Platell: Paranoid Prince Harry is going to end up like his paranoid mother

The British media is really mad at Prince Harry. They’ve been mad since 2019, really. Which is when Harry first started suing them. The year before, 2018, was when Prince William and Kate really decided to sell out Harry and Meghan, and W&K have never stopped. Additionally, Harry’s father has always used both of his sons for his own image, and Charles clearly doesn’t give two sh-ts about Harry OR William. All of which to say, Harry’s spokesperson issuing a correction to the Sun’s curious weekend cover story has gone off like a bomb. Even more so because Harry clearly points to the Sun’s “sources” as attempting to “sabotage” his reconciliation efforts with his father, drawing direct lines to both Charles’s courtiers and William’s office. The reaction from the Windsors and the royalist media has been full of gaslighting, hastily rewritten narratives, lies and threats. Now the Daily Mail’s Amanda Platell is saying all of it pretty explicitly: they’re running the “Harry is paranoid, just like his dead mother” play.

What a terrible error of judgment Prince Harry has made. Just days after landing back in California after a triumphant UK trip during which he met his father for the first time in 19 months, the Prince has once again displayed the least attractive quality he inherited from his mother Princess Diana – her utter paranoia.

At least Diana had good reason, having been cruelly duped by the disgraced BBC journalist Martin Bashir who manipulated her into that infamous 1995 Panorama interview by feeding her lies, telling her that even her most trusted courtiers were traitors who were selling untruths about her to the media.

Now, nearly thirty years after his mother’s death, sources ‘close to Harry’ are making the same lurid accusations Diana made – just days after what should have been a game-changing meeting with his Pa. They say that the Palace’s ‘men in grey suits’ were working against Harry and ‘sabotaging his reconciliation with the King’.

As small glimpses of the meeting between Harry and his father began to emerge in the days afterwards, a source close to the Prince claimed he was infuriated with the briefings, stating rather pompously: ‘The relationship between the Duke and His Majesty The King is a matter for the two of them only’, before adding that ‘the men in grey suits should stay out of it’.

The vehement denials that followed surely must have stung Harry as Palace insiders began counter-briefing that Harry ‘would never be allowed to return as a half-in half-out working royal’, that there were ‘no plans now or in the foreseeable future for father and son to appear together in public’ and perhaps most painfully that ‘those inside Team Harry had mistaken a brief tea and a slice of cake for the Treaty of Versailles’. Others claimed that the meeting between father and son had been ‘distinctly formal’, with the duke allegedly describing it as ‘very official, like an official visit’ – a comment his spokesman vehemently denied.

Now, after the latest lurid accusations that ‘men in grey suits’ are sabotaging the Prince, the harsh reality is clear: the only thing sabotaging Harry is his own self-perceived victimhood, a role he continues unhealthily to wallow in – and unforgivably monetise through his memoir, Spare. How paranoid must Harry have felt then when it was reported that Buckingham Palace had been left ‘saddened and perplexed’, increasingly ‘bemused’ and ‘clearly not a little irritated’ by Harry’s ‘wild, conspiracy theories’.

Even more upsetting for Harry is that the latest comments have been met with ‘disappointment’ by friends of King Charles, with a royal source adding: ‘The reality is that senior aides have been working behind the scenes to improve what is a delicate but important private family relationship.’ At which point, we should point out that in refined royal circles, the word ‘disappointment’ is equivalent to a nuclear warhead going off.

Harry’s obsession with conspiracy theories has horrible echoes of his mother’s bitter and collapsing marriage to Charles – and her completely out-of-kilter state of mind back then….it’s the paranoia that Harry shares with his late mother that is most troubling. For it was not only Diana’s least attractive characteristic, but the one that led to much unhappiness…. Diana never did stop manipulating the media or blaming the men in grey suits for her unhappiness. She was so paranoid that she cancelled her official Scotland Yard protection detail, believing they were loyal not to her but the palace. And look how that ended.

[From The Daily Mail]

That last sentence is the explicit threat to Harry: if you continue to correctly call out the people harming you, you’re going to wind up like your paranoid mother. Diana was “paranoid” and she had every reason to be paranoid, because people were actively harming her and plotting against her because they saw her as an existential threat to the monarchy. They still mock Diana years after her death – “Diana was so paranoid, she thought she would die in a car crash organized by her ex-husband and the institution which protects him!” And look at that. The “paranoid Harry” talking point doesn’t even hold up because Platell explicitly details that the courtiers WERE BRIEFING AGAINST HARRY after he met with his father! Jesus.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

51 Responses to “Platell: Paranoid Prince Harry is going to end up like his paranoid mother”

  1. Tessa says:

    This is the mad Diana spin started by people fawning over Chuck. It is in bad taste to to rehash thus. Diana was spot on and she was worried about being in danger and she was right. Platell should be ashamed she’s probably trying for a title. Peggs called his mother paranoid and censored the interview. Harry is taking great precautions and it’s not paranoid for him to be concerned about security.

    • Yep!! The “sources close to Prince Harry” was an actually Harry saying he was angry with the leaks. He said it himself through his spokesperson! Peg or Chuckles or Horsilla leaked and Harry let them know. Look at them putting out there his death which is exactly what they want seeing as how they can’t control him.

  2. HO says:

    This is extremely disturbing, even for them

    • TOM says:

      Harry, walk away from these people. Don’t return to Great Britain. Let your brother think he won.

      • The Duchess says:

        Honestly, if this recent visit has caused such a public spiral from William, I dread to think what future visits may cause. William is the type to order a hit and not think twice. He is a psychotic monster.

  3. Tessa says:

    Chuck was out of kilter getting his,pals like Nicholas Soames to call Diana paranoid. Platell has the utter gall implying Diana caused her own death.

  4. Hypocrisy says:

    That is a pretty blatant threat they are making, I actually got chills. Princess Diana wasn’t paranoid and they did cause her death with that accident, threats like this only solidify my belief that they killed her.

    • SussexWatcher says:

      This. I know that he’ll go, but I really wish he wouldn’t attend the UK Invictus. And I really, really hope Meghan and the children stay in CA.

      I think it was a huge mistake to award them the Invictus Games with the British press saying things like this and Harry’s security at the hands of the very courtiers who want him permanently gone.

      • MsIam says:

        Well unfortunately, they had two terrible choices for hosting the games so Birmingham was thought to be the lesser if two evils. I’m glad Harry won’t have to worry about the “Sec of War” Pete Kegsbreath hovering around. But yeah now he has to deal with the Windsor Mad House.

      • Advisor2U says:

        Yes, I said it many times, and will keep saying the same thing – Harry and the board of the Invictus Foundation, many with royal honours, made a huge mistake by granting Birmingham the honour to organise the IG27. As long as the Royal family rift with Harry persists, no IG’s should be held in the UK. Period! That family does’nt want to see Harry taking the spotlight and public adoration the rest of them aren’t receiving in the UK.

        Look how the crual UK media, on behalf of them, attacked Harry for just a 4 days visit to his charities, to donate his own money, and meeting up with friends and family. Imagine how they’re gonna react with Harry’s presence on a 10 days international event, with him getting all the global stoplight. They will sabotage that from happening (smoothly), at the expense of the wounded military people, even if that would stain the UK’s reputation. Hence the panicking to that prospect.

        Now Harry has to “stoop” himself towards the UK govt and his father, to pave the way for the ‘One year to IG27′, and IG27 to happen.
        You’ve put yourself in a damn difficult position, Harry. Your life, and esp. Meghan’s and the kids’ lives, we’re sort of peaceful in the past 5 years, with less tabloid drama. Now you are putting yourself back in the middle of the tabloid and palace drama, the briefing and leaking, and the cruelty of online hate and attacks.
        All of this was/is really not necesarry if you and the IF had made a more conscious decision, and had granted one of the other bidding cities the honour to host IG27.

      • Nerd says:

        Advisor2U Harry wasn’t part of the deciding committee on where the next IG would be hosted. He purposely stepped away from the decision making of where it would be held. So it is cruel and wrong to blame him for where the games are being hosted and no one knows what the future holds to know if it was a bad decision at the time, now or in the future.

      • Lawrenceville says:

        I wish some Sussex supporters would stop gaslighting this man prince Harry. So, what would y’all rather he did? Harry has stated numerously that he has absolutely no control of how the IG bidding works, he has no control of who wins what etc. It’s not up to him where the IG will be held each given time they’re held. Why is he being blamed for “see what you just did? You just put your life in danger, and Meg’s life too and your own kids’ lives” my goodness. What the Windsors do or decide or not to do, how they behave etc is not on Harry. That’s entirely on each individual person and their minions, Harry has no control over that. All these gaslighting statements are just victim blaming. And one last thing, if its prince Harry’s time to pass, it won’t matter whether he attends the Birmingham IG or not. He has no control of how long he lives and /or when he will die, that’s on his Maker. Harry has chosen to just live his life the way he wants to live it; you know change what he can, accept what he can’t control and just have the wisdom to know the difference. I say, good on him.

    • SarahMcK says:

      Yeah, it’s not paranoia if they really are out to get you.

  5. Ariel says:

    This is disgusting and appalling.
    They’ve just announced they want to kill harry the way they killed his mother.

    I don’t want harry to go back to the uk, I certainly never want the Duchess or her kids there. Ever.

    Going to end up like his “paranoid” mother???????

    Just because she was paranoid doesn’t mean people weren’t out to get her. They killed her.
    They never even tried to find the vehicle that clipped her car in the tunnel.
    They killed her.

    • Tessa says:

      Diana was decidedly not paranoid neither is harry. This is classic gaslighting technique

      • Becks1 says:

        Diana WAS paranoid. Or at least very very nervous/scared of something happening to her, of the Firm working against her, etc.

        but as it turns out she was right. Is it paranoia if you’re right?

    • Yvonne says:

      If you want to learn more about the Princess Diana murder conspiracy, type ‘Mitchell and Webb’ and Diana into YouTube.

      It’s well known that the British Secret Security services are still at the beck and call of the royal family. The IRA could have done what they like that weekend.

      It was a plot so clever only a seatbelt could have stopped it.

  6. Shanta says:

    Diana wasn’t paranoid….. She was right. Harry isn’t paranoid….he’s right.

  7. Me at home says:

    C’mon, Amanda, everyone knows the Sun was referring to Clive Alderton when they called the Versailles quip “waspish.” You yourself have, no doubt, been on the receiving end of hundreds of palace leaks. Are you making amends after your piece trashing Kate and William, which you followed up with your very shady “apology”?

    • Becks1 says:

      Yeah its just bizarre to see how this is playing out. Harry meets with his father. Visit seems to go well. There is positive PR for both Harry and Charles. Then the courtiers start briefing (whether from BP or KP) about it, leaking details, reprimanding Harry for thing he never said, and then he claps back telling the courtiers to back out……and now he’s….paranoid? because he thinks the courtiers are the ones leaking to the press about the visit? if not the courtiers then who Amanda? William?

      And the Sun deliberately referred to Clive Alderton as you mentioned so its clear who was behind these leaks, and Harry knows it.

      So how is that being paranoid??

      • jais says:

        So correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think the Sun referred to Clive Alderton? After Harry publicly refuted the Sun story, the DM jumped in and made those references to a source being waspish in his comments about Harry and then later in that same story they mentioned how Harry called Alderton the Wasp. So they were making it clear that Alderton has been a source for negative stories. And then Sykes strait out said that Alderton and WIlliam both had motives to sabotage the reconciliation. So who leaked to the Sun? So many suspects or combinations of suspects, lol. Matt Wilkinson who wrote the story always seems more like a KP person but also the Sun editor Victoria Newton is pretty close to Charles and is subsequently named in Harry’s case with the DM from when she used to work there. The tangled webs right? For argument’s sake, if no one leaked and the Sun just made up the details, then why can’t Charles call out the Sun. Well, we all know why. Either way, the response is to call Harry paranoid for calling it out the reporting, whether it was leaks or just blatant lies on the Sun’s part. Which is rinse and repeat but still gross. And dangerous.
        And it’s a good point to remember. A person can be paranoid or let’s say suspicious but it doesn’t mean they’re wrong.

  8. Tessa says:

    So many suspicious things that night that diana died. Including not getting her to that nearby hospital and the quick clean up of the accident scene. And why did not the police disperse the paparazzi who were in wait outside the Ritz .

  9. Lili says:

    Never a good look, to treaten someone especially in light of what’s been going on. Harry should take the reconciliation as the best he is going to get and leave Charles alone. no one in that nest of vipers can be trusted. I don’t know what i am looking at a Son wanted to make good with his Father the meet is done now we have all this drama why and to what end? I bet the next time Harry is in the Uk the merry go round of will he or wont he will start up again, I do wish he would Pull invictus from the UK

    • Tessa says:

      I think it’s time harry moved on. Charles is clearly a lost cause imo

      • Julia says:

        We don’t really know what is going on behind the scenes. Harry is an adult and we should leave him to make his own choices for himself and his family imo.

      • Tessa says:

        Charles could have put this to rest ages ago with a statement not “sources” or anything like that. Furthermore, Charles told Harry to “leave Meghan home” when he was called to Balmoral, and Charles evicted the Sussexes.

  10. Nerd says:

    Harry’s court case and subsequent win where he forced an apology on behalf of his mother, proves that she wasn’t paranoid as does all the things we’ve learned since her death. The fact that the UK failed to hold scum like Piers and others accountable for the illegal and unethical information gathering, doesn’t change the fact that Diana was correct about her fears of what the men in gray, the royals and media were doing to her. Her history and others proves that Diana wasn’t paranoid. Her lazy and rage filled oldest son calling her paranoid instead of defending and honoring her doesn’t make her paranoid. That’s why Harry is her son not just by blood. He has always defended and honored her and it’s his actions ad fight that got the apology she deserved while she was alive. These people over there who are defending the royals are horrible people willing to do and say anything. That was beyond disgusting. And Harry wasn’t and isn’t disgusting, evident by his own win in court. The stories of the past couple of weeks are proof that he was correct in his statement about leaks and intentions. By the way he never specified who the leakers were in that statement, the media have drawn their own conclusions with the information they already possess and proved his statement was correct. She’s always trying to be the most dramatic and spiteful in order to get the most attention to her articles because if anyone is paranoid it’s the brother and media who think that a son visiting with his sick father is to destroy and sabotage a thousand year old monarchy and it’s future king.

  11. gigi says:

    This is making me anxious so I will pray tonight for Sussexes safety. Please Prince Harry, you don’t have to reconcile with your father. Just move on.

  12. seraphina says:

    How absolutely vile and disgusting that they would stoop so low as to not only bring up Princess Diana but to imply that her fears were unwarranted. She knew what they were capable of and thus she was concerned and worried. She is no longer here, Meghan and Harry packed their bags and left due to how Meghan was being treated and then there is Kate who is looking thinner than her 10 year old daughter.
    These statements validate how toxic and vile they all are. And yes, I too see this as a clear threat to Prince Henry – the KOE’s son.

  13. Advisor2U says:

    The crualty of these tabloid hacks, especialy those from The Fail, holds no end. They thing they’ve found the “got ya” moment to beat up Prince Harry with, to finally get him on his knees.

    But I do hope that Harry realises, that, despite Charles allegedly being on the brink of meeting his master, his father still puts the monarchy and his royal court & staff above him.

    Charles is not genuine about reconciling with Harry, he needed some sympathy PR. Remember, he did the most crual things a parent can do to a child – like taking security away from Harry and his family, and evicting him out of his only secure UK home, which he and M pay ca $3M to make it livable, but Charles is still paying for Prince Andrew’s security and upkeep, and he is still allowed to remain at 30 room Royal Lodge.

    Harry is not paranoid, but I suggest he goes back to theraphy, because he might be suffering from Stockholm syndrom in regards to his abusive, unloving dad.

  14. jais says:

    How unpleasant. This just makes the Windsors and the BM look like evil villains right? Details of the meeting were being leaked…so Harry’s not even paranoid. Just stating the obvious. This article is the equivalent of waving a massive red flag that reads “Hi yeah, we’re the assholes. Just like the RF we write about.”

  15. MaisiesMom says:

    How is it “pompous” for Harry to point out that his relationship with his literal father is a private family matter? Christ on a cracker.

    Also, the suggestion that courtier types were interfering is not “lurid.” What’s lurid is these people continuing to feed on the story like vultures.

    • Dee(2) says:

      The British media has a very strong sense of ownership and refusal of autonomy when it comes to members of the British royal family. They act like family decisions need to be run through them first. It’s the world’s worst parasocial relationship. It’s why they’re so upset by the fact that Harry and Meghan won’t let you see their kids faces, Harry’s pushing back on erroneous reporting, and people further down the line not kicking down the door to be working royals. This family belongs to them and they don’t get any privacy or choices. They just need to provide good copy, so no secrets.

  16. Amy Bee says:

    This seems to be the sanctioned response to Harry’s pushback. I think the press believed that Harry would remain silent for the sake of reconciliation. But this has shown that even though he wants to have a relationship with his father he refuses to play these media/palace games.

    • Julia says:

      They underestimated him. They thought reconciliation was so important that he would stay completely silent for fear of his upsetting his father but as Harry said there can be no reconciliation without truth. I’m glad he is standing up for himself!

      • sunnyside up says:

        Good for Harry, he has real courage unlike his father and brother, both of whom are scared of the press.

  17. HillaryIsAlwaysRight says:

    This is a straight up death threat to Harry. F*ck this guy.

  18. ParkRunMum says:

    I totally agree with MaisiesMom, I was coming here to say the exact same thing!!! They quote Harry “stating rather pompously: ‘The relationship between the Duke and His Majesty The King is a matter for the two of them only’,” but what on earth is pompous about that??? My god.

  19. Siri says:

    Every time the press writes a story about the leak they give away the culprit. Harry never brought up a conspiracy, they did. Harry simply let it be known that the details were wrong and the press went into a tizzy to cover for the “unnamed”source of the leak. It’s a gotcha moment and they are flailing about like a captured wasp.

  20. Gail says:

    That they are using a female author is supposed to make the threats seem more like ‘musings’.
    There is no doubt in my mind H is not safe in England, specifically, if not the entire UK.
    Ask Canada if they will host the games again. We already have all the needed infrastructure. It’s an easy explanation: “Due to forces unseen (not unforeseen, but forces unseen), our Patron is not safe in his home country. We are concerned we cannot provide the full on security necessary to keep him safe”. One bad player drains the brake fluid, or sprinkles arsenic on his food or digitalis in his drink and that’s it. No matter how strict security is, there is always some kind of work-around if one is determined. And they sound determined. Both fear and anger are coursing through me as I read this.
    In our shared laundry facilities there are magazines “The Truth About Meghan” scream headlines. I tried to deflect by bringing down dog and garden magazines, but the garbage gossip rags are always on top, each time I go down. Today I shall toss them, because they are garbage, literally. Is there a magazine about the royals that speaks truth? Because even within the nucleus of my 24 unit building, there are people who read the trash breathlessly. Before, it annoyed me, now it infuriates me. I know I’m going to get into trouble for ‘censorship’ (more likely it will be ‘you don’t have the right to throw out other people’s reading choices’) but I don’t care. Garbage in = garbage out. I’m fed up w/people purposefully poisoning the minds of others for the sake of a few shekels. Hardly an honest day’s work, and I’m done pretending it is.

  21. ParkRunMum says:

    yeah, you’re not paranoid if they cut the brakes or drained the fluid. And Diana did have one harrowing incident — which was dramatised in the Crown — in which she pumped the brakes in her car, whilst driving in London, and they failed. And you can be sure she had the high end of the range in terms of automobiles and her MOT was up to date and the mechanics were well paid. I mean. You could be paranoid, or, you could be a massive liability to an institution that fancies itself essential to the head of state. Raison d’état, etc…

  22. MsIam says:

    This Platell must be one bitter b*tch to live with. And look at her trying to twist the leaks as a response to Harry’s statement rather than the other way around. If the palace minions and William didn’t put out the “half in” rumors and other nonsense in the press, Harry wouldn’t have needed to make any statement at all. Like others have said, Harry needs to write off his family including his sperm donor. They will always choose the Crown and the firm apparatus over him or any other individual.

  23. Bea says:

    I saw the headline and all I could think was, “Is that a threat? Are we saying it with our full chest now?”

  24. QuiteContrary says:

    Wasn’t it the Mail who invoked the “men in grey suits,” not Harry’s spokesperson?

    This is all bulls**t. The rota has NO “sources close to Harry.” They’re just making crap up. Harry’s actual spokesperson didn’t parrot Diana’s language .

    And even if the spokesperson had, we all know that Diana wasn’t paranoid. She was telling the truth about the danger she was in. Harry isn’t paranoid either.

  25. Nic919 says:

    This is projection to cover for William being paranoid and clearly having breakdowns. He has needed therapy since childhood and the failure to provide has create a narcissistic monster.

    Harry is better off staying in the states.

  26. Mslove says:

    Diana was not paranoid, she was married to an extremely jealous man-child. The public adored her and Chuck couldn’t handle it. He was resentful of Diana and he publicly humiliated her on many occasions. Stay safe, Prince Harry.

Commenting Guidelines

Read the article before commenting.

We aim to be a friendly, welcoming site where people can discuss entertainment stories and current events in a lighthearted, safe environment without fear of harassment, excessive negativity, or bullying. Different opinions, backgrounds, ages, and nationalities are welcome here - hatred and bigotry are not. If you make racist or bigoted remarks, comment under multiple names, or wish death on anyone you will be banned. There are no second chances if you violate one of these basic rules.

By commenting you agree to our comment policy and our privacy policy

Do not engage with trolls, contrarians or rude people. Comment "troll" and we will see it.

Please e-mail the moderators at cbcomments at gmail.com to delete a comment if it's offensive or spam. If your comment disappears, it may have been eaten by the spam filter. Please email us to get it retrieved.

You can sign up to get an image next to your name at Gravatar.com Thank you!

Leave a comment after you have read the article

Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment