Prince Harry and Meghan Markle blame Brexit for racist abuse duchess received

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Netflix documentary suggested Britain's exit from the European Union helped force them out of the UK.

00:00, Wed, Dec 28, 2022 | UPDATED: 00:14, Wed, Dec 28, 2022

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A claim Brexit helped push Prince Harry and Meghan Markle out of Britain has been met with shock. The suggestion the UK's exit from the European Union helped trigger a racist backlash against Meghan was made in the Sussexes' Netflix documentary.

A number of sweeping suggestions in the series link Brexit with racism and the royal couple's decision to move to North America.

In an episode of Harry & Meghan, James Holt, who has worked as a spokesman for Buckingham Palace, said Brexit created a perfect storm which gave people with "horrible views" a confidence boost.

He claimed Brexit gave people with "really horrible views" of the world a "little bit more strength and confidence" to say what they wanted.

Harry then said: "So the EU commissioned a report in 2016, exactly the same time that our relationship became public.

Harry and Meghan appear in the Netflix docu-series (Image: Getty/Netflix)

Harry and Meghan in a scene from their Netflix series (Image: Netflix)

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"It warned if the Government isn't going to do anything or if the media aren't going to sort themselves out, then a culture war, that already existed, was going to become huge and become a real problem."

The claim prompted a backlash on social media with Twitter user Fleur Elizabeth commenting: "Was actually quite enjoying Netflix’s Harry & Meghan until they started blaming Brexit for the racial abuse she received… what?!"

To which fellow Twitter user Mikel Scholand replied: "I am surprised you were enjoying it and also surprised that them doing this surprised you!"

Twitter user Kal Dore claimed in their reply: "Trying to secure Remainer support. Montecito isn't going to fund itself."

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Harry and Meghan arrive at an awards ceremony in New York (Image: Getty)

Meghan and Harry at the awards ceremony (Image: Getty)

Harry & Meghan's Brexit claims also sparked a backlash among Tory MPs.

Peter Bone MP told MailOnline it was ridiculous to suggest the Brexit debate was racist.

He pointed out immigration from places such as Afghanistan and Hong Kong has increased significantly since Brexit with Britain now able to decide who should be allowed in.

Mr Bone said: "The idea that this was some racist thing is the most ridiculous argument that the opposition to Brexit put up and if that is what the Sussexes think then they are completely out of touch."

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The line of succession (Image: Express)

Former Brexit minister, Lord Frost, also dismissed the claim. He told the same publication: "This smear just does not stand up to examination."

The Tory peer added: "All opinion surveys show Britain is an unusually welcoming country to people of all backgrounds; has among the lowest levels of racism in Europe and is most positive about diversity."

However, the historian and broadcaster David Olusoga argued in the documentary that immigration was at the heart of the Brexit debates during the 2016 Brexit referendum.

He said: "If you go back and look at the social media of that moment, immigration is at the absolute centre of those debates and immigration is very often in this country a cypher for race."

King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla lead members of the Royal Family to church on Christmas Day (Image: Getty)

Footage is then shown of people waving Union Jacks, of someone saying, "Go back to Africa" while on a train and of montages of newspaper headlines.

The social media response to the claims made in the controversial documentary series come after King Charles failed to mention Harry and Meghan in his first Christmas speech.

King Charles did not mention his second son or his daughter-in-law in his first-ever Christmas broadcast.

The sovereign focused attention instead on the work carried out by working members of the Royal Family.

Royal expert Jennie Bond defended the decision to omit Harry and Meghan from the speech, claiming if the king had mentioned them, it would have "obliterated everything else he said".

Ms Bond told GB News: "I think if he had mentioned them then it would have obliterated everything else he said. That's all we'd be talking about.

"Harry and Meghan can say what they want, complain as much as they want publicly, but the Royal Family are not going to be goaded into a public response and I think that is the most dignified way of going about it."