Anticipation builds prior to Prince Harry's documentary release on Apple TV+

Series produced with Oprah Winfrey comes on the heels of a controversy over a 1995 BBC interview with Princess Diana

The multi-episode docuseries, focusing on mental health and well-being, was created and produced by Prince Harry and Oprah Winfrey. AP

Prince Harry's The Me You Can't See documentary will be released on Apple TV+ on Friday, a day after it was revealed that a BBC journalist had used false documents to gain access to Princess Diana for an interview.

The multi-episode docuseries, focusing on mental health and well-being, was created and produced by Prince Harry and Oprah Winfrey.

Stars Lady Gaga and Glenn Close also appear in the series, along with over a dozen mental health professionals.

“We are born into different lives, brought up in different environments and as a result are exposed to different experiences. But our shared experience is that we are all human,” said Prince Harry in a press release.

In the series, the prince will speak candidly about mental health, an issue he has personally been affected by along with members of his family, such as his mother, Princess Diana, and his wife, Meghan Markle.

"The majority of us carry some form of unresolved trauma, loss or grief, which feels – and is – very personal," Prince Harry said.

"Yet the last year has shown us that we are all in this together and my hope is that this series will show there is power in vulnerability, connection in empathy and strength in honesty.”

He recently said in a podcast interview that his wife had suggested he try therapy.

“Once I started doing therapy, it was like the bubble was burst. I plucked my head out of the sand and gave it a good shake-off," he said.

Prince Harry says it was partly owing to mental health reasons that he and his family decided to leave Britain and step back from royal duties – something he and his wife spoke about two months ago in a widely watched interview with Winfrey.

"Now more than ever, there is an immediate need to replace the shame surrounding mental health with wisdom, compassion and honesty," she said. "Our series aims to spark that global conversation."

The docuseries comes on the heels of backlash over how BBC reporter Martin Bashir obtained access to an exclusive interview with Princess Diana in 1995. 
Bashir used falsified documents to arrange the interview, which increased Princess Diana's "fear, paranoia and isolation" in her final years, Prince Harry's brother, Prince William, said on Thursday.

The docuseries is also a boon for Apple TV+, as it is one of the smallest streaming platforms globally, and the release could bring new subscribers.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle also have projects with Netflix and Spotify and Markle also did some work with Disney+.