Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's California lifestyle labeled 'elitist' in new German documentary
MONTECITO, CALIFORNIA: A recent documentary from the German network ZDF exposed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's hypocrisy while living an "elitist" lifestyle in the US, dealing them an additional setback.
The movie, 'Harry: The Lost Prince', directed by Ulrike Grunewald, includes scathing critiques of the couple's efforts to start a new life as campaigners and charity activists after leaving the Royal family, per Daily Mail.
It further juxtaposed Meghan's love of expensive designer clothing with their well-publicized trips to developing countries like Nigeria and Colombia.
'The Lost Prince' showcases Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's life in Montecito
The documentary took aim at the couple by describing how Meghan Markle's love of pricey designer clothing conflicts with their well-publicized trips to impoverished nations like Nigeria and Colombia.
Award-winning filmmaker Grunewald spoke with the couple's neighbors, veterans who know Prince Harry, and other Royal reporters and specialists for the documentary.
Ben McBean—a former soldier who was severely wounded in an Afghan landmine explosion in 2008, had his right leg amputated above the knee, and lost his left arm—is one of the documentary's stinging voices.
McBean, who flew home from Afghanistan with Harry, was not shy about criticizing the prince for his shocking family revelations in both his Netflix series and his memoir 'Spare'.
The veteran soldier said: "I just thought, with him kind of whinging about his family and he was saying something about his brother pushing him over or something like that, I was just like, 'Mate, just leave it out'."
"You and your brother had a little fisticuffs…but family's family, you know. If one of my friends fell out with his partner and started posting things on social media and saying my ex is this and that, I'd have told him to shut up as well," McBean expressed.
ZDF's promotional materials stated: "Even in his self-imposed exile in Montecito, California, he remains a figure of public interest."
"His commitment to charitable organizations - such as the Invictus Games he founded for wounded servicemen and women - always puts him in the spotlight," per The Mirror UK.
Documentary accuses Prince Harry and Meghan Markle of using titles to make 'money in Hollywood'
The German documentary also accused Prince Harry and Meghan Markle of trading off their previous Royal positions to finance their lavish lifestyle.
Reporter Russel Myers said in the program: "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."
Several German media outlets criticized the Sussexes' 2020 departure from the Royal Family, which is now commonly referred to as "Megxit" by Royal fans.
'The Royal Report' podcast host Jack Royston also noted the couple's wish to be "half in and half out" of the Royal family, which the late Queen rejected.
Royston remarked: "If you have a situation where Harry and Meghan are earning huge amounts of money in Hollywood trading off their reputations, but then they're also bolstering their reputations by working for the Queen."
"They're able to present themselves on the world stage as being these working members of the royal family who are also available for a price."
Royston also emphasized the enormous expense of the Invictus Games—which will take place in Birmingham in 2027—as well as the substantial contribution made by German taxpayers and the expected demand for UK public funds to support the event.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle consider themselves 'part of an elite in America'
Jack Royston also said that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are now "part of an elite in America" and that their lifestyles set them apart from the Royal family even more.
One of the couple's Montecito neighbors, Richard Mineards, also made an appearance to discuss the upscale lifestyle the couple leads there. "It doesn't come cheap. I mean…most houses are about eight or nine million dollars," he said.
He further added: "I personally don't think that Meghan is an asset to our community… She doesn't really go out or get involved with the community."
"Harry has to a certain extent, because he's quite jolly…but Meghan doesn't seem to get seen anywhere…. And you don't see him either."
They are ridiculed in the German documentary for "failing" to socialize with their affluent neighbors in Montecito, California, a celebrity enclave where they have established their home with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
In another, the show focused on how Archewell's donations dropped from $13 million in 2021 to just $2 million in 2022.
Although the couple received negative coverage of "Megxit" in some German media outlets, their fame skyrocketed in September 2023 when they went to the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf, which featured competing wounded servicemen and women.
