Lucy Carne: Don’t let the drama over Harry and Meghan’s Oprah chat deflect from Prince Andrew

Amid the outrage at Harry and Meghan’s self-indulgent Oprah interview, don’t forget who the real royal disgrace is, writes Lucy Carne.

That blind Bulgarian clairvoyant Baba Vanga is pretty good, but she’s got nothing on me.

When Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex’s made their sudden move to Canada in January last year, I wrote in this paper that “it will only be a hot minute before they’ve moved to Malibu and Meghan is sipping green juice, blogging about self-love and podcasting with Oprah”.

But as transparent as Megxit’s motivation was, few could have predicted the harm to the monarchy this prophecy would ultimately unleash.

Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will screen in Australia on Monday night. Picture: Harpo Productions/Joe Pugliese via Getty Images

Meghan and Harry’s intimate televised chat with America’s Queen Oprah on Monday won’t just be bigger than the Super Bowl with an anticipated US audience of 330 million people, it will napalm any remaining trans-Atlantic bridge connecting the couple to Buckingham Palace.

They have been blamed for unleashing a crisis that won’t just tarnish the royal family, but threatens irreparable damage to the future of the monarchy.

In dramatic snippets from the confessional released last week, the Duchess says: “I don’t know how they could expect that after all of this time we would still just be silent if there’s an active role that ‘The Firm’ is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us.”

To eye-roll-inducing tense music, Oprah asks: “Were you silent or were you silenced?”

Meghan, dressed in funeral black and with hand resting protectively on her pregnant belly, simply stares back with a try-hard Diana head tilt.

But there will be one royal watching this television trainwreck with immense relief. For if there is anyone who will benefit from this couple’s self-indulgent splurge of victimhood, it is Prince Andrew.

And that is the most disappointing part of Harry and Meghan’s performative martyrdom – it reframes them as monarchy vandals, as the pantomime baddies, deflecting blame and critical attention that should remain on the Duke of York.

It’s been just over a year since Prince Andrew’s own excruciating TV interview where he attempted to address his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and allegations, which he has strongly denied, that he had sex with a teenage girl. We learned he was apparently framed in fake photos with a victim because he never sweats, he refused to show sympathy to Epstein’s victims and he explained away his friendship with the notorious paedophile as a “disruption” to the royal family.

Prince Andrew appeared on BBC’s Newsnight in an attempt to explain his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. Picture: BBC

The public outrage was immediate. Andrew was asked to step down from royal duties and patronages.

He vanished out of the public spotlight into the comfort of the Royal Lodge in Windsor. And since then? Nothing. He still has his military titles, despite Harry being last month stripped of three honorary military titles.

He is still listed as patron of dozens of charities on the Royal Family’s official website, even though Meghan and Harry were removed from theirs.

And he has offered no assistance to the US Justice Department investigations, despite their pleas for him to do so – and his assurances he would.

Gloria Allred, one of the lawyers who represents 20 victims of Epstein, told reporters: “Given that Prince Andrew has failed to agree to that interview, thereby denying the whole truth and meaningful justice to child victims, I believe that the Palace should treat him as though he is a disgrace to the Royal Family.”

Instead the Royal Family’s official Twitter account posted to its 4.3 million followers a birthday tribute to Prince Andrew last month.

That Buckingham Palace will investigate allegations Meghan bullied staff but will not investigate allegations Prince Andrew had sex with a minor is a double standard. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Buckingham Palace’s swift announcement last week that it will investigate “very concerning” allegations of bullying against Meghan – while ignoring Andrew’s scandal – was a staggering double standard.

The Sussexes have condemned the claims.

That is not to say that the allegations of bullying should be swept under the Palace carpet. Bullying is a serious workplace allegation – just ask Ellen.

And the timing of the complaints on the back of the royal couple’s Australian tour in October 2018 are also concerning given unsubstantiated rumours on gossip blogs of an alleged incident with a cup of tea at Sydney’s Admiralty House.

It was also the same time trusted royal aide, Samantha Cohen, originally from Brisbane, stepped down, fuelling rumours the Duchess was hard to work for.

But are Meghan and Harry victims of a “calculated smear campaign”? Certainly not. They are victims of their own arrogance.

They never wanted privacy. They want to control the media. You don’t have to be a Bulgarian clairvoyant to predict how that will play out.

But tantrums over tiaras and wearing diamonds gifted by a highly controversial Saudi prince should not outweigh the gravity of the still uninvestigated allegations against Prince Andrew.

As we sit down tomorrow to gawp at yet more royals torching their legacy on TV, let’s not lose focus of who is more deserving of our condemnation.