Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle were "followed, photographed, pursued, and threatened" only days after their relationship became public, according to a new documentary series released on Monday.

The grandson of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II partnered with Oprah Winfrey for the Apple TV+ series "The Me You Can't See," which is dedicated to mental health issues.

In an interview with Winfrey, the Duke of Sussex accused the Royal Family of failing to help him after he and Meghan were targeted on social media and in a variety of publications, prompting him to have a drinking and substance problem in his 30s.

“I felt completely helpless. I thought my family would help - but every single ask, request, warning, whatever it is, just got met with total silence or total neglect. We spent four years trying to make it work. We did everything that we possibly could to stay there and carry on doing the role and doing the job”, he asserted.

Harry spoke just hours after an independent investigation found that BBC journalist Martin Bashir falsified documents to secure an explosive 1995 interview with Princess Diana, Harry's mother and William's older brother, in which the Princess of Wales described her tumultuous marriage to Prince Charles.

The Duke of Sussex explains why he despises the practice of ‘clicking of cameras.'

During his interview with Oprah, the Duke of Sussex brought up the subject, claiming that his family did not talk about his mother's death and that they expected him to deal with the media and mental health issues.

 

“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 doesn't mean that your kids have to suffer, in fact quite the opposite - if you suffered, do everything you can to make sure that whatever negative experiences you had, that you can make it right for your kids”, the 36-year-old pointed out.

In this respect, he acknowledged that the "clicking" and "flashing" of cameras "makes his blood boil," as well as making him angry and bringing back memories of what happened to his mother and his childhood.

Harry said he felt like he was outside of his body at Princess Diana's funeral, "only walking around doing what was expected of me - expressing one-tenth of the emotion that everyone else was showing."

 

“I was so angry with what happened to her, and the fact that there was no justice at all. Nothing came from that. The same people that chased her into the tunnel photographed her dying on the backseat of that car”, the duke added.

Princess Diana was killed in a car accident in Paris in 1997 when her driver failed to outrun paparazzi photographers chasing the vehicle.

Prince Harry Opens Up About His Therapy

Harry also discussed his counseling experience in the Friday interview, insisting that it has "equipped" him "to be able to take on something" and in particular helped him deal with the death of his mother when he was 12 years old.

 

“I'm now more comfortable in my own skin. I don’t get panic attacks. I've learned more about myself in the past four years than in the 32 years before it”, he underscored.

“I realized that if I didn't do the therapy and repair myself, I was going to lose this woman who I could see spending the rest of my life with,” the duke said, adding that being with Meghan made him realize the value of mental wellbeing.

In a CBS interview in March 2021, both Harry and Meghan discussed their mental health issues, with Meghan claiming that she had suicidal thoughts in 2019.

During the Friday meeting, the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II argued that his family tried to stop him and Meghan from visiting the United States after she said she was suicidal. The couple revealed in January 2020 that they will leave their frontline royal duties and relocate to California.

One of the key reasons for Meghan's departure, according to Harry, was his family's inability to assist her.

 

“Eventually when I made that decision for my family, I was still told, ‘You can’t do this’. And it’s like, ‘Well how bad does it have to get until I am allowed to do this?’ She [Markle] was going to end her life. It shouldn’t have to get to that”, Harry said.

The build-up to the couple's CBS interview with Oprah had taken its toll, according to the duke, because of "the combined effort of 'the company' and the media to slander" Meghan.

“I was awoken in the middle of the night by her sobbing in her pillow, claiming that she doesn't want to wake me up because I'm holding too much. That's a heartbreaking situation. I took her in my arms. We had a conversation. He added that he had no regrets about coming to the United States, saying, "She screamed, she cried, she cried."

As he pays tribute to his mother, Harry says, "History Repeating Itself."

The duke also said that his wife's mood was reminiscent of Princess Diana's final days.

 

“History was repeating itself. My mother was chased to her death while she was in a relationship with someone who wasn’t white. And now look what’s happened. It’s incredibly triggering to potentially lose another woman in my life. Like, the list is growing. And it all comes back to the same people, the same business model, the same industry”, Harry noted.

He went on to say that there was a lot of learning at the start of his relationship with Meghan, who was "shocked to becoming backstage of the institution - of the British Royal Family."