Harry and Meghan's 'hidden truths' to be exposed in new German documentary

A bombshell documentary from Germany is set to cast a new light on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, promising to unveil previously undisclosed details about the couple. The high-profile project for ZDF network will refocus attention on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

The documentary is directed by Ulrike Grunewald, a seasoned journalist with an extensive background in royal coverage. She has led a team, including London's renowned producer Mo Davies, to Montecito, California, where the couple lives among other A-listers just outside Hollywood.

Richard Mineards, a veteran royal reporter formerly of Fleet Street and current contributor to The Montecito Journal, revealed his participation: "Los Angeles-based producer, Melanie Hillmann grilled me for two hours on my Riven Rock neighbors, 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."

Grunewald, a distinguished figure in German broadcasting and a presenter on the news show Heute-Journal (Today-Journal), has been engaged in royal reporting since 1987, with her first significant assignment being the coverage of then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana's visit to Germany for ZDF, reports the Express.

A specialist in unravelling concealed facts and making shocking disclosures about her subjects, her newest documentaries include Princess Diana's Dangerous Legacy and The Queen and the Power of Images; Fergie! The Duchess and the Secret of the Windsors, and How German is the Queen?

After attaining her doctorate from the University of Mainz in 2012, she undertook scholarly investigation into the British Royal Family's history. Her groundbreaking research allowed her exclusive access to the previously unexplored documents in the Royal Archives housed within Windsor Castle.

A book yielded from her research provides new perspectives on the contentious estimations regarding the legitimacy of Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, King Charles' great-great-great-grandfather who served as Queen Victoria's Consort. She has also authored other royal-themed works such as William and Kate: The Unfolding Love Story and The Curse of the House of Windsor.

In 2020, she teamed up with Sarah Ferguson for a deep dive into Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg's life, Albert's mother.

Notorious for being estranged from her two infant sons and banished to an isolated German village, they were kept from her for the rest of her existence.

Fascinated by what could have led to such seclusion, Ferguson declared her interest to understand what Princess Louise had done that was so "terribly wrong" to warrant her being "discarded and written out of history".

The royal expert suggests that Prince Harry has a German streak in him.

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Grunewald had the chance to catch up with Prince Harry at the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf in September 2023, where she observed: "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."

She added: "It felt like the old Harry was back. He talked to all of us. We had some little toys that we gave for Archie and Lilibet. He said he was enjoying Germany and has a lot of German in him, he was obviously referring to his family heritage."

This has sparked speculation that this could be a hint towards the theme of their upcoming documentary, considering Prince Harry's German roots. His family's original name was Saxe-Coburg-Gotha before it was changed to Windsor during World War I.

Meghan's lineage is also interesting, with her father Thomas Markle's ancestors reportedly having connections to Germany and Switzerland.

In 2017, Bunte magazine discovered records suggesting a Johann Markel travelled from Offenburg in Baden-Wurttemberg to Pennsylvania in the late 18th century. However, there's a twist in the tale as it's been suggested that the Markle family might actually originate from Lampertsloch, a quaint commune in France near the German border.

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