Harry Says Diana Was 'Chased To Her Death While She Was In A Relationship With Someone That Wasn’t White' And Feared 'History Was Repeating Itself' With Meghan

May 21, 2021

In cooperation with Oprah Winfrey, former working royals Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have released a multi-part documentary project for mental health awareness, which was released on May 21, 2021. The documentary special, "The Me You Can't See," is executive produced by Winfrey and Harry and features the two discussing emotional well-being and mental health with a number of celebrity guests, including Lady Gaga, Glenn Close, and NBA players DeMar DeRozan and Langston Galloway. The series features five episodes, which are each an hour long.

The show will also feature Winfrey and Harry opening up about their own experiences with mental illness. Focusing on making sure viewers know they are not alone in the struggle that sometimes happens with mental health, the show's goal is to challenge stigmas and provide insight into how viewers can start the path to treatment.

The series is debuting not long after Meghan and Harry's tell-all interview with Winfrey, but the topic of mental health is one near and dear to Harry's heart. Harry's mother, the late Diana, was known for her outspokenness regarding mental health and beloved by the public for her candid and honest conversations about mental well-being.

In one clip from the show, Harry speaks to the racism that his mother faced while dating the Egyptian film producer Dodi Fayed, the same man Diana died alongside after a 1997 car accident in Paris. In this excerpt, the prince makes a comparison between the racism Fayed and his mother experienced and the discrimination he and his wife Meghan, who is half Black, have faced.

Although Harry and his wife Meghan began distancing themselves from the royal family back in January 2020 when they announced that they would be stepping back as senior royals, it wasn’t until the two spoke with Winfrey during an exclusive interview in March 2021 that they began to criticize the way in which the media and the royal family have talked about and portrayed Archie and Meghan. In "The Me You Can't See," Harry makes similar criticisms, speaking specifically to the mental toll of the discriminatory comments.

“Within the first eight days of our relationship being made public was when they said, ‘Harry’s girl almost straight outta Compton.’ And that her exotic DNA will be thickening the royal blood,” Harry said of the media’s treatment of Markle in the documentary series, according to The Independent. “We would get followed, photographed, chased, harassed.”

Harry then makes a comparison between the hate Markle has faced and the racism that his mother and Egyptian boyfriend experienced in the late 1990s, saying that “history was repeating itself.”

“My mother was chased to her death while she was in a relationship with someone that wasn’t white,” Harry added. “And now look what’s happened. You wanna talk about history repeating itself, they’re not gonna stop until she dies.”

After both sides had admitted to infidelity, Princess Diana and her husband, Prince Charles, filed for divorce in 1996 after receiving pressure from Queen Elizabeth II to seperate, according to the BBC. Around a year later, the paparazzi spotted the princess on vacation with her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed.

And, as Harry alludes to in his interview, the media wouldn’t let up. In fact, Diana and Fayed died in a car crash while trying to escape the paparazzi, who were following the couple in Paris. 

Given that Harry says this history of harassment has repeated itself, the former working royal explained that he regretted not speaking out earlier about the racism his wife faced. According to The Independent, the prince said his biggest regret was “not making more of a stance earlier on in my relationship with my wife and calling out the racism when I did.”

Harry’s statements regarding race come after the controversial March 7 interview with Winfrey, in which the prince and Meghan addressed the growing rift between themselves and the royal family. In the interview, the couple specifically criticized the royal family and the press, particularly for the way they talk about their son, Archie.

There were “concerns and conversations,” Meghan told Winfrey, ”about how dark (Archie’s) skin might be when he’s born.”

Meghan added that because of its culture and concerns like the one above, her mental health suffered after joining the royal family, describing her psychological state as “frightening.”

Following the tell-all special, which saw Meghan and Harry criticize members of the royal family directly for the first time, the late Queen Elizabeth released an official statement responding to claims of racism.

“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,” she wrote in the statement, which was issued on March 9, 2021.

“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately,” she added.

“Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”

As of May 21, viewers can watch Harry’s "The Me You Can't See” multi-part documentary series on Apple TV+, which includes five episodes that are already available for subscribers. 

What do you think about Harry’s statement that “history was repeating itself” with Meghan? What do you think about his new documentary series? Let us know — and be sure to pass this on to friends and family members.