Always in Prince William's Shadow: Prince Harry Is Portrayed as a 'Jealous' Drunk Obsessing About His Brother in 'The Crown'

Prince Harry is portrayed as something of an alcoholic who is constantly jealous of his older brother, Prince William, in the final season of Netflix's The Crown.

"I resorted to drinking heavily. Because I wanted to numb the feeling, or I wanted to distract myself from how ... whatever I was thinking. And I would, you know, resort to drugs as well," the Duke of Sussex told Anderson Cooper in an interview earlier this year.

"It was obvious to us as kids [that] the British press' part in our mother’s misery, and I had a lot of anger inside of me that, luckily, I never expressed to anybody," he added.

The last six episodes of the epic drama series dropped on the streamer on December 14, and despite Harry also being signed with Netflix, the show also consistently insinuates that he was always jealous of his sibling. The final set of installments depict events dating from the late 1990s until the mid-2000s.

"He [King Charles] assured me they'd be shutting the place down. To keep the girls out. 'Marry me, William! I love you!'" Harry, played by Luther Ford, tells William, played by Ed McVey, during a scene depicting a 1998 tour of Canada the three princes took.

"F--- off," William replied to Harry.

The future husband of Meghan Markle then shared: "I'm just jealous. In the history of humankind, no one has ever screamed for someone with red hair."

One scene also depicts Harry offering his brother alcohol during the same trip, which would have placed the princes at the ages of 13 and 15, respectively.

The spare to William's heir would go on to battle substance abuse throughout the 2000s, and this was frequently reported in the media.

He was nicknamed "Harry Pothead" in the press, which was a spin on his name and the popular J.K. Rowling fantasy series Harry Potter. Even after PR consultant Colleen Harris — who was hired in 1998 to shape the three princes' images — left Prince Charles' employ in 2003, the future Duke of Sussex would continue to battle substance abuse allegations for the entire decade, thanks to his affinity for London nightclubs and drunkenly battling the paparazzi outside lounges.

The Crown covered most of the late Queen Elizabeth II's historic reign, which began in 1952 and ended in 2022 with her death. The show chose to end in 2005, which many analysts are calling "odd" for a series that was meant to depict the monarch's impact on British society and the evolution of the monarchy as she wore the crown. Its final two seasons were met with mixed reviews from critics, which was a sharp turn from the near-unanimous praise its first four received.