Royal | News - Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not be best pleased at a new Germany documentary being produced about them, as they are “unlikely to welcome scrutiny”, acording to an expert.
TV producer Ulrike Grunewald, who has worked on the royal beat for many years, is making the show for the country’s ZDF network, with her team travelling to Montecito in California to film the show.
Amongst her team of five is Mo Davies, a producer from London, aiming to get information on the Sussexes by flying over to their home in the US.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams believes the couple will not welcome this intrusion, as he told The Mirror: “Having largely controlled Oprah, who was reluctant to interrogate them, having control over their six-hour documentary for Netflix, ‘Harry and Meghan’ and obviously over Harry’s memoir Spare, the Sussexes would almost certainly not welcome this.
“They are phobic about their privacy and are unlikely to welcome scrutiny.”
He added: “To be on the receiving end of a documentary where they have no control over the contents is far from ideal for them, especially as it is being directed by Ulrike Grunewald, a seasoned royal journalist for many years who has a reputation for unravelling concealed facts.”
Some of Ms Grunewald’s previous work includes documentaries Princess Diana’s Dangerous Legacy, The Queen and the Power of Images, and the Secret of the Windsors.
The reporter has been working on Germany’s Heute-Journal (Today-Journal) programme since 1987 and encountered the Sussexes when they were in Düsseldorf last year for the Invictus Games.
She spoke with Harry at the Games and said of their encounter afterwards: “Now that Meghan is here, he is over the moon. They have been holding hands, cheering competitors on at various matches and games.
“They seem intimate and very close. Either that or they are very good actors. From where I’ve been watching, they seem very in love.”
The Duke initially travelled to the German city alone to open the Games, with Meghan later joining after spending more time at home with their children.
One of those being interviewed for the new documentary is Richard Mineards, who previously wrote about the royals for the Daily Mirror and Daily Mail before he moved to Montecito.
He wrote in his latest column: “Los Angeles-based producer, Melanie Hillmann grilled me for two hours on my Riven Rock neighbours, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, under director Ulrike Grunewald. The interview is airing in due course as part of a prime-time documentary on ZDF Royal.”
Harry and Meghan moved to Montecito after they stepped down as working royals in 2020, where they are raising Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in relative privacy.