Friends of the royal family brushed off the first three episodes of the new Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan Thursday, expressing relief that the show hadn’t made any fresh serious allegations against the royal family.
However, one source said that the show was nonetheless a betrayal and that it would cement the toxic status of relations between William and Harry.
Hours after the episodes dropped, communications were running hot between senior palace aides and advisers, but the overriding sense was one of relief that the show landed no major blows on the family, largely repeating already well-known stories and focusing on the couple’s widely publicized sense of the wickedness of the media.
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One friend of Charles and Camilla told The Daily Beast, “It’s hard to see what Netflix paid $100 million for. If this is all they have got to say, I really think the worst is over for the king.”
The closest that the show came to attacking Charles was when Harry said he had not been given significant support after his mother died, but he did not name his father.
A friend of Kate and William’s said, “It’s hard to imagine how devastating the last three years have been for William. The brothers were so close, they had such an incredible bond. It’s impossible really to express what a massive, terrible, ongoing headache this has been for William in the past few years.
“The family blames Meghan for it all, really. They absolutely fucking hate her, basically. It’s a huge disaster.
“Growing up, the brothers were so close. Harry would do anything to be with William. They lost their mum, and their dad was really disengaged, so they had this incredible, incredible bond. Everyone knew it.
“And then Meghan came along. Everyone warned him off her but he wouldn’t listen, and she just ripped him away. The bond is gone, completely gone and this film is just the latest betrayal. William really, really, really hates both of them now.
“It’s really toxic and destructive for all of them. At the end of the day, they are a family, and their whole family life has been ruined by Meghan. You can’t imagine how bad it really is.”
However, one ex-staffer who remains loyal to the king and the Prince of Wales was sanguine about the show, expressing a general sense of relief, and saying, “It looks like the truth bombs have failed to detonate.”
A senior courtier at the palace told The Daily Beast that they would not be commenting on the show. However, they did refute a claim made at the outset of the new show. A statement appeared on screen at the start saying, “Members of the Royal Family declined to comment on the content within this series.” The senior source at the palace said that neither Buckingham Palace, nor Kensington Palace, nor any members of the royal family were “approached for comment on the content of the series.”
