Nelson Mandela's granddaughter calls out 'deeply upsetting' detail in Harry and Meghan's new show

Nelson Mandela's granddaughter has called out a 'deeply upsetting' detail in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's latest Netflix series Live to Lead.

In an interview with The Australian, social activist Ndileka Mandela spoke about how she admired the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for having "confidence to break away" from the royal family.

But she has criticised them for using her grandfather, the former South African president, Nelson Mandela's name in the new documentary series to "draw in people and make millions".

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"I admire Harry for having the confidence to break away from an institution as iconic as the royal family," Mandela told the publication.

"Grandad rebelled against an arranged marriage to find his own path in life. But it comes at a price, you have to then fund your own life, I've made peace with people using grandad's name but it's still deeply upsetting and tedious every time it happens."

Mandela also revealed her family has not received monetary compensation for the documentary, nor did she believe either Harry or Meghan ever "properly" met her grandfather.

"Maybe when Harry was young at Buckingham Palace, but they are using his quotations in the documentary to draw in people and make millions without the Mandela family benefiting," she said, adding she knows the Nelson Mandela Foundation has supported the initiative.

"But people have stolen grandfather's quotes for years and have used his legacy because they know his name sells – Harry and Meghan are no different from them."

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Live to Lead, which aired on December 31, chronicles the lives of leaders and activists who will "reflect on their legacies and share messages of courage, compassion, humility, hope."

In the trailer, Prince Harry says: "This was inspired by Nelson Mandela who once said 'what counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived…"

Meghan completes the quotation, saying "…it is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead'".

The duke and duchess acted as executive producers on the series, which was co-produced with the Nelson Mandela Foundation and their production company, Archewell Productions.

The news of the release comes less than a month after the couple's first release, docuseries Harry & Meghan, finished airing.

Nine, the publisher of this article, owns the streaming service Stan.