The whole fuss surrounding the Netflix documentary about Harry and Meghan is fueled by the media. And beyond the royal family feud, the tabloid press is at the core of the problem, says DW's Silke Wünsch.
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Image: Jonathan Brady/empics/picture alliance
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan turned their backs on the British Royal Palace in 2020 and said goodbye to all royal duties and titles.
They explain how this happened in a six-part Netflix documentary series combining lots of emotion, mobile phone videos, paparazzi photos, black-and-white pictures, flashbacks and emotional music.
Now everything is out. And the series has one measurable consequence: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's popularity in England has sunk even more than ever.
No wonder, since the British media who are the main focus of the series have already attacked the couple in the run-up to the Netflix documentary.
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Headlines that sicken
In the beginning, there was a love story. When the couple was ready to face the public about their relationship, they knew that their lives would change. But the two — as they describe it — did not calculate it would be so extreme.
Harry, who lost his mother Diana at the age of 12 because she had a fatal accident while fleeing from paparazzi, saw how history threatened to repeat itself. The US-American Meghan was only just getting to know the British tabloid press.
Scenes like this one aim to show how much the couple longs for normalityImage: Netflix/PA Media/picture alliance
And this doesn't come off well in the series. Again and again we see pictures of a pack of photographers pointing insanely large telephoto lenses at the couple.
And from one gossip piece to the next, the headlines about Meghan feel like a sickening rollercoaster, elevating her to the beautiful dream princess and then trampling her in the dust as the Black bride from the ghetto or the diva who spreads chaos at Buckingham Palace. The press steers opinion as it pleases.
The media's hounding of Lady Di is often mentioned in 'Harry & Meghan'Image: empics/picture alliance
And so Meghan and Harry have taken the reins themselves and tell their side of the story, expressing their grief from the soul — admittedly in a way that is clearly media-savvy and that is extremely beneficial financially for them too.
Meanwhile, the royal family sticks to Buckingham Palace's tradition of maintaining silence and refrains from loud retaliation. Which means the entire hubbub is once again being taken over by the press.
Whether the accusations of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are justified remains to be seen.
If they could, the royal family facing those accusations would probably fire back just as vehemently, portraying their side of the story subjectively, too.
It is clear that many Brits who are closely connected to the royal palace deeply detest Harry and Meghan's Netflix appearance — for them the couple's exit from the "Firm" was already a betrayal.
For me, as a non-Brit and neutral observer, this series stands for something different.
It tells the story of a couple who had to take a radical step in reaction to unjustified media abuse, and now want to explain themselves — hoping to one day live a halfway normal life.
It also portrays the tragedy of a large family the media considers to be their property — with all consequences that may have.
Top scandals involving British royals
Fans of the British royal family are also in love with their scandals. Prince Harry and Meghan's interview is one recent case, but there have been many preceding it.
Image: Harpo Productions/Joe Pugliese/REUTERS
A model for Harry and Meghan?
Their love moved the world: King Edward VIII was unable to marry the divorced American Wallis Simpson because he was the head of the Anglican Church and so decided to step down from the throne after only 326 days. The couple did get married, on June 3, 1937 at the Cande castle in France. The scandal rocked the royal household.
Image: The Print Collector/Heritage-Images/picture alliance / Heritage-Images
Princess Margaret's divorce
Queen Elizabeth's youngest sister was one of the most glamorous members of the royal family: She loved parties, alcohol and had affairs. She had two children with her husband, the Earl of Snowdon. The couple separated in March 1976, making Margaret the first royal to divorce — after Henry VIII in the 16th century.
Image: Dalmas/AFP/Getty Images
Snapshots from married life
Not everyone believes that the riding teacher James Hewitt was Lady Diana's first extra-marital lover. There is another rumor that she had an affair with her bodyguard, Barry Mannakee in the 1980s. When Prince Charles confessed to having cheated on her, Lady Diana also admitted having a relationship with Hewitt. Could he be Prince Harry's biological father?
Image: Camera Press/ZUMA Wire/imago images
Charles and the tampon affair
Prince Charles is shown here leading his second wife Camilla Parker Bowles to the altar. His first marriage with Lady Diana had failed. Their fights exposed intimate secrets, including a flirty telephone conversation between Charles and Camilla, which became known as "Tampongate," as it revealed one of the prince's most cringeworthy fantasies.
Image: UPI Photo/imago images
The Queen's silence
A year after her official divorce from Prince Charles, Diana and her boyfriend Dodi Al-Fayed died in a car crash, leaving Britain in shock. Yet it took a long time for the Queen to react with a word of sympathy. Her silence was met with huge criticism; every fourth Brit advocated the abolition of the monarchy. Only days later did the royals reach out to the grieving people.
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'Harry the Nazi'
Drugs, alcohol and parties earned the prince the nickname, "Dirty Harry." Once, he also managed to get caught stark naked at a Las Vegas party by the tabloids. And a picture of the 20-year-old royal dressed as Nazi officer Erwin Rommel, complete with the swastika, was lapped up by the press.
Image: Kay Nietfeld/dpa/picture-alliance
Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein
Could Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth's second son and the ex-husband of Sarah Ferguson, be involved in sex scandals related to Jeffrey Epstein? The American investment banker is believed to have run a sex-trafficking operation with minor girls. Epstein committed suicide before his trial began.
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The bombshell
Around 50 million people watched Oprah Winfrey's interview with Prince Harry and Meghan. The two revealed serious allegations against the British royal family and also accused them of being racist. When Meghan was pregnant with her son Archie, she said there were "concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he is born."
Image: Harpo Productions/Joe Pugliese/REUTERS
The Queen breaks her silence
In the meantime, Buckingham palace has said that the Queen is taking the accusations of racism "very seriously." In a statement issued on her behalf, the palace announced that the royal family was "saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan," adding that the accusations by Meghan and Harry would be dealt with privately.
