Prince Harry Says Royal Family Is Willing to ‘Lie to Protect’ Prince William

If you thought that the first three episodes of Harry & Meghan were juicy, get ready for the next batch. On Monday, a new trailer dropped for the second half of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Netflix docuseries. The trailer contains an interesting tidbit from Harry, who says that the royal family is willing to “lie to protect” the current heir to the throne, his older brother, Prince William. 

The clip begins with Harry saying, “I wonder what would have happened to us had we not got out when we did.” Both he and Meghan then recount their experience with the British press, particularly in comparison to the treatment that William receives. The Duke of Sussex continued, “To see this institutional gaslighting … They were happy to lie to protect my brother. They were never willing to tell the truth to protect us.” As for Meghan, she said that she felt as though they were being “fed to the wolves” and that they experienced a series of troubling ordeals following their 2018 wedding including having their security pulled. 

“Everyone in the world knew where we were. … [Leaving] gave us a chance to create that home that we had always wanted,” Meghan said about their royal exit. A royal expert who was interviewed for the docuseries also shared their concerns about the British royal family’s relationship with the press, as they said that they were “actively recruiting people to disseminate disinformation” about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Viewers will be able to see the rest of the couple’s story play out when the last three episodes of Harry & Meghan drop on Thursday, Dec. 15.

The first three episodes of the documentary show, which dropped on Thursday via Netflix, already have plenty of people talking. In fact, the series is already Netflix’s biggest show of the year in the United Kingdom, nabbing bigger ratings than Season 5 of The Crown. Amid all of the talk about the series, there has also been some backlash that Harry and Meghan have had to contend with. However, days after the premiere, their representative released a statement to dispel one very significant misconception about their exit from the royal family. 

“The Duke and Duchess have never cited privacy as the reason for stepping back,” the statement read, per Entertainment Tonight. “This distorted narrative was intended to trap the couple into silence. In fact, their statement announcing their decision to step back mentions nothing of privacy and reiterates their desire to continue their roles and public duties. Any suggestion otherwise speaks to a key point of this series.”