Nelson Mandela's Granddaughter Ripped Harry & Meghan For 'Stealing' His Legacy To Make A Show
She said Harry should "stick to his own story."
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on their Australian tour in 2018. Right: Nelson Mandela.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said their latest project with Netflix was inspired by the late South African anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela, but it seems like the activist's family isn't happy with the dedication.
In an interview with an Australian outlet, Mandela's granddaughter, Ndileka Mandela, accused the royal couple of trying to make money off her grandfather's legacy.
In the trailer for their seven-part series Live To Lead, which premiered on Netflix on December 31, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said the show was inspired by Mandela.
"This was inspired by Nelson Mandela who once said what counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived," Harry said before Markle continued with "it is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead."
The show features several world leaders who are committed to making a difference in the world, including New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Harry and Markle were executive producers on the show.
In an interview with The Australian, Mandela's granddaughter, Ndileka, said she admired Harry for breaking away from the royal family, but noted that kind of decision "comes at a price" and you "have to then fund your own life."
“Harry needs to be authentic and stick to his own story. What relevance does grandad’s life have with his?” she said in the interview.
She said she's "made peace" with people using her granddad's name but says it's still “deeply upsetting and tedious" when it happens.
“I don’t believe he nor Meghan have ever properly met granddad, maybe when Harry was young at Buckingham Palace, but they are using his quotations in the documentary to draw in people and make millions without the Mandela family benefiting.”
Forbes reports that in a 2015 speech in South Africa, Harry mentioned he had met Mandela before the leader died in 2013.
Markle and Harry also previously met with Mandela's wife on their trip to South Africa in 2019.
The Netflix show was also done in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
“Live to Lead was made to contribute towards inspiring better leaders, ones that are committed to ending poverty and inequity and who show the lead in making the just society of Nelson Mandela’s dreams," Sello Hatang, who is the foundation's chief executive, said in a press release on December 19.
According to the Independent, Ndileka said her family was not compensated for the documentary.
Harry is also set to appear in two televised interviews on Sunday, January 8, one with ITV and the second with CBS' 60 Minutes.
His memoir SPARE is also set to be released on January 10.