Harry's film puts royals in spotlight

Britain's royal family is in the spotlight again after the release of the first part of a Netflix documentary called Harry and Meghan, featuring Prince Harry the Duke of Sussex, and his wife.

Harry, the second son of King Charles III, married Meghan Markle, a divorced United States actress, at Windsor Castle in May 2018.

In January 2020, the couple announced they intended "to step back as 'senior' members of the royal family and work to become financially independent".

Harry lost his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, when he was 12 years old, and has spoken publicly of his mental health issues, and his discomfort with media intrusion and press harassment.

The couple now live in the US, with their two children, with Harry saying in the documentary that "the level of hate that is being stirred up in the last three years especially against my wife and my son, I'm generally concerned for the safety of my family".

The second half of the documentary will be released later this month, and in the new year will be followed by Harry's memoir, entitled Spare — a reference to the phrase often used to describe royal children, the heir and the spare.

Harry's older brother William is heir to the throne, and their relationship, and even more so that of their wives, Meghan and Kate, is regular gossip column fodder.

In the documentary, Harry said how he had sacrificed "everything that I know" to join Meghan "in her world", after she had done the same by stepping into the royal spotlight.

Their story resembles one of the most famous incidents in royal history. In 1936, when King George VI died, his heir became King Edward VIII, but abdicated without being crowned, after being given a choice between his relationship with a United States divorcee, Wallis Simpson, who he later married, or becoming king.

He renounced the throne, saying "I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love", and so the crown passed to the spare — King George VI, Harry's great-grandfather.

Although Harry is only fifth in line to the throne, there are clear comparisons, and in the series he said "for so many people in the family, especially obviously the men, there can be a temptation or an urge to marry someone who would fit in the mold, as opposed to somebody who you are perhaps destined to be with".

Harry said his family were "incredibly impressed" with Meghan when they first met her, but goes on to talk about the lack of media protection she was given, saying that her mixed race background was not recognized as a factor that may affect the coverage she received.

Netflix said members of the royal family declined to comment during the making of the series, and the BBC reported that Buckingham Palace has not responded to any of the claims made in it.