THE Queen reportedly gave Prince Harry her blessing for his TV series with Oprah Winfrey after she was given a misleading pitch saying it would be about soldiers’ mental health.
A Royal Family source claimed that the Queen and Prince Charles are “absolutely gobsmacked” after Harry used the Apple TV show to launch “personal attacks” on his family.
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The Queen, 95, is understood to have given her blessing after Harry, 36, told her in 2018 that he wanted to work with Oprah on a documentary TV series about mental health, DailyMail.com reported.
Royal insiders claimed that the idea came about after Harry and Oprah became close friends, having been introduced by the duke’s wife Meghan Markle, 39.
Harry reportedly discussed the series with the Queen and Meghan’s dad Thomas.
However, palace insiders claim that the way Harry pitched the show was “clearly misleading”, and that senior royals would not have agreed to the show if they knew it would be a “personal attack on his father and the institution”.
In the show, The Me You Can’t See, Harry accused his family of showing “total neglect” for his mental health woes and claims dad Charles made him “suffer”.
“Those around the Queen and Prince Charles are absolutely gobsmacked by what has happened,’ a source close to Buckingham Palace reportedly said.
“It is a question of trust, and honestly any of that is hanging by a thread at the moment.
“No one within the Palace circles has anything but sympathy for Harry’s trauma and troubled life, but there is upset and discomfort at him sharing it on an international television show.
“Certainly the intimate detail of his hardships paint a very negative picture of his family and upbringing. Many people have a different view.”
The source added that the premise of the show had been “pushed to the side”, and that Harry had carried out an “attack on his father and childhood”.
The source said: “It has sent seismic tremors out everywhere. Harry has the freedom to speak up for his truth, sure. But there has always been an understanding of accountability.”
In the doc, the Duke of Sussex opened up about his struggles with his mental well-being and the trauma that haunts him after the death of mother Princess Diana.
And in stunningly candid moments, Harry launches blistering attacks on his close relatives – and even admits to past drug use and booze binges to escape from his anguish.
He reveals that he’s been in therapy for “four or five years” – while also opening up about turning his back on Britain and his family to “break the cycle” of grief being passed down the generations.
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Harry also spoke out about his wife Meghan’s mental health struggles, saying: “Meghan decided to share with me the suicidal thoughts and the practicalities of how she was going to end her life.
“The scariest thing for her was her clarity of thought.”
The Duke blasts his own dad Charles – saying he did little to help him through his struggles.
He says: “My father used to say to me when I was younger, he used to say to both William and I, ‘Well, it was like that for me so it’s going to be like that for you.’
“That doesn’t make sense. Just because you suffered, that doesn’t mean your kids have to suffer. Actually quite the opposite.
“If you suffered, do everything you can to make sure that whatever negative experiences you had, you can make it right for your kids.”
Harry and Oprah are set for another Apple TV show on Friday – days after the explosive release of their documentary.
Viewers can expect more “truth bombs” as the pair discuss mental health once more, with a follow up to the docuseries.
Called The Me You Can’t See: A Path Forward, it is billed as a virtual Town Hall.
Apple said it would feature some of those who were interviewed in the series – including actress Glenn Close, who will give more details about their stories.
Other stars who featured in the documentary series are thought to also be making an appearance in the follow up.
