate also kept Harry engaged with them in their royal duties and the three shared a Royal Household. Harry even said that he loves Kate to bits.
However, when Harry married Meghan, it was reported that tensions began to arise between the ‘Fab Four’ and a few months after Harry and Meghan got married, they separated their offices, official social media accounts and even moved out of Kensington Palace into Frogmore Cottage.
While previously the Palace kept denying the reports of rifts between the couples, Harry in the ITV Documentary acknowledged tensions with his older brother Prince William for the first time, saying they are on “different paths.”
When the host asked him about rifts with his brother, Harry answered, “Part of this role, part of this job, this family, being under the pressure which it’s under, inevitably stuff happens. But we are brothers. We will always be brothers.”
“We are certainly on different paths at the moment, but I will always be there for him, and as I know he will always be there for me. We don’t see each other as much as we used to as we are so busy. But I love him dearly and you know the majority of the stuff is probably — well, the majority of the stuff is created out of nothing. But as brothers, you have good days and you have bad days.”
On the other hand, British media outlets are reporting that William is worried about Harry and is hoping that he and his wife “are all right.” Sources say that William found it difficult to watch such ‘raw emotion.’
Quoting a palace source, BBC said that there was a view that the couple was “in a fragile place.”
Meanwhile, in the same documentary, Meghan opened up about her personal life and how it felt like to be a new mother in the spotlight.
“Any woman, especially when they’re pregnant, you’re really vulnerable, and so that was made really challenging,” Meghan said in the video. “And then when you have a newborn, you know. And especially as a woman, it’s a lot. So, you add this on top of just trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed.”
Choking back tears, Meghan thanked the presenter for asking her about the mental and physical health, saying, “Not many people have asked if I’m OK, but it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.”
Speaking further, Meghan said that she’s often told “H” [Harry] that, “It’s not enough just to survive something – that’s not the point of life. You’ve got to thrive and feel happy.”
Royal analysts say that Meghan is implying that she and Harry are not happy in their current role within the Royal Family.
“I’ve tried this British stiff upper lip thing but “what that does internally is probably really damaging,” she remarked.
The ITV News documentary follows Harry, Meghan and their five-month-old son Archie on their first royal tour together, documenting their 10-day journey. From September 23 to October 2, the family travelled across the continent which Harry previously described as his “second home.”
