Prince Harry: Claims in Oprah Winfrey docuseries about Prince Charles, the Queen ‘groundless’

Prince Harry has been criticised by his royal biographer for insulting the Queen and reconstructing his life “to be a victim”.

Prince Harry has been slammed as “ruthlessly cruel” for pushing groundless claims about the royal family leaving the Queen “not the same”, his own royal biographer has said.

Angela Levin has told British morning TV, the Queen had not been the same since the death of her husband Prince Philip and Harry’s criticism had made it even harder for her to take.

The prominent British author, who spent 15 months with Prince Harry for his biography, said Harry’s claims particularly about his father Prince Charles were largely groundless and he was reconstructing his own life “to be a victim”.

She said his damning view of his family and royal life now, for a documentary and podcast, was selfish coming at a time of mourning for Prince Philip.

Prince Harry has been slammed for his latest comments about his upbringing. Picture: AFP

“This lack of understanding of anyone else’s position, for Prince Charles, who as we saw when the funeral took place, he was absolutely devastated to lose his father,” she told Good Morning Britain.

“And the Queen, at 95, bravely went to open Parliament again but you could tell she wasn’t the same Queen.

“She’s desperately upset, she adores Harry. And Prince Charles has done his best. So, it is unspeakably, ruthlessly cruel.”

Harry and Meaghan quit Britain last year to set themselves up as a celebrity couple in the US with regular media appearances.

Prince Harry’s remarks come just weeks after the death of his grandfather, Prince Philip. Picture: Getty Images

Among his recent remarks Harry said his issues were “connected” to his father’s that meant he, Charles, was treated the same way he had now treated his son.

Ms Levin, who wrote ‘Harry: Conversations with the Prince’, said it appeared he was saying his father was so damaged by his parents the Queen and Prince Philip. She added whether true or not, this was not the time to attack them.

In a Twitter message Ms Levin questioned motivation and whether all this bad blood and publicity would encourage anti-monarchists to overthrow the monarchy. “It could well be what H and M are after” she tweeted referring to Harry and Meghan.

The first trailer for Prince Harry’s mental health series with Oprah Winfrey features footage of him as a then 12-year-old boy with Prince Charles at Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997.

In the trailer, which was released overnight, Prince Harry is shown speaking to Winfrey, reports The Sun.

“To make that decision to receive help is not a sign of weakness. In today’s world more than ever, it is a sign of strength,” he says.

Prince Harry speaks to Oprah Winfrey in a new docuseries on mental health. Picture: Apple

The Duke of Sussex teamed up with the US media mogul for the documentary The Me You Can’t See, which explores mental health.

The trailer includes poignant archive footage of Prince Harry standing next to Prince Charles at Princess Diana’s funeral, a sight which broke hearts the world over.

A voiceover says: “Treating people with dignity is the first act.”

The first trailer also features Meghan leaning over Prince Harry while wearing a T-shirt printed with the slogan “Raising the Future”.

The couple’s son, Archie, makes a brief appearance too with a clip of him sitting on Meghan’s lap on his first birthday.

In the documentary, Meghan Markle is seen looking over Prince Harry's shoulder. Picture: Supplied

Prince Harry says: “What words have you heard around mental health? Crazy?

“To make that decision to receive help is not a sign of weakness.

“In today’s world more than ever, it is a sign of strength.

“The results of this year will be felt for decades, the kids, the families, husbands, wives everybody.”

The Apple TV+ series premieres on May 21 and features contributions from singer Lady Gaga, Syrian refugee Fawzi, and DeMar DeRozan of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs.

It comes days after Prince Harry said his life was “a mixture between The Truman Show and being in a zoo”.

He opened up about his mental health struggles in a brutally frank, and profanity-laden, chat with US podcast host Dax Shepard.

Meghan Markle and Archie are featured briefly in Prince Harry's docuseries on mental health. Picture: Apple TV

He revealed he wanted to quit the royal family 15 years before Megxit because he was concerned over what it “did to my mum”.

When asked about his trips as a royal around the Commonwealth, Prince Harry told the Armchair Expert podcast: “It’s the job right? Grin and bear it, get on with it.

“In my early 20s, it was a case of, I don’t want this job. I don’t want to be here, I don’t want to be doing this, look what it did to my mum.

“How am I ever going to settle down, have a wife and a family when I know, that it’s going to happen again?

Oprah Winfrey interviews Prince Harry in their docuseries about mental health. Picture: Apple TV

“Because I know, I’ve seen behind the curtain. I’ve seen the business model, I know how the operation runs and how it works, and I don’t want to be a part of this.”

He also claimed that he was told “you need help” while he was growing up but rejected it, saying: “There is nothing wrong with me.”

Prince Harry also discussed his relationship with his father just weeks after claiming he was “trapped” in the royal family.

He said he moved California to “break the cycle” of “genetic” pain for wife Meghan and their kids.

Prince Charles consoles a young Prince Harry at Princess Diana's funeral. Picture: Supplied

Footage of Prince Harry watching Princess Diana's coffin go past features in the documentary. Picture: Supplied

“There’s no blame, I don’t think we should be pointing the finger or blaming anybody,” he said.

“But certainly when it comes to parenting, if I have experienced some form of pain or suffering because of the pain or suffering perhaps my father or my parents suffered, I’m gonna make sure that I break that cycle so that I don’t pass it on, basically.

“There is a lot of genetic pain and suffering that gets passed on anyway. As parents we should be doing the most that we can to say, ‘You know what, that happened to me, I’m gonna make sure that’s not going to happen to you.’”

Oprah Winfrey cries during her interview with Prince Harry. The pair have co-produced a documentary series on mental health for Apple TV+. Picture: Apple

– with The Sun