- Prince Harry's recent scathing remarks about his family
have shone a blinding flood light on the private affairs
of the British Royals.
But once the dust has settled, Harry's father, King Charles,
and the other bruised Windsors will
wonder if any of their royal magic
has been permanently extinguished.
PRINCE HARRY: To see this institutional gaslighting.
- Harry's six part Netflix documentary series,
a succession of high profile TV interviews,
and his tell-all memoir, "Spare,"
all feature intimate revelations and accusations of discord.
Experts, like Catherine Mayer, author of the recent biography,
"Charles: Heart of a King," say the revelations
could have serious repercussions for the Monarch.
CATHERINE MAYER: This is a huge constitutional issue for him.
It's a huge reputational issue for him.
And it comes ahead of his coronation
and in the very early phase of his reign.
So he is having to respond to this both as a parent
and as a monarch.
And I don't really know what he's going to do.
But he absolutely needs to try to do something.
This is a huge institution of State.
It has significant powers.
It has significant influence.
It gets a shed load of money from us, the taxpayers.
It has-- the King is Head of State in 14 other realms,
as well.
And we're treating it like a soap opera.
- At the heart of Harry and Meghan's
narrative is that Britain's sensationalist popular press is
a devil and that members of the Royal Family
have colluded with it to protect or enhance
their own reputations.
They argue that those who have not engaged with the press,
like, they say, themselves, have been subjected
to cruel and untrue stories that have threatened
their mental health and safety.
Harry has made specific accusations
against his stepmother Camilla, Charles's second wife
and the Queen Consort, and his elder brother
William, heir to the throne.
So far, both have declined to respond.
On the streets of London, Prince Harry's comments
have had a mixed reception.
- I thought it was completely unnecessary.
I hope he puts it all behind him and moves forwards.
But who knows with it.
It wasn't for me, personally.
He's washing his dirty laundry in public too much.
Don't need it.
I think it's a bit wrong.
But I hope they're all all right.
- I have a lot of sympathy for Prince Harry, honestly.
I think what has come out is not very comfortable.
The things that he's saying is not very comfortable.
But he's also a human being and has a right to his own opinions
and his ability to say, you know,
how he feels in real life.
So I do have a bit of sympathy for him.
- There's been a lot of public interest in the melodrama,
though.
As there was in the 1990s following the breakdown
of Charles's marriage to his first wife,
Princess Diana, Harry and William's mother.
Their separation also played out in lurid color
in the pages of British tabloids.
Buckingham Palace will likely take solace in the fact
that the overwhelming majority of papers
have sided with the Royal Family.
An unsurprising outcome given Harry and Meghan's views
on the tabloids and the fact that they've
sued a number of publications.
Back in the 19th century, acclaimed constitutional
writer, Walter Bagehot, said that the British Monarchy
needed reverence and mystery.
Writing that, "We must not let in daylight upon magic."
Right now, though, it's too soon to tell
whether this latest scandal will cause
the Monarchy's sparkle to fade.