The Queen and Prince Charles must act on Meghan and Harry’s tell-all Oprah interview

The Queen must seize this moment for some serious soul-searching, and Charles must be the one to lead this change, writes Holly Byrnes.

Opinion: When Prince Harry married a bi-racial, divorced TV actress who spoke her mind on everything from politics to sexism in dishwashing liquid commercials, it was hailed by progressives as yet another opportunity for this ancient institution to modernise.

Not for this vibrant and contemporary couple would their royal platform be used to plant trees or cut ribbons, they were intent on making real social change.

Even before her joyful and diverse wedding, Meghan had begun rattling the gilt cage she was about to marry into by working with the mostly Muslim survivors of the Grenfell Towers inferno, and doing something tangible – creating a charity cookbook – to help them.

Like her late mother-in-law, Diana, this imaginative and inspiring project had its beginnings in the shadows, away from the media spotlight, quietly connecting with those on the lowest social stratum, in a Britain still struggling with its dark, colonial heart.

It was Diana who had set the tone of what a modern monarchy could look like, be like – spending her nights with the homeless; taking her children to hospices to care for the dying; sitting with AIDS patients, whose own families had abandoned them.

But far from breaking down the Royal Family’s austere ‘magic’ and mystique, Diana’s authentic outreach mesmerised the world and made her the ‘Queen of People’s Hearts.’

It was that admiration for her, and all that she suffered at the hands of the same courtiers accused of maligning Meghan and Harry, that explained the unprecedented and overwhelming outpouring of grief at her tragic death.

That was the last time the Queen and her ‘Firm’ had to face up to the harsh reality of how precarious their position was, and why their dated way of doing things had to change.

Indeed, the picture to emerge from Harry and Meghan’s sensational sit down with Oprah Winfrey is the same old, broken monarchy that must make drastic changes if it is to survive.

And rather than shooting the messenger, the Palace – and as its head, the Queen – must seize this moment for some serious soul-searching.

While Harry especially made clear his “Colonel-in-Chief” was not to blame for the racism he and Meghan have faced, the Queen’s priority must be to investigate the shocking claims; just as vigorously as the Palace said it would staff allegations of bullying against Meghan.

If the latter was not simply a nasty pre-emptive smear, then the ‘Institution’ Harry and Meghan kept pointing Oprah to as the problem must not be above the scrutiny this couple have been forced to endure.

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, after they disclosed the gender of their second baby, a girl due later this year, during an interview with Oprah. Picture: Misan Harriman via Instagram

Understandably, at 94, it might be too exhaustive a task for Her Majesty.

But as both Harry’s father and the heir apparent, Charles must be the one to lead this transformation and show, once and for all, he’s learned from the painful mistakes of the past.

He can start by immediately reinstating royal protection for Harry, who rightly points out he “inherited the risk” that comes with being his son; as well as guarding his pregnant daughter-in-law and grandson, Archie from the same fate Diana met without it.

If the public purse does not stretch to such a service, then Dad might just have to dig into his own Duchy dollars as a first step to making things right.

Then he can unleash the same PR machine that ‘cleansed’ his new wife, Camilla, over the past two decades; while calling off the press hounds who have so viciously attacked Meghan and his own son.

Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, pose for a photo with their newborn baby son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle in 2019.

His duty to them did not begin and end with that historic walk with Meghan down the aisle – when the world saw a loving father, not the jealous man who made Diana miserable.

Next, he and William must put their ‘heads together’ and ask serious questions about how Meghan and Harry’s pleas for mental health help were apparently so dangerously rebuffed.

Without addressing such a serious charge of neglect, then every member of the Firm, royal or otherwise, must wonder when their time of need arrives will they even care?

It cannot be that today’s Royal Family continues to put business before what is right, to put itself ahead of the emotional distress of family.

Heavy may be the head that wears the crown, but disastrous would be a monarch who puts it before the very survival of her own.

Originally published as The Queen and Prince Charles must act on Meghan and Harry’s tell-all Oprah interview