Harry, Meghan face backlash over 'hypocrisy' in lavish lifestyle and charity work

A new German documentary, The Lost Prince by award-winning filmmaker Ulrike Grunewald, has sparked criticism of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, raising questions about the contrast between their advocacy work and their affluent lifestyle.

The film delves into the couple's life in Montecito, California, following their exit from the Royal Family, and examines Harry's evolving role in relation to the monarchy. 

A notable point of contention highlighted in the documentary is Meghan's choice to wear high-end designer outfits during visits to underprivileged nations, which some argue undermines the message of solidarity with struggling communities.

As the Mirror's Russell Myers notes on the documentary: "If you're going to places like Nigeria, like Colombia, which have huge socio-economic problems, some of the world's poorest communities in these countries, and you're turning up wearing tens of thousands of pounds worth of designer clothes - it really doesn't send the right message."

Meanwhile, Dai Davies, a former Head of Royal Protection and a Divisional Commander in the Metropolitan Police, accuses Harry of failing to mix much with ordinary people on what he describes as their 'carefully orchestrated' international trips. "In Colombia, although there are very rich people there, the vast majority, 85 per cent or 90 per cent, are very poor," Dai said.

"And what I've noticed of these tours, he mixes with the upper classes. He doesn't really, apart from carefree orchestrated areas where he mixes with so-called the 'normal people' – well they're not.

"These are carefully orchestrated campaigns as far as I can see… I look quite dispassionately at the evidence and the evidence I've seen is, it's all about Harry and Meghan. It's very little to do with an actual alleged rationale for going there."

The documentary also critiques Harry and Meghan for leveraging their past royal connections to fund their opulent lifestyle. 

It alleges that the couple dedicates only about an hour each week to their Archewell Foundation, which reportedly saw a sharp decline in donations—from $13 million (£10.2m) in 2021 to just $2 million (£1.5m) in 2022.