Harry & Meghan show a ‘direct hit’ on late Queen’s Commonwealth legacy

London: Royal watchers in the UK have accused the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix documentary of attacking the late Queen’s legacy, after the Commonwealth was described in the program as “Empire 2.0”.

The series has aimed a “direct hit” at Queen Elizabeth II’s decades of work to lead the Commonwealth into a new era, royal sources believe, describing it as “deeply offensive” to her memory.

Participants appearing on the Sussexes’ Harry & Meghan series, part of their multi-million-pound Netflix deal, called the Commonwealth a “privileged club of formerly colonised nations”, said it was an economic bloc that has kept countries “intergenerationally poor”, and described millions of Britons as having “incredibly painful” memories of the Empire.

The documentary also makes claims about the royal family’s financing of the slave trade.

Afua Hirsch, a British writer, tells viewers: “It’s often said that Britain had a Deep South that was just as brutal, that actually enslaved more Africans than the United States of America did. But that Deep South was the Caribbean.”

Sources condemned the description of the Commonwealth as “appalling and factually inaccurate”, with one palace insider adding that it was a “good job” the late Queen “is not here to have to see this”.

Queen Elizabeth II speaks during the formal opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London in 2018.Credit: AP

Another said: “Some of this is deeply offensive to all those in the Commonwealth and, of course, the late Queen’s legacy. The real risk is that people are learning about the Commonwealth for the first time through hearing this.”

The royal family has chosen to stay silent over the Netflix show, with senior members not intending to watch it.

The first three episodes were released on Thursday morning in the UK. The final three will air next Thursday.

On the day, King Charles III was joined by religious leaders, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, to visit London churches, where he wished worshippers a “happy Christmas”.

From bottom left: King Charles III with Camilla, the Queen Consort, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, watch as the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is placed into the hearse following her state funeral service in September.Credit: AP

A source close to the palace said there was a feeling of “sadness” around the documentary, in which Prince Harry and his wife Meghan criticise members of their family, including the “formality” of his brother William and wife Catherine, now the Prince and Princess of Wales.

The feeling behind palace walls, a source said, was “that it’s quite sad that it’s come to this”.

“Today is a day when you’re reminded that they’re human beings,” they said of the royal family. “It’s sad to see it playing out in this way.”

In the series, the couple opens up their family photo and video albums to share intimate stories and images of their romance, young children and exit from royal life.

The Netflix documentary has mesmerised the British public.Credit: AP

Meghan says she was not given any training in how to become a member of the royal family, she spoke of her shock at having to bow to the late Queen.

A palace source said last night: “The truth is, this a real royal family - they’re not playing a role.

“How did they not know that?”

The first three episodes include sections claiming that the Brexit debate inflamed racial tensions and how Britain’s attitude towards Meghan was affected by racism.

Harry, who was appointed president of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust and a Commonwealth Youth Ambassador by his late grandmother, spoke of his own awakening to racism, admitting he had been “blissfully sleepwalking through life” despite his travels until he met his now wife.

He spoke of the royal family’s “huge level of unconscious bias”, which he described as “no one’s fault” but essential to “make right”.

“In this family, sometimes you are part of the problem rather than part of the solution,” he said.

The Telegraph, London

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.