Meghan Markle became the center of attention—in both a positive and a negative way—upon her introduction into the British royal family. But in Episode 4 of their Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex detail exactly how that spotlight impacted their relationship with the rest of the family.
Photos of British newspapers with Meghan on the cover flash on the screen at the start of the episode, with Harry and Meghan recalling moments when the entire royal family got together for engagements, and Meghan still managed to outshine the seniors—Catherine, Princess of Wales (then the Duchess of Cambridge), Queen Camilla, (then Duchess of Cornwall), and even Queen Elizabeth II.
"The issue is when someone who’s marrying in, who should be a supporting act, is then stealing the limelight or is doing the job better than the person who is born to do this, that upsets people. It shifts the balance," Harry says.
While the attention toward Meghan was initially flattering, the British media’s perception of her quickly took a turn, and Harry says Buckingham Palace played a huge part in that shift.
"My dad said to me, ‘Darling boy, you can’t take on the media. The media will always be the media.’ And I said, ‘I fundamentally disagree,’" Harry recalls. "I have 30 years experience of looking behind the curtain and seeing how the system runs—and it’s just constant briefings, about other members of the family, about favors inviting the press in, it’s a dirty game."
He explains that each senior royal (or royal couple) has a communications team which works to keep the press about them positive. Because the palace has a working relationship with newspapers, in which they provide content about the royals in exchange for coverage, these teams may offer stories about other royals to news outlets in order to prevent negative coverage about their principle royal.
"There’s leaking but there’s also planting of stories. So if the comms team wanted to be able to remove a negative story about their principle, they will trade and give you something about someone else’s principle," Harry says. "So the offices end up working against each other, There’s kind of this weird understanding or acceptance that happens."
He says individual members of the family may not be to blame entirely for the fact that their communications teams do this, "but what I am asking is: Have you done anything to stop it?" Harry says, "and the answer is no."
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Though Harry and Meghan initially shared communications houses with Prince William and Kate, the couples decided to split houses and pursue different engagements months into the Sussexes’ marriage,
Soon, tabloids began pinning Kate and Meghan against one another, alleging a broken relationship, and rumors of a fallout between Will and Harry arose.
Seemingly addressing those estrangement rumors, Harry says he and William promised each other a long time ago—after seeing what happened to mom Princess Diana—that they would never put the press above each other, or pin their houses against one another’s.
But, Harry claims, William did not follow through on his promise.
"I would far rather get destroyed in the press than play along with this game or this business of trading. Then, to see my brother’s office copy the very same thing that we promised the two of us would never, ever do," he says, "that was heartbreaking."
"When you would expect support from the people closest, we got the opposite," Harry adds.
