Royal war: Meghan and Harry’s TV interview battle with the family
Two imminent TV interviews will see the runaway Sussexes facing off with the Royal Family Prince Harry and his wife Meghan left behind. But who will win?
Royals
Don't miss out on the headlines from Royals. Followed categories will be added to My News.
It’s the TV title fight of the year and next weekend’s interview-off between Californian royalty Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and The Queen and Commonwealth Co, is tipped in favour of the Windsor heavyweights.
Next weekend sees the much-publicised airing of Oprah’s tell-all chat with Meghan and Harry, where, it’s touted, nothing is barred. The interview is scheduled to run on CBS, Sunday March 7.
However, pipping them to first place on the podium comes The Commonwealth Crew, as the Queen, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, appear in the BBC special A Celebration For Commonwealth Day also on March 7.
The program should air before Oprah and will feature a message from the Queen, with other Royal Family members talking to people from the 54 nations of the Commonwealth.
It’s all the more poignant, because Harry and Meghan had been seen as central to the future of the Commonwealth, particularly with their appeal to younger people.
Until last week they were the president and vice-president of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust and Meghan was patron of the Association of Commonwealth Universities.
However, having gained their financial and emotional independence, the couple will now have to watch the remaining members of the family continue their role, while they concentrate on their Archewell initiatives, such as their $32 million Spotify deal.
Last year’s Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey was Harry and Meghan’s final public engagement and Oprah’s interview is timed to be one year on from this; but in doing so, also highlights the work Harry’s relatives have picked up after he left.
Following the dramatic severing of the pair’s royal patronages, their biographer and spokesman Omid Scobie, tweeted, “Freedom Found!” with supporters celebrating their liberation.
But some royal insiders think Harry and Meghan’s final skirmishes with the Queen – including releasing a statement saying, “We can all live a life of service. Service is universal,” has had the unexpected effect of changing the perception of the Royal Family from stuffy to laid-back and they have, by accident, made the Windsors more popular, especially in Britain.
“The Royal Family taking on more duties since the Sussexes left, combined with the pandemic and how they’ve handled it, has made the British public view them more favourably,” says Brittani Barger, deputy editor of Royal Central.
She says William and Catherine in particular, have enjoyed an increase in popularity.
“The Cambridges have really shone.”
According to a new YouGov survey, 49 per cent of Brits believe Harry should be removed from his place in the line of succession compared to 28 per cent who disagreed and in an earlier poll, 46 per cent said the Oprah interview was inappropriate, compared to 29 per cent who considered it fine.
Interestingly, younger people were on their side — 52 per cent of 18-24-year-olds thought it acceptable.
“I think Harry giving up his place in the line of succession, unless he chooses to do so, would be taking things too far,” says Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine.
The differing approach to baby photos has also made the Royal Family appear more relaxed, says Ms Barger.
Earlier this month Harry and Meghan announced their second child with an arty black and white photograph, shot remotely from the UK by society photographer Misan Harriman.
This was followed by Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank posting a happy snap on Instagram of their new baby August, which was taken by their visiting midwife.
“I think we can expect to see many pictures of August on Eugenie’s Instagram as she will be more open,” says Ms Barger.
Palace insiders say the Queen is depending on her “Magnificent Seven” of Charles, Camilla, Anne, Edward, Sophie, William and Catherine, to shoulder more duties and “put on a united front” for the future.
While the Queen is said to be keen to “draw a line” under past tensions with Harry and Meghan, future relations can only improve.
“What now needs to happen is that the Windsors attempt to heal the intensely personal rifts within the family,” says Mr Little.
And with Britain’s road map out of lockdown unveiled this week, will Harry fly in to visit his ailing grandfather?
“It’s hard to think that Harry won’t come back to see his grandfather, but pandemic restrictions internationally are making that much more complicated,” he says.
The year marks many anniversaries for the Royal Family – the Queen celebrates her 95th birthday in April and Prince Philip his 100th in June and while Harry welcomes his second child, he has also pledged to be in London to unveil Diana’s statue at Kensington Palace in July, to mark what would have been his mother’s 60th birthday.
Side by side with his brother William, it will be the family’s biggest test, yet.
OTHER TELL-ALL ROYAL APPEARANCES
PRINCE ANDREW’S NEWSNIGHT-MARE
In November 2019, a beleaguered Prince Andrew decided to put to bed all the allegations about him and Jeffrey Epstein.
He explained to Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis he couldn’t sweat, but the audience certainly did.
While Andrew believed his chat had gone “pretty well,” he has not returned to public duty since.
PRINCESS DIANA’S BOMBSHELL
When Princess Diana spoke with Martin Bashir in November 1995, she held nothing back – famously saying there were “three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded” and explaining she wanted to be a “queen of people’s hearts”.
This explosive tell-all ended her marriage for good – nine months later she and Charles were divorced.
But 25 years on, controversy continues around just how Bashir secured the interview in the first place.
CHARLES’ AFFAIR TO REMEMBER
A year before Diana, Charles appeared in a TV special with Jonathan Dimbleby, called Charles: The Private Man, the Public Role.
In it, the Prince of Wales confessed he wasn’t very good at being “a performing monkey” and said he had tried to be faithful to Diana, “until it became irretrievably broken down”.
This was the first time he admitted adultery and it stunned the world.
FERGIE’S OPRAH APPEARANCES
Oprah has been here before – pre-Meghan, she had another duchess on the sofa over the years, as Sarah Ferguson told all to the talk-show queen, between 1996 and 2011.
“It’s not a fairytale, it’s real life in there,” she said.
She even filmed a series on Oprah’s network called Finding Sarah.
Fergie spent many years building a brand in the US, until, interestingly, she moved back into the family home and was eventually embraced by the Royal Family again.
‘Elitist’: New blow for Harry amid ‘toxic’ claims
BetterUp, the life-coaching company Prince Harry is paid millions each year to represent, has been slammed as a “boys club” as the Sussexes brace for a “pivotal decision” from Netflix.
‘Humiliation’: Andrew’s brutal family snub
Prince Andrew was spotted leaving with his ex-wife just minutes before an important moment for his brother, the King.