A royal documentary revealed that Queen Elizabeth consented to Prince Harry being sent to war but did not believe the same was appropriate for Prince William. General Sir Mike Jackson suggested that Prince Harry was treated as the "spare," a title used in his memoir.
The former head of the army, who had numerous meetings with the late monarch, shared, "I will break the rule about not divulging what goes on on this one occasion when she was very clear. She said, 'My grandsons have taken my shilling, therefore they must do their duty' - and that was that."
He added, "But it was decided that for William, as heir to the heir, the risk was too great. But for his younger brother, the risk was acceptable."
Prince Harry served two tours in Afghanistan from 2007 to 2008 and 2012 to 2013. Meanwhile, Prince William was an officer in the Household Cavalry and later became an RAF Search and Rescue helicopter pilot.
The documentary also claims that Princess Margaret refused to stop listening to the Archers when Queen Elizabeth visited her on her deathbed in 2002. Princess Margaret's former lady-in-waiting recalled that when the Queen's sister was dying, she wouldn't stop listening to Radio 4's the Archers when the monarch arrived.
"About two minutes later, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. So I said, 'Ma'am, is there anything wrong?' And she said, 'Yes. Margaret's listening to the Archers, and every time I say something, she just says, 'Shush'." The lady-in-waiting continued, "So I went up and said to Princess Margaret, 'the Queen's only got a short time,' turning off her wireless, and I brought them tea and left them."
The documentary also delves into Prince Andrew's friendship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The five-part series is based on the personal challenges Queen Elizabeth faced throughout her reign.
