Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s new documentary appears to have caused quite a stir in the royal family.
Over the weekend, ITV aired Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, which documented the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s royal tour of Africa. The documentary featured interviews from both Harry and Meghan, during which they both addressed the media attention, as well as backlash, they’ve been receiving. Harry even discussed the rumored rift between him and brother Prince William during one part of the documentary.
“Inevitably stuff happens,” Harry told journalist Tom Bradby. “But we’re brothers, we’ll always be brothers. We’re certainly on different paths at the moment. I’ll always be there for him and as I know, he’ll always be there for me. We don’t see each other as much as we used to because we’re so busy but I love him dearly.”
So what did the royal family think about the couple’s documentary revelations? According to royal sources, they were “fairly astonished” by the “level of personal detail” that Harry and Meghan shared in the doc. It seems as though eyebrows were raised over the decision to discuss, on the record, Harry’s feelings about a “distance” between him and William, when the Palace has “tried so hard to play down rumors of a rift in recent months.”
According to a royal insider, “There also seems to be a lot of bemusement within the royal family about what exactly Harry and Meghan are trying to achieve, as members of the royal family do not usually speak in such detail about personal matters.”
The source adds, “It’s fair to say that there is a deep sense of unease in the royal households about the direction this is all headed.”
During the rare interview featured in the doc, Meghan opened up about the scrutiny she’s faced as a royal and as a new mom to baby boy Archie Harrison.
“Look any woman, especially when they’re pregnant, you’re really vulnerable,” the Duchess of Sussex said. “And so that was made really challenging and then when you have a newborn, you know…and especially as a woman, it’s really, it’s a lot, so you add this on top of just trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed, it’s, um…Yeah, well I guess…and also thank you for asking because not many people have asked if I’m OK, but it’s, uh, it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.”
Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire
It was during the royal couple’s trip to Africa that Prince Harry issued a powerful statement against the British press for bullying his wife. It was also revealed that the royals are taking legal action over the publishing of a private letter written by Meghan. Days later, it was reported that Harry is suing the owners of the Sun and the Daily Mirror over alleged phone hacking claims.
E! News has reached out to the Palace for comment.