By Patrick Smith —
NBC News
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, take direct aim at the British royal family in the latest installment of their Netflix documentary series, accusing them of fueling negative media coverage that they say led to Markle having suicidal thoughts and led him to leave the UK.
The first three episodes of the series, aired last week, focused on the media's treatment of Markle and the racism they claim they have suffered, largely preventing any attack on Buckingham Palace.
But the last three episodes, released on Thursday, are harsh critics of the royal family, and in particular Prince William, Harry's brother and heir to the British throne.
The new episodes illustrate just how acrimonious the couple's break with their family has been, focusing on their announcement of their retirement from royal roles in 2020 and their departure for the United States.
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The couple accuses the British royal family of not only not supporting them, but also of
engaging in an information war
in which negative stories were fed to the media to protect other royals and Buckingham Palace in what Harry calls a "dirty game".
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The situation came to a boil at a crisis meeting at the royal estate of Sandringham in January 2020 in which Harry says William yelled at him in front of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
"It was terrifying to have my brother yell at me and my father say things that just weren't true, and my grandmother to sit there and seem to take it all in," Harry says in the fifth installment of the six-hour docuseries. .
The last three episodes again focus on the tension of being in the media spotlight, but this time the couple squarely blames the royal family and accuses the palace of complicity.
"They had to believe that it was more about us and maybe the problems we were having and not about their partner, the media and their relationship that was causing us so much pain," Harry said of the acceptance by the royal family. that he was leaving his royal responsibilities.
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After the media hinted that William's alleged harassment had forced the couple out of the country, the two brothers issued a joint statement denying it after the Sandringham summit.
But Harry recounts in the documentary that he knew nothing of the statement: “I couldn't believe it.
No one had asked me to put my name on a statement like that," she said, "I called M [Meghan] and she was in tears because in four hours they were happy to lie to protect my brother and yet for three years they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us.”
That was the moment, they say, when they knew they had to leave.
Harry claims that it was ultimately his decision.
Adds Markle: “I did everything I could to make them proud and to really be a part of the family.”
But amid a storm of negative headlines, she believed that "she was not only being thrown to the wolves, she was being served as food for the wolves."
That phrase appeared in the trailers prior to these latest episodes, which promised to be more explosive than the first installment.
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According to Netflix, the first installment was viewed in 28 million homes and for more than 81.5 million hours, making it the most viewed documentary in the streaming giant's history in a week of release.
However, the series does not seem to have had much of an impact on the opinion of the couple in the UK.
According to a survey published this week by the YouGov company, 4% of respondents now have a more positive opinion of Harry and his wife, while 14% have a more negative opinion.
The couple's media company, Archewell Productions, is listed as one of the three production companies on the Netflix show.
In addition, they have published a series of podcasts and are preparing a book.
The series, which promised to reveal the "truth" about the couple, opens at an awkward time for the British monarchy, three months after the death of Elizabeth II and the accession to the throne of Harry's father, Charles III.
But the couple first outlined their side of the story in their interview with journalist Oprah Winfrey last year.
Markle then said that she had suicidal thoughts, and the new series explains the mental health crises she said she suffered working as a member of royalty and her alleged lack of royal support.
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“This will all end if I'm not here.
And that was what scared me the most.
He had very clear ideas,” she explained.
“I wanted to go somewhere to find help, but they wouldn't let me.
They were concerned about how that would look for the institution, ”he alleged.
Markle's mother, Doria Ragland, recounts in the series: “I remember her saying that, that she wanted to take her own life.
She broke my heart."
NBC News has reached out to Buckingham Palace and Prince William with a series of questions about the claims made in the Netflix series, but has not received a response.
No one in the British royal family has publicly commented on the series.
Charles III said upon taking the throne that he wanted to "express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives abroad", in an apparent attempt to signal a willingness to heal the rift between the monarchy and the Sussexes.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to get in touch with the suicide hotline. You can also call the Prevention Network at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741, or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.
