It’s been dubbed the documentary Prince Harry and Meghan Markle didn’t want us to see – an unauthorised examination of the lives of the former royals.

The documentary, titled Harry: The Lost Prince, was directed by veteran royal reporter Ulrike Grunewald and aired on German TV on Wednesday (local time).

It will not be shown in Britain – Harry’s home until he and Meghan left in a blaze of publicity in early 2020.

Grunewald’s film examines the Duke of Sussex’s life within the royal family, his departure and now in California with his wife and two young children.

But unlike Netflix’s bombshell Harry & Meghan from 2022, the couple did not work with Grunewald on her film, and had no input into it.

With Harry in New York this week extolling his new life in the US and taking aim once again at the media, The Lost Prince features comments from a veteran soldier who blasts the King’s younger son for “‘whinging” about his family disputes and publicising “little fisticuffs” with his brother, Prince William.

Elsewhere, one of the couple’s neighbours in their luxury California neighbourhood of Montecito also reveals how little the duchess wants to be involved with her community.

Ahead of the show’s release, royal commentator Duncan Larcombe told Britain’s Mirror newspaper it would be a “major blow” to the couple.

“I think any documentary that continues the criticism of Harry and Meghan’s modus operandi is going to be damaging,” he said.

“It’s in Germany so it’s probably not going to make a big storm over in the US. But it’s still a major blow for a couple who have seen their popularity plummet like a stone falling in a well since they left the UK.”

So what’s in Grunewald’s Sussex expose? Here are five key takeaways.

Netflix’s Harry & Meghan docuseries was a global No.1 hit.

1. Veteran’s harsh criticism

Former Marine commando Ben McBean, who lost his left arm and had his right leg amputated above the knee due to injuries in Afghanistan, is a harsh critic.

He shared a flight home from the war zone with the prince, and Harry has previously called him a “hero”. McBean couldn’t return the compliment.

“I just thought, with him kind of whinging about his family … I was just like, mate, just leave it out,” he said.

“You and your brother had a little fisticuffs … but family’s family.”

McBean compared Harry’s public airing of family grievances to a friend who overshares about a breakup.

“If one of my friends fell out with his partner and started posting things on social media, I’d have told him to shut up as well,” he said.

2. A potential target

The Lost Prince also features comments from former royal protection boss and Metropolitan Police divisional commander Dai Davies. According to The Mirror, Davies said Harry had made himself a target by disclosing that he killed 25 Taliban fighters.

“In his book, Spare, for him to disclose, as he did, that he had killed a number of Taliban was, in my opinion, totally unwise, because I was aware, as indeed he was, that the Taliban and various groups had put a price on his head,” he said.

“I think that price still remains, which could form a basis for him saying, well, I need security.”

3. Keeping it wealthy

Davies also accused Harry and Meghan of mixing only with the wealthy on their overseas tours, including to Colombia earlier this year.

“In Colombia, although there are very rich people there, the vast majority, 85 percent or 90 percent, are very poor,” he said.

“What I’ve noticed of these tours, he mixes with the upper classes.

“He doesn’t really, apart from carefree orchestrated areas where he mixes with so-called the ‘normal people’ – well they’re not. These are carefully orchestrated campaigns as far as I can see … I look quite dispassionately at the evidence and the evidence I’ve seen is, it’s all about Harry and Meghan.”

4. Megxit and Hollywood

Later, another royal expert, Jack Royston, from the podcast The Royal Report, accuses the couple of “bordering on corruption” in their dealings with Hollywood.

“If you have a situation where Harry and Meghan are earning huge amounts of money in Hollywood trading off their reputations, but then they’re also bolstering their reputations by working for the [late] Queen – they’re able to present themselves on the world stage as being these working members of the royal family who are also available for a price,” he said.

“That is a huge compromise to demand off the monarchy. If they were to be perceived to be promoting their commercial projects while representing the Queen, then that’s also… starting to border on corruption there because they should never be using the monarchy as a platform.”

But Harry is said to be unhappy with the deal he and Meghan cut to leave the royal family. Royal biographer Angela Levin said the prince wanted to be half in and half out, and “didn’t get exactly what he wanted”.

“The late Queen, who died, said that actually doesn’t work and I don’t want you to use your position within the royal family to make money,” she said.

5. Neighbourly relations

Then it’s Meghan’s turn, with neighbour Richard Mineards claiming she’s done very little to get involved in the Montecito community despite living there for four years.

“I personally don’t think that Meghan is an asset to our community… She doesn’t really go out or get involved with the community,” he tells the show.

“Harry has to a certain extent, because he’s quite jolly … but Meghan doesn’t seem to get seen anywhere … And you don’t see him either.”

The couple have lived in the neighbourhood since 2020 with their children Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three.