Queen's ex-chaplain claims Harry and Meghan responsible for 'civil war' in royal family with Netflix show
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are responsible for the "civil war" brewing in the royal family, according to one of Queen Elizabeth's former chaplains. Dr Gavin Ashenden, who served as the Late monarch's chaplain for nine years till 2017, reportedly thinks that the royal family needs to be extremely concerned about the docuseries.
The new trailer for Harry and Meghan's Netflix reality series features Jenny Afia, their attorney, speaking about a "war" being fought against her clients. Dr Ashenden, however, thinks that the antagonistic atmosphere among the senior royals was initiated by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
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"I'm afraid they have to be very worried," Dr Ashenden said, as reported by Daily Mail. "Meghan and Harry have created a kind of existential civil war and there's no doubt at all they're capable of landing severe damage on the royal family, partly because they're fitting in with a certain social mindset, and society is divided into two halves, a reactionary and a progressive half," he further said.
"The progressive half will support them without thinking, and the reactionary half, the conservative half, if I can call it that, has no protection against them. It would be much better if this civil war wasn't happening, but it is, and it will cause damage all round," he added.
The 68-year-old left his position as chaplain to the Queen after objecting to a ceremony at Glasgow's St Mary's Cathedral when a Muslim student was permitted to recite an Arabic translation of a verse from the Quran that openly rejected Jesus as the son of God.
"The [royal family] have to ignore it and pretend it's not happening," he said, adding, "Given the position they hold in society, they don't have a mandate to attack."
Royal authorities have referred to the explosive Netflix series as "an amazing act of revenge" that will "widen the rift" with Prince William and undermine the very institution when he will become the king.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attack the "hierarchy of the family" in a new one-minute preview of their new Netflix show. They also claim that insiders "leaked and planted" stories about them, call royal life a "dirty game," and discuss "the pain and suffering of women marrying into this institution" after showing footage of Princess Diana and Kate being pursued by photographers.
Richard Fitzwilliams, a royal author, predicted that the Netflix documentary series' repercussions would last for years in an interview with MailOnline. "This is a full frontal, extremely destructive attack on the Royal Family - the institution as well as members of those households," he said.
"I think this will widen the rift between the brothers. There is no doubt that this Netflix series is an amazing act of revenge designed to weaken the very institution that William will inherit as future King. Of course, everyone will be asking how King Charles will react to this in the short term, but the effects of this will be felt in years to come. That's the whole point. This series I suspect will greatly weaken the royals in the eyes of the world, especially among young people," Fitzwilliams added.