Prince Harry says wife Meghan Markle "cried into her pillow" the night before Oprah interview aired

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah Winfrey in March worsened their relationship with the British royal family, but the Duke of Sussex said that they instead hoped it to be a medium of reconciliation.

Insisting that they were "real and authentic" during the explosive interview, Harry said, "I like to think that we were able to speak truths in the most compassionate way possible, therefore leaving an opening for reconciliation and healing."

The Duke made the comments during the fifth episode of his and Oprah Winfrey's new documentary series "The Me You Can't See." He also revealed that his wife was so stressed about their tell-all that she sobbed through the night before it aired.

"Before the Oprah interview had aired, because of the combined efforts of The Firm and the media to smear her, I was woken up in the middle of the night to her crying into her pillow because she doesn't want to wake me up because I'm already carrying too much. That's heartbreaking," the 36-year-old said.

"I held her, we talked, she cried and cried and cried," he added.

Meghan had confessed in the interview that she was denied help by the palace when she was having suicidal thoughts while pregnant with her first child Archie. The couple also claimed that an unnamed member of the royal family was involved in conversations about the skin colour of their unborn son and how it would look for the monarchy.

Harry has continued criticising the royal family and the monarchy in his new interview, and describes his and Meghan's decision to exit the system as "an awakening." He says: "The media is desperately trying to control the narrative because they know if they lose it, the truth will come out."

Meanwhile, Harry's new documentary about mental health has sparked fresh backlash from his critics for continuing to talk about his personal life despite asking for privacy. Winfrey, the co-executive producer of the programme, recently came forward in defence of the British royal, noting that "privacy doesn't mean silence."

"You know, I ask for privacy, and I'm talking all the time. So I think being able to have a life that you are not intruded upon by photographers, or people flying overhead, or invading your life, is what every person wants and deserves — to not to be intruded and invaded upon," the 67-year-old said on the Today show on Friday morning.