Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s new Netflix feature film is set to exploit upsetting themes that could further strain relations with Prince William, a relationship expert has warned.
It has been reported that the pair have spent £3million on the rights to Meet Me At The Lake, a romantic novel written by Carley Fortune.
The bestselling novel presents the love story of a couple in their 30s, laced with themes of mental health, postnatal depression and the childhood trauma of losing a parent in a car crash.
The choice of novel is apt due to the uncanny resemblance with the Sussexes own story, though some commentators are wary that the similarities could further dredge up buried trauma.
The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry attending the European premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi held at The Royal Albert Hall, London.
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Prince Harry’s own mother, Princess Diana, died in a car crash in 1997, while Meghan has been vocal about her experience of post-natal depression.
Drug and alcohol use, topics covered by the Duke in his memoir Spare, also appear in the novel.
Therapist and relationship expert Sally Baker spoke to The Mirror on fears that ploughing ahead with the project could have a detrimental impact on the couple’s relationship with Prince William.
Baker pointed out that William "may feel the coincidences in this project confront publicly deep wounds from their childhood".
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex meet a competitor from the Netherlands and his dog at the Invictus Games athletics events in the Athletics Park, at Zuiderpark the Hague, Netherlands on April 17, 2022.
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Though such exploration of trauma could be seen as brave and inspirational, Baker fears that William would see it as an opportunistic move to reap cash from family trauma.
She said: "It may also temporarily strain relations with his brother William who is bound to think Harry is still mining their family narrative for his own sensational content".
However, Baker concedes that Harry’s experience could “lend authenticity to storytelling,” the process could be “cathartic and healing” and the finished product has the potential to guide others who have been through similar strife.
Baker noted: "Harry has a chance here to bring attention to the long shadow cast by sudden tragic loss, and hopefully help others dealing with similar trauma.”
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Prince Harry, the Duchess and Duke of Cambridge with their wands on the set used to depict Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter Films during their visit to Warner Bros studios in Leavesden, Herts where the popular movies were produced.
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She made clear that the novel “is not Harry’s story and hopefully offers some distance for him from his reality of having lost his own beloved mother in similar circumstances."
The relationship expert continued: "Creating an artistic response to tragedy is a way of transforming grief. However, depending on how closely he’s required to work on this project it is also likely to stir up profoundly painful memories and emotions for Harry too."
Baker said that Harry would need "immense courage and vulnerability to revisit such deep grief, for which I think he still holds unresolved trauma and sadness".
She concluded: "Pulling from real loss and anguish infuses the work with a truth and rawness that resonates. Even when fictionalised, basing stories on actual events and emotions can heighten their impact. I wish him strength on this difficult creative journey.”
The film production will mark the Sussexes’ first off-camera project together.
Meet Me At The Lake sold 37,000 copies in its first week alone.
