Prince Harry said he and Princess Diana faced 'institutional gaslighting' from the palace

• Harry said that he, Meghan Markle, and Princess Diana were victims of "institutional gaslighting."
• He said the palace tried to undermine his Oprah interview and protected Prince William with "lies."

Prince Harry said he believes Buckingham Palace participated in "institutional gaslighting," and that he, Meghan Markle, and Princess Diana experienced it over the years.

As shown in the couple's Netflix docuseries "Harry & Meghan," five days before Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey aired in March 2020, Buckingham Palace issued a statement that they were investigating bullying claims against Meghan.

Representatives for Harry and Meghan denied the claims, calling them "a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation" that was potentially intended to undermine the couple's upcoming interview.

"I can't think of what my mum went through all those years by herself," Harry said in the sixth episode of "Harry & Meghan." "To see this institutional gaslighting that happens is ... it is extraordinary. That's why everything that's happened to us was always going to happen to us, because if you speak truth to power, that's how they respond."

"Gaslighting" is defined as a manipulation tactic in which someone or an entity uses psychological methods to make someone question their own sanity or powers of reasoning.

Prince Harry also claimed in episode five that Kensington Palace was "happy to lie to protect" Prince William following a news report that he had bullied Harry and Meghan.

After a series of tense "crisis talks" held at Sandringham House in January 2020, The Times of London reported that Meghan and Harry had chosen to step back from their royal duties partly as a result of their deteriorating relationship with William.

"A story came out saying that part of the reason why Meghan and I were leaving was because William had bullied us out," Harry said.

Harry said he was told a joint statement had been issued by Kensington Palace, signed by him and William, that denied the report. However, Harry said he was never consulted about it nor asked his permission to put his name on the statement.

"I couldn't believe it," he said. After calling Meghan to tell her what had happened, Harry said she "burst into floods of tears."

"Within four hours, they were happy to lie to protect my brother, and yet for three years, they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us," Harry said.

Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The docuseries started with the written statement: "Members of the royal family declined to comment on the content within this series."