The series has a premise similar to Joe Millionaire,[1] and follows twelve American women who are manipulated into believing that they are competing for the affections of Prince Harry.

At first, the contestants are not explicitly told that the bachelor is Prince Harry; they are merely led to make that inference on their own by Hicks' close resemblance, the royal setting of Englefield House,[4] the lavish dates, and being surrounded by real professional servants and a security detail that really does have experience protecting heads of state.

In a 2015 interview with Fusion TV, contestant Kimberly Birch explained that the production crew "really messed with us", and "were really trying everything they possibly could to convince us that [Hicks] was [Harry]", including having a member of the crew pose as a therapist who told the contestants that they needed to stop doubting the situation; ultimately, Birch compared it to brainwashing.

However, unlike Joe Millionaire, the magazine noted, there is no shame or guilt in the deception, which Time attributed to reality TV learning to become "lighter in tone yet more slick and ruthless".

[1] In the UK The Telegraph headlined its review "fodder for the braindead" and commenting "the floundering Harry lookalike wasn't a wild or weird enough character to carry the show, entertainment derived solely from the foolish bachelorettes."

[16] Show creator Danny Fenton said in an interview on Good Morning Britain that he talked to over 100 potential Harry lookalikes from multiple countries before selecting Hicks.