Harry says royal men ‘marry someone who fits in the mould’ instead of choosing love

The duke discusses decisions made by his mother, Diana, based on her ‘heart’

The Duke of Sussex has claimed that men in the royal family have a “temptation” to choose to marry women “who fit in the mould” instead of choosing to love.

In his new Netflix documentary series, Harry and Meghan, Prince Harry speaks out about how he and the Duchess of Sussex were treated by the media when it was first announced that they were dating.

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He also spoke of the way his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, made decisions based on her “heart”, compared to “many people” in the royal family.

In the first episode of the series, the duke said: “For so many people in the family, especially obviously the men, there can be a temptation or urge to marry someone who fits in the mould, as opposed to somebody who you are perhaps destined to be with.”

He added: “The difference between making decisions with your head, or your heart. And my mum [Diana] made most of her decisions, if not all of them, from her heart. And I am my mother’s son.”

He did not detail which men in the royal family he was referring to as having married someone who “fits in the mould”.

Harry’s father, King Charles III, famously married Diana in 1981, but carried out a long-term affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles – now the Queen Consort – throughout their 15-year marriage.

Meanwhile, Harry’s brother William, Prince of Wales, is married to Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales. The couple married in 2011 and share three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

Other prominent men in the royal family include the Duke of York, who married Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, in 1986 until 1996, and the Earl of Wessex, who has been married to Sophie, Countess of Wessex, since 1999.

Elsewhere in the first volume of the series, which aired on Netflix on Thursday (8 December), Meghan referred to her 2017 engagement interview with Harry as an “orchestrated reality show”.

She said the interview had been “rehearsed”, adding: “We did the thing out with the press, then we went right inside, took the coat off and did the interview. So it’s all in the same moment… We weren’t allowed to tell our story because they didn’t want [it].”

Volume One ofHarry and Meghan is on Netflix now. The second volume, containing the last three episodes, will air on 15 November.