A new five-part documentary telling the story of the House of Windsor has been released on ITVX and it makes a number of claims about the royal family.
The documentary, titled The Real Crown: Inside the House of Windsor, claims to be a behind-the-scenes story of the “lives, loves, scandals, trials and tribulations” of the royal family.
Speaking to ex-members of the royal household and royal experts, plus rarely-seen footage, the documentary claims to show the major challenges that the late Queen Elizabeth II faced throughout her reign.
The documentary promises a “rare insight” into the late Queen’s “personal experience of navigating the events that shaped her family’s fortunes and the history of the United Kingdom”.
Read more to find out all the biggest claims made in the documentary:
The risk to Harry’s life by going to war was deemed ‘acceptable’ by the late Queen
The voiceover describes when Prince Harry went to join the armed forces in Afghanistan, and states that the late Queen initially had to make a difficult decision between whether to send Harry or William.
The decision was discussed at a meeting between the late Queen and General Sir Mike Jackson, former head of the British Army.
Jackson told the camera: “She was very clear. She said, ‘My grandsons have taken my shilling, therefore they must do their duty.’ And that was that. But it was decided that William, as heir to the heir, the risk is too great. But for his younger brother, the risk was acceptable.”
While The Independent has asked Buckingham Palace for comment, it is often expected that the brother of the heir would join the military over the future monarch.
William and his Uncle Earl Spencer tell Prince Harry to ‘slow down’ with Meghan Markle
In the documentary’s first episode, the voiceover narrates that while Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were courting each other, the Duke of Sussex was told to “slow down” by his brother Prince William and his uncle Charles Spencer.
Neither Buckingham Palace nor the Prince of Wales has confirmed the comments. However, Prince Harry claimed in his book Spare that William allegedly urged him not to marry Meghan and expressed disapproval for the speed at which their relationship was travelling.
The late Queen’s decision to remove the Duke of York’s HRH and military titles following his settlement of a lawsuit over alleged sexual abuse was described as her “final gesture of self-sacrifice” in the documentary.
The voiceover says: “And now, the Queen has stripped Andrew of his HRH title. A final gesture of self-sacrifice.”
Prince Andrew was accused of sexual abuse by Virginia Giuffre, who claims that she was trafficked by convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The duke has vehemently denied the allegations and claimed he never met Giuffre. The Queen made the decision for Andrew to step back from all royal duties.
The Independent has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.
Michael Fagan lost his sandals on the roof of Buckingham Palace
One of the more humorous parts of the series is the interview with Michael Fagan, the man who broke into Buckingham Palace undetected on two separate occasions in 1982 and found himself barefoot in the Queen’s bedroom.
In the third episode of the series, Fagan is seen visiting Buckingham Palace and describes how he managed to pull off one of the most famous break-ins in history.
He jokes to the camera that he lost his sandals on the roof of Buckingham Palace and that his hands were covered in tar after climbing up the drainpipe.
Fagan told The Independent in 2020: “I got my sandals returned to me two years later by the security guard. ‘These are Michael’s sandals, we found them on the roof,’ they said.”
While the Queen has never publicly addressed the incident, it was extensively reported at the time that Buckingham Palace increased its security after the event.
The Real Crown: Inside the House of Windsor is out now on ITVX.
