The Duke of Sussex said his wife and late mom have the same “compassion” and “empathy”
Prince Harry sees a lot of similarities between Meghan Markle and Princess Diana. The Duke of Sussex spoke on Netflix’s new documentary series Harry & Meghan about his wife having the same confidence and empathy as his late mother.
“So much of what Meghan is and how she is, is so similar to my mom,” Harry said. “She has the same compassion. She has the same empathy. She has the same confidence. She has this warmth about her.”
Prince Harry said Meghan has the same confidence as Princess Diana
The Duke added, “I accept that there will be people around the world who fundamentally disagree with what I’ve done and how I’ve done it, but I knew that I had to do everything I could to protect my family. Especially after what happened to my mom. You know, I didn’t want history to repeat itself.”
In one scene in the series, Meghan is seen holding, presumably, son Archie Harrison up to look at a photo of Princess Diana, saying, “That’s your Grandma Diana.”
Harry’s mother passed away in 1997, twenty years before Harry and Meghan got engaged in 2017. During their engagement interview—which Meghan referred to as an “orchestrated reality show” on the Netflix series—the Duke revealed that he designed Meghan’s engagement ring with little diamonds from his mother’s jewelry collection “to make sure that she’s with us on this, on this crazy journey together.”
Discussing having Diana’s stones in the interview, the Duchess said, “I think everything about Harry’s thoughtfulness is, and the inclusion of that and obviously not being able to meet his mom, it’s so important to me to know that she’s a part of this with us.”
Harry admitted at the time that he believed his mother and Meghan would have been “thick as thieves.” He said, “I think she would be over the moon, jumping up and down, you know, so excited for me,” adding that Diana probably would have been “best friends with Meghan.”
People have been drawing parallels between the late Princess Diana and her daughter-in-law, Meghan Markle, for years, and now it seems Diana’s son, Prince Harry, agrees with them. Volume I of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, dropped on Thursday, and in it, Harry discusses his mother at length, even comparing her to his wife.
“So much of what Meghan is and how she is is so similar to my mom,” Harry says as video of Meghan and Archie plays with cuts of Diana with her sons. “She has the same compassion. She has the same empathy. She has the same confidence. She has this warmth about her.”
Harry also talks about the pressure members of the royal family often feel when choosing their partner.
“I think, for so many people in the family, especially obviously the men, there can be a temptation or an urge to marry someone who would fit in the mold as opposed to somebody who you perhaps are destined to be with,” Harry says without directly naming names. “The difference between making decisions with your head or your heart.”
Harry notes that Diana made “most,” “if not all” of her decisions with her heart.
“And I am my mother’s son,” he says, highlighting his decision to marry Meghan despite potential backlash from his family or the public.
A disclaimer was included at the beginning of the docuseries, noting that members of the royal family declined to comment on the content of the series.
However, a source close to the royal family tells ET, “That is incorrect. Neither Buckingham Palace nor Kensington Palace nor any members of the royal family were approached for comment on the content of the series,” adding “[The Palace] is not aware of any such approach for comment.”
In the docuseries, the couple also share touching footage of a young Archie, now 3, looking at a framed portrait of Diana in their home.
Meghan, holding the little boy, says, “That’s your Grandma Diana,” as Archie reaches out to touch the image in a tender moment.
Volume I of Harry & Meghan is currently streaming on Netflix, while volume II is set to be released on Dec. 15.
