Meghan Markle says she feels ‘liberated’ to speak after turning down Oprah’s first request

While a US network paid millions for the rights to the Oprah Winfrey sit-down, it’s claimed the star couple won’t be paid a cent.

The American network which bought the rights to Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Meghan and Harry is charging $A420,000 for a 30-second advertisement.

CBS forked out an estimated $A10 million to Winfrey’s Harpo Productions for the rights to her sit-down with Prince Harry and Meghan, which will be shown in Australia on Monday night.

Meghan Markle and the Queen in 2018. Picture: AFP

But it is claimed Harry and Meghan won’t get a penny for their thoughts, with a spokesman for the Sussexes’ claiming they were not paid for the interview, according to the New York Post.

In a short taste of the interview, Meghan tells Oprah she feels “liberated” to speak for herself after having to turn down the TV host’s’ initial request because she wasn’t “allowed” to talk to her then.

The special is the couple’s first televised interview since they abruptly quit Buckingham Palace last year.

Meghan Markle feels liberated. Picture: AFP

According to The Sun, the Royal Family is braced for a series of bombshell claims in the broadcast amid an escalating war of words.

And aides said the Queen has not been given an advance copy of Harry and Meghan’s chat with Oprah Winfrey - instead “everyone will watch at the same time”.

The Duchess of Sussex accused Buckingham Palace of spreading lies about her, plunging the family into its worst crisis in decades.

Senior Royals have reportedly urged for “calm amid the storm” ahead of the bombshell interview which will be aired this weekend.

Oprah Winfrey interviews Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Picture: Getty

Officials have vowed to “reserve judgment” on the show and will decide afterwards whether to make a public response to anything specific Meghan and Harry have to say.

In promotional clips for the interview, Meghan accuses the royal family of “perpetuating falsehoods” about her and Prince Harry during their time in Kensington Palace.

The couple and broadcast networks have copped an angry backlash for the decision to show the interview while Harry’s grandfather Prince Philip, 99, recovers from heart surgery.

A friend asserted that the royals were using the Duke of Edinburgh’s health as an excuse to keep Meghan her “muzzled”.

Harry is understood to take part in the interview towards the end to have his say on the media and discuss their plans for the future, with Meghan mostly having a one-on-one chat with Oprah about her dramas as a former working royal.

Oprah Winfrey. Picture: AFP

The Daily Mail says that despairing royal officials cannot believe that Harry is so “blinkered” that he cannot see how the interview is likely to destroy any remaining trust between him and the Firm.

Meanwhile, a charity watchdog is reviewing Harry and Meghan’s charity regarding concerns about whether it complied with the law before it was closed after they moved to America.

The Charity Commission has opened a “regulatory and compliance case” into Sussex Royal, though the watchdog has not yet decided whether anything was amiss.

An anti-monarchy organisation called on the commission to look into hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of grants, prompting the Commission to investigate Sussex Royal and Prince William and Kate Middleton’s charity The Royal Foundation.

Harry and Meghan on their wedding day. Picture: AFP

Lawyers for the couple told The Telegraph that “any suggestion of mismanagement or decision-making being handled in a ‘rash’ fashion solely by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would be entirely false”.

They said the philanthropic organisation was “managed by a board of trustees which made decision about the charity in accordance with its constitutional document and the requirements of charity law”.

A Charity Commission spokesman said: “Our regulatory compliance case is ongoing.”