What did Prince Harry mean when he said ‘they were happy to lie to protect’ Prince William?
Ahead of the release of the final three episodes of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix docuseries, Prince Harry has suggested there was a difference in the way he and Meghan were treated compared to his brother Prince William.
Prince Harry made the claim in a trailer released by Netflix on 12 December, ahead of the release of volume two on 15 December.
In the clip, the duke stated: “They were happy to lie to protect my brother. They were never willing to tell the truth to protect us.”
The duchess then claimed that she “wasn’t being thrown to the wolves, I was being fed to the wolves,” while Harry described their experience as “institutional gaslighting”.
The trailer, which suggests the forthcoming episodes will focus on the couple’s decision to step back from the royal family, and the immediate aftermath of their choice, then sees one commentator state: “They were actively recruiting people to disseminate disinformation,” as various newspaper headlines from the 2020 period are displayed on screen.
Who is Prince Harry referring to and what does he mean?
Although Harry did not explicitly state who he was referring to, it has been speculated that he is discussing senior members of the royal family and royal aides, or the media.
As for what the duke meant by the cryptic claim, it is likely that the next three episodes will see the couple address the relationship between the press and the royal family, and the suggestions that palace staff briefed against the couple during their time as senior royals.
The first three episodes of the Sussexes’ docuseries focused heavily on their personal relationship, rather than their roles in the royal family. However, Harry at one point criticised his family for reportedly questioning why Meghan needed to be “protected” from the press.
According to Harry, some members of his family saw the media’s treatment of Meghan shortly after the news of the couple’s relationship broke as a “right of passage”.
“So, it was almost like a rite of passage, and some of the members of the royal family were like: ‘My wife had to go through that, so why should your girlfriend be treated any differently? Why should you get special treatment? Why should she be protected?’” Harry recalled.
The duke said, at the time, that he tried to explain to his family that the difference was the “race element”. The series referenced newspaper headlines from the time, such as: “Harry’s girl is (almost) straight outta Compton” and “One’s gone GangstER.”
Meghan also spoke of the way she was treated by the press, with the duchess accusing the media of trying to “destroy” her, and claiming that “salacious” stories were planted about her.
During one scene, which focused on footage Harry had recorded of himself as he left the UK for the final time as a senior royal, he said he felt that, “being part of this family, it is my duty to uncover this exploitation and bribery that happens within our media”.
In the first trailer released by Netflix, Harry made a similar claim, when he alleged that there is a “hierarchy of the family,” and that there was “leaking, but there’s also planting of stories”. “It’s a dirty game,” he added.
What stories may Harry be referring to?
In addition to allegedly refusing to intervene to protect Meghan from racist media coverage, some have speculated that the duke may also be referring to stories of Meghan’s alleged behaviour inside palace walls.
Although Harry has not yet elaborated on the reasons he believes his brother was treated differently, and granted different protections, Meghan previously told Oprah Winfrey during the couple’s 2021 interview that there were certain narratives that were not corrected by the palace, despite “everyone in the institution” knowing “it wasn’t true”.
Meghan made the claim while addressing reports that, in the lead-up to her and Prince Harry’s royal wedding, she made her sister-in-law Kate Middleton cry.
